Practice

Sendou has been a bit confused lately. The team's individual combat strength is quite good, so why do the people playing in the lane always like to overthink things?

Miyuki, Kuramochi, Shirazu were all members of the original First Team that won the Summer Koshien title.

They might not be able to face the ultimate high school level pitchers, but the pitchers in these Practice Match aren't particularly strong.

It could even be described as ordinary, not even among the top in the country.

Apart from Shirazu, who performed consistently at 30%, it's simply unacceptable that the others played so poorly.

All I can say is that this group of people are teenagers aged 15 to 17.

However, people with sharp minds generally take these things for granted.

They make it difficult for others to understand what they can't do.

Sendou has been extremely busy lately and has no time to think about these things or communicate with them to understand the details.

As for what this guy is busy with...

Although he doesn't need to participate in any exercise other than running after returning from the hospital, it doesn't prevent him from giving interviews.

After Seidou won the championship, countless reporters from all over the country came to visit every day.

They not only interviewed the coach, but also star players like Sendou, Captain Tetsu, Furuya, and they also took photos of the entire team's training sessions.

Just like the reporter's coverage of the trolls in my past life.

I took some photos of them running in the snow, and then gave a brief introduction to the troll training environment.

To let audiences and fans across the country know what kind of environment the champion team is in and how hard they train.

During his vacation, Sendou left the stadium early every day to avoid reporters, and hid for a whole week.

There's no escaping it now, and the reporters' curiosity about Sendou has already reached its peak.

For example, what intensity of training do they do every day, what are the training contents, what do they eat every day, how many meals do they eat, and how much do they eat?

What do you do besides training? What are your personal hobbies besides training?

Do you have a girlfriend? If not, do you have someone you like?

What is your daily study life like? How are your grades? What is your relationship with your seniors like? How do you get along with them? What interesting things happen in your daily life?

Generally speaking, academic performance is not a concern; for most young baseball players, academic performance is, to put it mildly, disappointing.

However, after accidentally learning that Sendou had excellent grades, she started asking him questions.

Anyway, it's all sorts of random stuff, as if they want to dissect him from the inside out and report it to the national audience.

After all, Koshien stars with high looks are very popular.

In her previous life, Narumiya Mei already had a female fan club that was openly recruiting members throughout the country.

When Miyuki heard the name "Naru-chan," his expression looked like he had goosebumps all over.

The main reason is that Narumiya Mei follows the tsundere, cute, and adorable route, hence the "sauce" character on her name.

Since the white-haired guy failed to make it to Koshien this time, he naturally lost his fan base, and the female fan group was replaced by Sendou's.

The feeling that Sendou gives people is completely different from that of the white-haired one.

To outsiders, Sendou is sunny and gentle, but especially in the finals, when he throws the ball, he exudes a cold and aloof aura.

His fan base across the country is even larger and more frenzied, with countless people wanting his private photos, and even his hair, nails, and everything else.

To put it bluntly, in the previous life, Narumiya Mei 'Narumiya Mei fan group felt the same way they felt for the incredibly cute and lovable Pikachu.

For Sendou, his fans are like a bunch of sycophants.

Similarly, unlike the cute nickname "Naru-chan," they call Sendou "Sendou-sama."

So once this guy started training and appeared on the training field, he was surrounded by reporters every day.

Because no matter what he asks, it will drive his fans crazy.

Most importantly, those surrounding him were reporters surrounding the school, and he had fans from all over the country, who seemed to have come from nowhere.

After all, it's summer vacation now, so it's not difficult for these fans to take the Shinkansen to see him.

This made it difficult for him to stay in the Bullpen peacefully, and he could only vent his emotions by privately complaining about his teammates' terrible performance.

This is one of the reasons why Sendou doesn't like to show off; it's just too much trouble.

He prefers a free life, and now his free life is threatened.

In that case, how could he have the time and energy to understand the difficulties the contestants faced?

Even if he understood, it wouldn't make much difference; don't forget, this guy is quite cunning.

The only saving grace is that the Koshien tournament, which was already going on until the end of summer vacation, and this week-long break mean that summer vacation is about to end.

His ordeal will only last a few days.

Even if these fans were unwilling, they had no choice but to go back to class obediently.

"Why does it feel like everyone's delivery is a bit hesitant and incomplete, giving the impression that their reports aren't thorough enough?" Miyuki sighed softly as he watched everyone practice.

"You have no right to say that. You're just like everyone else, there's no difference at all!"

"His hit rate is only 2.2 recently, and only 1.8 Black-bellied Glasses when there are people in the scoring circle!" Sendou, who happened to be walking next to him, immediately retorted after hearing this.

"That's right."

"Oh! That's exactly what I was going to say!" Miyuki said, shrugging.

"So your batting order shouldn't be fourth!"

It should be at most after the sixth batter!

"Hey! Isn't Sixth Stick going a bit too far?"

"Senior Kuramochi, just because of his speed, it's certain that he'll never change his stance!"

Shirazu-senpai achieved a score of three to four, which is quite good!

