"Thump!!!"
"Oh!!!
Is this still considered an easy shot?
Imagine he's a first-year student, just like us.
well!
"Speaking of unimaginable things, there's one more!" Bullpen, after receiving Furuya's high straight shot, glanced at Sendou standing there dumbfounded and sighed inwardly.
Because he had just entered the Bullpen to catch the ball from Furuya, and it was a warm-up exercise, he was asked to relax his shoulders when he threw.
Even so, Kariba felt very strong.
"Kariba! We'll just have to get used to this guy's shots gradually," Ono-senpai, who was catching Sawamura's shot, comforted him.
"Hi!!"
"It's so cool with the roof providing shade!" the adorable Furuya thought to himself.
This guy is far from getting used to Tokyo summer, even though it's already the end of August.
Hahaha!
I'm going to vote!
" Ono-senpai!" Sawamura shouted, swinging his arms wildly.
This guy is also very energetic, showing no signs of sleep deprivation during the assembly.
"However... this guy's ball is also troublesome!" Ono said with a smile as he sat down with Kariba.
"Smack!"
OK! Good shot!!
"It feels pretty good!" Ono shouted as he received the ball, took it from his glove, and passed it back to Sawamura.
"Yeah?
"I feel great too!" Sawamura shouted, a little too proudly.
"Those two guys are really energetic today!"
Has the battle behind the scenes begun?
"And they even excluded Kawakami- senpai without permission," Sendou said with a light laugh from the side.
"An ace?" Coach Ochiai asked in a low voice, puzzled.
He didn't believe at all that Sawamura was qualified to compete with Furuya for the Furuya.
Although they have already acknowledged Sawamura's strength and that he can be used by the team.
"Yes!" Sendou nodded with absolute certainty.
"Although you can also see some of Sawamura's ball quality from the side."
It's definitely not comparable to Jianggu!
But if you stand in the Batter's Box, the view will be completely different!
That guy's ball is never in the Batter's Box, so you can't see it all.
If you have time, you can check out the Batter's Box!
"I'm sure you'll see a completely different landscape than before," Sendou explained with a smile.
"And that guy's sphere quality is far from being fully developed!" Sendou muttered this last sentence to himself without saying it aloud.
"I'll pass!"
Sendou you've said so, I can only wait and see.
"I'll need your help with this!"
"It's my job!"
" The District Tournament Preliminaries in September will serve as an opportunity for the team to hone their skills, while the Autumn Tournament will be held in October."
Although the Autumn Tournament will bring together strong teams from the eastern region, making the competition even more intense.
But as long as you win the championship, you will almost certainly be selected for the spring Selection Tournament trials.
This is also the only way for our Seidou High School to pursue Summer-Spring Consecutive Championship.
" Miyuki looked at the intense practice in the Bullpen and the two people sitting on the bench, and thought to himself.
It's no wonder he thought that way; his opponents in the preliminary rounds were all bottom-tier.
To put it bluntly, they're just a bunch of small fry.
In his previous life, Narumiya Mei Inajitsu.
However, the new Seidou team is also disorganized, and it can be said that their mindset is not yet fully mature.
They've even forgotten the principle that a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the defensive training had reached a fever pitch.
The attack relies solely on a single striker. At most, it can be considered that the runners can coordinate as well.
However, the defense was carried out by nine people.
The chemistry between the pitcher and catcher, and the chemistry among the eight fielders including the pitcher, is the core of a baseball team.
The required teamwork between the three outfielders is not high; most of the time, all it takes is talking to get things done.
However, good teamwork in the infield requires constant practice.
Practice until it becomes muscle memory, because the distance to the hitter is too close, and the ball is hit too fast. Sometimes you can't even react in time, let alone shout it out.
In the previous life, during the final defensive maneuver in Inajitsu, Koharu and Kuramochi had a problem coordinating their play.
The two players did not reach a consensus, which led to a mistake.
Because of infield defense, there's usually not much time to verbally remind players.
