By the evening of the next day, before practice ended,
The training camp had been going on for several days, and overall, the results were encouraging. But there was sometimes a gap between ideas and reality. After several days of training, the team's defense was slowly improving. Before long, they could assign positions and begin coordinated drills. After all, there was still outfielder backup catching practice, so these drills where everyone practiced Ground Balls and fly balls had to end quickly.
Bunting practice—four words: an utter disaster. Sawamura was indeed a bunting genius, but his explanations were nothing but filler words, followed by a frantic barrage of pats on the butt. Sendou seemed to have thought of some method, but he could never quite grasp the feeling.
So today, Sendou arranged to temporarily reduce the bunting practice and instead speed up the defensive practice. He did not want to make too many other changes, at least not until after seeing the coach tomorrow.
Practice was dull, so Sendou slipped away early.
"These people really do love practicing! It's obviously exhausting, dull, and boring. Even though batting feels pretty good, and thinking things through does too, I really don't understand what's fun about this sport itself.
Sawamura used to say something about being able to play baseball as long as you had a bat and a ball, right? When did he say that again? Forget it, that doesn't matter!"
"Oh!!! Fumino really put me through hell last night!!! I'm seriously sleep-deprived!" With a yawn, Sendou returned to the baseball field!
"It's about time. I should tell them practice is over and go back to cook!"
"Before self-practice today, I'll graciously take a look at your batting stances!"
"Alright, then I'll go first! I'll show you my heroic posture!"
"Eijun, go run laps!"
"Why?!!! Didn't you say you were looking at batting stances? Does that mean I've been deemed useless?"
"Yes, exactly. That's right, so go run!"
"Yeah..." Sawamura answered quietly.
"If you're just watching from the side, that's fine!" Sendou said when he saw Sawamura leaving with his back hunched. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, though no one noticed.
"Don't look at me like that. Are you watching or not?" Sendou said when he saw Sawamura sulking and staring at him. Then he ignored him.
"So, who's first? I won't look at everyone's. I'll just give some simple pointers! Ono, you go first!"
Ono nodded, stepped forward, and assumed a batting stance.
"Ono, spread your feet a little wider, tuck in your elbows, and straighten your back. Alright, try swinging while twisting your body slightly."
"Okay, that's it. Next... your feet are spread too wide. Try swinging." They were only minor adjustments to their stances.
"Now everyone should understand, right? We're all beginners, so there's no need to take huge swings and hit Long Hits. For now, practice your swings, then take turns batting so your bodies can quickly adapt to the stance. I don't need High Balls. What I want are fast hits that stay close to the ground!"
This guidance was not a whim. When he had instructed A Shin yesterday, Sendou had just realized that he needed to check everyone's batting stances. That had been Sendou's mistake too.
"A Shin, keep following me to practice catching. Your catching used to be terrible. Dropping balls all the time isn't something you can fix in a day or two. The only thing you can do now is practice! I know a bit more about catching. There used to be this terribly nagging old man who bothered me every day. Ah, he was really so annoying!" By the end, Sendou sounded somewhat nostalgic instead.
"Let's go!"
"Mm-hm."
"Let's review yesterday's lessons first and see how much your body still remembers."
"Crack, crack, crack."
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
"That's right, just like that. Even if you can't catch it, don't let the ball roll behind you! Though you should catch it. This is only 120 kilometers per hour. Eijun's pitches are a little faster than this now, and you should know his pitches aren't nearly this easy to catch."
"Alright, you're gradually getting used to it. But don't get happy too soon. Your glove is getting dragged along by the ball too much!"
"That makes the pitcher uncomfortable!"
"Are you afraid? You're afraid to use your hand to catch the ball, and that's why you've become like this. Didn't the books you read before tell you that?"
"Make good use of your lower body. Catch the ball with the front of your body... not like that. You used your hand to catch it again!"
"Because you only catch with your hand, your glove moves with the ball and blocks your eyes. You can't follow the ball all the way through." Throughout the whole process, Sendou was the only one talking. A Shin was already giving it everything he had just reacting according to Sendou's words.
"The way you hold up your glove is too stiff. The glove is set up for the pitcher, but after the pitcher throws, lower it for a moment and let your body relax. Otherwise, you'll get even more tired."
"Basically, just keep the feeling of playing catch, like this!" As he spoke, Sendou raised his palm facing down and made the gesture of a catcher receiving a ball.
"Watch my movement!" Then he brought his palms together as if catching the ball, while pressing both hands downward. It looked somewhat like beckoning someone over, and it gave off a relaxed feeling.
"Understand? This not only relaxes you, but when the pitcher sees how relaxed you are, he'll feel more relaxed too!"
"I understand!"
"Then continue!" Sendou immediately launched back into full nagging mode.
"Your glove dropped again. Your glove absolutely cannot move when you catch the ball. I told you to relax after catching it, not at this moment!"
"If you catch a borderline ball like that, the umpire will never call it a strike. A catcher's receiving technique can affect the umpire's judgment, as well as the pitcher's condition and self-assessment, so you must practice diligently. This is the foundation of a catcher maintaining his stance."
"Though I don't know what any of this has to do with that idiot who can only throw fastballs straight down dead center. At A Shin's current level, he probably won't even be able to catch Eijun's full-power pitches before graduation. What a headache. Speaking of catching, my own receiving technique isn't particularly good or bad!"
Even while coaching, Sendou could still amuse himself with complaints in his head.
"Continue! You're still far from being able to catch anything beyond this kind of ball!"
"Yeah!"
On the other side, everyone was taking turns batting with great enthusiasm—swinging, batting, swinging, batting. No one wanted to stand around doing nothing and let their bodies forget the correct stance. They wanted to deepen their bodies' impression of it.
Even when Sendou said they were done, no one left with him. Even Wakaba said she wanted to practice a little longer, and A Shin, who had just finished catching practice, also grabbed a bat and joined in.
In the end, Sendou went back alone to soak in the bath. But in his mind, he was considering the questions he wanted to ask tomorrow. The team had too many problems, and he himself knew too little.
After that came study time. Fumino had gone off to do something today, and she seemed especially tired. She actually fell asleep while reading that night.
Sendou suddenly remembered that when he had first arrived, his companions had said Fumino was beautiful, but he himself had never paid much attention. So from his seat, he lay on the desk and looked at Fumino's profile.
"To be honest, Fumino really is a great beauty! I never noticed before. She looked different when she slept than she usually did. Normally, she was a little clumsy, airheaded, and slow on the uptake. But after she fell asleep, how should I put it? Peaceful? Probably. Just looking at her face made my heart feel calm." As Sendou thought that..., he fell asleep too.
It was a little late again today. After posting this, I'm going to sleep. As usual, please save and recommend it. Good night!
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