The results on the second day were encouraging. Beginners improved quickly, and aside from Sawamura, this bunch was neither stupid nor unwilling to use their brains.
They also loved practicing. Sendou did not know about the others, but in truth, every one of them practiced their swings at home, Sawamura included. That guy just swung wildly without any rhyme or reason.
"Sen-chan!"
"Hmm?"
"Um, could we borrow those basic books from you? We want to learn proper batting stances and things like that."
"Oh, that was my oversight. If you want to practice after school today, I'll go get them for you. Thinking for yourselves is a good habit!"
"A good habit and all that..." The others felt a little embarrassed by his praise and spoke softly.
"That's right. I'm a beginner too, after all. There's no way I could think of everything in just a few days. It's a very good habit that you're willing to think things through yourselves. Let's work hard together, and don't be like that baka!"
At that moment, someone who had been listening in with his ears pricked up instantly stood.
"Baka? You just said baka, didn't you? It's not good to badmouth people behind their backs! Hey, you!"
"Yeah, I said baka, but I never said who I was talking about!"
"Uh..." Sweat immediately appeared on someone's forehead.
"Don't tell me you thought I meant you? Hahaha, calling yourself a fool really does make you an idiot!"
"Hahaha!" Everyone was amused by this cheerful, familiar routine.
Those two always bickered, and Sawamura, who always rose to the bait, always lost.
"Hmph!" Sawamura turned away and returned to his seat with a slightly tsundere air, making everyone laugh again.
School ended at three in the afternoon.
"Then I'll head home first. You guys practice like you did yesterday!"
"Yeah!"
"Hurry up, hurry up, Ei-chan, or we won't wait for you!"
Even after leaving the classroom, Sendou could still hear his companions urging each other on.
"Time to head home!" Sendou's eyes shifted as he muttered to himself.
After getting home and exchanging the usual greetings, Sendou gathered the basic baseball primers and Coach Nakanishi's notes explaining proper fundamental techniques and stances. Then he rode his bike to the field.
However, rather than going straight in, he observed from afar. It was difficult to make Sendou obediently stay there with them. He was someone who was very good at slacking off.
"Ono's doing a pretty good job as batting coach! And Eijun really is obediently running laps. In a couple of days, I can teach Ono how to hit fly balls, and then there won't be much to worry about on defense. Could I go home early from then on?" Sendou muttered from a distance.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... That wouldn't be very good, would it? I should still watch them practice. Hmm... I'll save sneaking off for later."
If Sawamura had heard that, it would definitely have sparked another teeth-baring war.
After watching for a while, Sendou rode his bike into the field.
"Don't mind me. Just take these home with you when you leave."
"Ono, speed it up a little more!"
After shouting those two instructions in succession, Sendou sat down nearby.
"Hmm, not bad! Everyone can endure this boredom. Good, very good."
After a while, Sendou checked his watch. It was already four thirty. He stood up after looking at it.
"I'll bat now! Ono, you go back to the team for now too."
"I'm speeding things up again, so prepare yourselves!"
As he spoke—
Crack!
The little ball shot rapidly into the field. It was no slower than a ball in an official game.
"Move! You're too slow, speed up."
"Even if you can't catch it, maintain the correct form."
"Get your bodies and hands used to the ball speed."
Sendou continuously hit ground balls and gave instructions according to the situation.
After two days of training, the players had become somewhat accustomed to the proper forms. Now, their bodies needed to adapt to the speed of balls hit by middle school students.
After a few more days of adjustment, they would get used to it. Then all they would need to do was increase their success rate while using proper form.
It had only been a few days, but balls hit by middle school students were not particularly fast. After all, there was still an enormous gap between student clubs playing rubber-ball baseball and the professional training of Little Senior League teams. Even in Little Senior League, players who could hit balls beyond their reaction speed were rare.
Middle school baseball placed greater emphasis on correct individual technique and the healthy development of players.
Defense at this level was already enough for middle school students. Increasing the intensity further was not only unnecessary, but could easily cause injuries for children their age.
The sudden increase in speed reduced the success rate to less than ten percent, but they could see that they were capable of catching the balls. All that remained was relentless practice.
It could be said that Akagi Middle School's Baseball Club training had already become quite demanding. After going home, they still had to practice their swings.
They had not developed their bodies much before, so there was still potential to be tapped. The intensity remained manageable.
Soon, the sky began to darken.
"That's it for today. Oh, and when you practice your swings at home, if something feels wrong, don't increase the amount any further. Your bodies won't handle such a sudden increase in intensity well. Try again after some time has passed!"
"Yeah!"
"Good work!"
"Good work!"
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, nearly a month had gone by.
The Baseball Club members read the basic books Sendou had given them, then discussed and exchanged ideas with one another on Line.
As for swing practice, they could only wait for actual games to verify the results of their training. They had no Pitching Machine, so they lacked that opportunity.
As for defense, after their rapid improvement in the first two days, their progress returned to normal. Still, one month was enough for them to stabilize their fundamental movements.
A week after that day, Sendou added fly ball and line drive drills to their training.
After one month, Akagi Middle School's defense was barely presentable. Well, it was much better than teams that got knocked out in the first or second round! In truth, Sendou had merely opened the door to professional baseball for them.
Afterward, through all kinds of professional materials, he taught them how baseball was supposed to be played.
"Starting today, Baseball Club activities are suspended. Exams are next week, so don't fail any subjects. We're going to Training Camp after summer vacation begins," Sendou said after school that day.
"Where are we going for Training Camp, Sen-chan?"
"My family has a small villa in Tokyo. It's where I lived before coming here. Also, I recently asked my dad for money and asked my Little Senior League coach to help buy two Pitching Machines. Then we can practice bunting and batting."
"That's amazing!"
"Alright, break it up, break it up!" After saying that, Sendou chased away the group gathered around his desk.
"I can finally rest for a few days! My lovely bed, my lovely manga! Sigh!" Sendou felt deeply moved inside. Still, although he had wanted to dump the work on them and slack off, he had not actually done it. As a result, he had really trained alongside these guys for an entire month, even if he spent most of the time watching from the side.
The old Sendou would never have believed it.
Terrifying!
It was so cold in the room that his hands went numb after typing just two characters. He should have lit the stove earlier. Lastly, please bookmark and recommend.
Before you continue