The second half of the field is a crucial position for infield defense.
Just like the position of a center outfielder.
Their responsibilities are broader, and therefore more important.
Relatively speaking, it also gives the guards a few seconds to react.
However, in the infield, the battles are really close and last only a second or less, so the middle area of the infield is the space between two players.
Since there are two people involved, the issue of coordination naturally needs to be considered.
The only solution is to keep practicing and keep communicating, so that the two of them always know what the other is thinking.
In actual combat, when defending and coordinating, a state of unity and shared purpose will emerge.
You can know what the other person wants with just a glance.
You don't even need to look at them to know what they're thinking, how they'll handle the ball, or where it will land.
This is also a problem that the new team needs to solve in a short period of time.
With the departure of the third-year seniors, the first baseman, second baseman, and third baseman were all replaced.
One person cannot defend such a large stadium.
The better the teamwork between infield defenders, the more skilled their techniques become.
The shorter the time for passing and receiving the ball, the faster the speed, and the better the defensive ability will be.
The players from Seidou High School, First Team, possess exceptional individual defensive abilities, mental and physical reaction speeds—their physical talents are beyond question.
Even Xiaochun, who is in first grade, has been playing baseball in Little League since fourth grade.
He has always imitated his older brother, playing the role of second baseman.
Those technical movements have long since become instinctive reactions.
Moreover, his physical talent can compensate for the difference in playing speed between junior high school and high school players.
However, the understanding between him and Kuramochi is still worrying.
There's only a little over a month left; today is already August 25th.
"They've been training intensely from the very beginning!"
"After all, the situation of hitting the ball is unpredictable. Even Sendou often gets eliminated because of the ball's landing point."
Therefore, the most stable approach, with the least impact from luck, is defense!
The coach probably wants to use this month or so to thoroughly lay a solid foundation for the team!
"Speaking of which, we were in the same situation last year!"
And because they didn't make it to Koshien, their tournament will take more than a month longer than theirs!
"Although we have a longer time, they are pressed for time!"
The coach will definitely push them to their limits, just wait and see!
What are your thoughts on the new team?
"The main attackers, except for that guy Sendou, have all left."
The attack lineup will be significantly weakened!
But the defense should be alright!
"That's true!"
There are Miyuki and Kuramochi there, and in the outfield there are Sendou and Shirazu!
Even excluding Shirazu, all the official players responsible for the center field position have remained.
Now it remains to be seen who will fill the other positions.
Ryosuke brother seems pretty good now!
However, it remains to be seen whether he and Kuramochi can develop a tacit understanding in a short period of time.
After all, the location of the second field is also along the center field line!
"That's true!"
The coach is probably worried about this too!
The third-year students next to them started discussing their opinions on the new team during their free time.
Tonight, he's a man of his word; he trained exceptionally hard.
"It's not clear yet. The real issue is the defense with a focus on real combat after the pitchers and catchers are brought in."
Especially the double kill achieved through coordinated attacks between the two players.
Only then can you see the current level of defense of this team! Coach Ochiai was on the bench, said as he watched the training on the field.
"That's true!"
"You're quite observant!" Sendou said.
"This is also my job!" Coach Ochiai was surprisingly modest.
Although he did nothing wrong, the current batting and defense drills are just an appetizer.
The real highlight was yet to come; the morning session was just a series of miscellaneous exercises.
After that came hitting practice, specifically hitting balls thrown from Pitching Machine.
Since it was a ball from a Pitching Machine, everyone's shots were naturally quite good.
However, only Maezono who is obsessed with Long Hit will either hit Long Hit or Ground Ball.
After the coach reviewed everyone's striking techniques, you gave instructions.
Maezono's excessive swing was naturally pointed out.
In his pursuit of Long Hit, he even distorted his stance.
Kuramochi was also found to have the problem of being too far forward and striking too early.
Everyone else played well, but Sendou still kept scoffing at it.
"The balls from the Pitching Machine look pretty good."
"But these guys always have problems against strong teams, just you wait and see!" Sendou complained to Coach Ochiai.
"Really!
Hitting the ball in Pitching Machine doesn't prove anything.
Even if you hit all ten of your shots, it doesn't prove anything.
This is just to help the hitters get a feel for the game and to find issues with their hitting posture.
"After all, you can only see if you have any bad habits when you actually play," Coach Ochiai said, stroking his goatee.
"I see!
"So that's how it's said!" This was the first time Sendou had ever heard of it.
After all, there are just too many intricacies in baseball, and only someone as experienced Coach Ochiai can explain them all in detail.
"It's about time I went back!"
It's getting late, and if I stay here any longer, I'll be surrounded by reporters from all over the country.
"If I get caught by those enthusiastic people, my vacation will be ruined!" Sendou glanced at the Taiyou and the area outside the stadium.
Upon noticing that people were starting to come and watch the practice from beyond the railing, he stood up and spoke.
"Although I can't understand how you feel, it does sound quite troublesome to hear you say that," Coach Ochiai said with a smile.
Sendou could only feel helpless about this, which is why he didn't like to show off; he was constantly bothered by trivial matters.
This simply means that everyone has different preferences.
For other people, the arrival of a reporter would be met with great excitement and jubilation.
The other Seidou competitors were incredibly envious.
When Sendou, having escaped the reporters' onslaught, returned to the court...
It was already afternoon practice, and we were in the second half.
For almost the entire afternoon, Seidou was conducting defensive drills simulating real-world situations.
The nine players on the court each have their own role, and behind each player stand other players who take turns practicing.
Since they were pre-selected for the next round of the second round of the competition, Kuramochi and Koharu were naturally in the same group.
On the surface, there seemed to be no problem with the two working together.
However, viewers who frequently watch Seidou's practice will notice that, compared to Onii-san, Kuramochi and Kominato take significantly longer to complete their movements when they coordinate.
Kataoka Coach frowned at this, but he couldn't possibly concern himself with such matters.
These are things that the players themselves must communicate, adjust, and change.
He also believes the players have the ability, they just need some time.
He will only intervene if time is of the essence.
However, in the following time, whenever it was those two players' turn, Coach Kataoka's shots would unconsciously speed up.
Keep in mind that this is a practice session for a double kill; if the ball is too fast, there simply won't be enough time, leading to a failed double kill.
Moreover, repeated failures will force players to seek change.
Encourage communication among the players so they can discuss how to solve this problem.
Compared to the second base, the defense of first and third base is much easier.
Their main job is to quickly and accurately intercept the ball, pass it quickly, and tackle runners when receiving the ball.
There is no need for the kind of passing and coordination between the two players.
As for special circumstances that only occur once every ten years, there's no time to consider those right now.
Get the overall situation right first, then deal with the details.
However, when Sendou asked the third-year seniors if anything fun had happened that day.
Onii-san smiled and said to him, "The most interesting thing should be Miyuki's passing error."
Moreover, it was a throw to third base, but it went more than half a meter high and was wildly off-center laterally.
Kanemaru, who was responsible for guarding third base, was completely bewildered.
Because he jumped but still couldn't touch the ball.
It's quite amusing that Miyuki, one of the Good-for-nothing Duo, actually embarrasses himself under pressure.
Even when practicing Double Pitcher defense, he performed very well.
For example, Sawamura actually made a perfect defensive play after Backup Position.
Miyuki's mistake was largely due to a momentary lapse in concentration caused by a full day of practice.
After all, school hasn't started yet, so there's no need to go to class.
Therefore, for the Baseball Club players, all their holidays are practice time.
In short, that's all there was to Seidou High School's Baseball Club's first day of practice.
Although the players have good individual abilities, they also exposed many problems that need to be addressed one by one in the coming days.
The new team's practice involves repeating this process.
Only by identifying problems and solving them can we grow.
Sorry for being so late, and for using the wrong words so often.
Finally, I'm asking for your votes...