"Tojo's batting average is 31%, and Koharu's batting average is 56%!" Sendou casually recalled, counting the four names on his fingers.

"There's really no way to refute that!"

That's not right!

"There are four people!" Miyuki sighed, about to admit it, when he realized he had only mentioned four names.

Sendou hasn't participated in any recent matches, which is why Miyuki has this question.

"Because you wasted too many opportunities when there were people in the scoring circle!"

Your focus is completely different from when you were in the scoring circle before. So I don't think you're a good center!

"Uh! Okay!" Miyuki didn't refute the fact that Tojo wasn't a key player.

The bottom-ranked players in Practice Match often change, meaning that the First Team roster is not yet finalized.

Everyone has a chance to make it into the First Team; they just need to seize the opportunities given by the supervisors and demonstrate their abilities.

Tojo might become a starter due to his recent performance.

Besides, lunch break is coming up soon, and the captain is very busy; he doesn't have time to continue arguing with this guy.

He also knew that his recent poor performance was not due to a lack of ability, but rather to psychological issues such as his recent state of mind and excessive pressure.

For the commander-in-chief, this was something that should never have happened, and he was powerless to refute it.

He only wants to make up for his past mistakes through his future performance.

After admitting his mistake to Sendou, Miyuki went to the bench.

"Defense and strike practice will begin at 1:30 PM!"

"Because this is a real-world exercise, everyone must concentrate!!!" Miyuki gave instructions for the next steps.

In Japan, the captains of sports teams and student councils at schools are completely different from those in other countries; they wield considerable power.

Certainly!

Power also means responsibility!

"Hi!!!"

"He's starting to look like a captain!" Sendou thought, pinching his chin with his left hand and crossing his right arm.

The defensive batting practice is essentially a one-on-one duel between the pitcher and the batter.

Outfielders will practice their fielding skills at the same time. Since pitchers are protected by the Ball Net to avoid injury, there are no infielders to practice fielding.

In short, just as Miyuki said, it was a practice that was very close to actual combat.

"Ah-Xian!" Kawakami- senpai was tidying his shoelaces, preparing to leave the court, when Miyuki approached him.

"Hmm?" Kawakami- senpai looked up.

"Can we warm up beforehand?"

Today I want the hitters to have a great time playing!

"It doesn't matter if the Ball Trajectory is easy to hit, but please, please throw a powerful, good ball!" After saying that, Miyuki leaned closer and covered his mouth with his hand.

"What happens next must be kept secret!"

I can only ask you to do something this difficult.

Hey!!!

However, when he leaned closer, the ever-curious Furuya pricked up his ears to eavesdrop.

Furuya had been observing and imitating Sendou and Sawamura, which honed his excellent hearing.

It's mainly due to his cultivation in the Sendou, because he always speaks slowly and methodically, and rarely speaks loudly.

It's really hard to eavesdrop if you keep a certain distance.

"I understand! I'll give it a try!"

"I'm so sorry! Please help me!"

The coaching staff is also satisfied with Miyuki's approach of helping Kawakami regain his confidence through free batting practice or defensive batting practice.

Kawakami- senpai's posture was correct, and he clearly understood his position; all he needed was time to adjust his mindset. (In short, he had self-awareness.)

On the way back...

"Yoshi! Hurry up and go eat!" Sawamura walked on the cement road as if he were going to war, his spiked shoes making a clattering sound.

"It's... it's melting!" It was still the tail end of summer, and Furuya was unbearably hot after a morning of scorching sun.

"That's ice cream!" Sendou couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you alright, Furuya-kun?" Koharu looked over with a bit of worry.

After such an unforgettable day, they awaited the arrival of their next opponent.

"Sendou-kun! What time will today's practice end?" Coach Ochiai asked when he saw the group.

"That Sunglasses Uncle said he'd be back at 6:30 today!"

"What's wrong?" After hearing the voice, everyone stopped, and Sendou asked with a hint of doubt.

He really wanted to say, "Why are you asking this? It's not much different every day."

"It started at nine in the morning, right? That's really long!"

And if you include morning exercise, it will be even longer!

"You must be very tired?"

"After all, it's so hot, and they won't let me pitch!"

"I'm a little dissatisfied!" Sawamura replied.

This guy doesn't Coach Ochiai's coaching position anymore.

Even so, this team is still really spirited!

I've been observing this for the past few days and I can see it too!

"Of course!"

We work so hard because we don't want to lose, and we don't want others to say that we can't do it without our seniors. We can't complain about being tired!

"I see!

However, there is no team that is invincible!

You work so hard every day, it's truly remarkable!

In short, it's that... masochistic thing!

"Huh?" Sawamura looked completely bewildered.

"Uh!" Sendou was speechless.

"Athletes are all narcissists!"

Are they just intoxicated by their own hard work?

"To be so physically active in this heat, that's just plain stupid!"

"What did you just say?" Sawamura had forgotten that this person was the coach and wanted to go up and argue with him.

"Eijun! Shut your mouth!" Sendou said with a smile.

That's right!!

"... Huh? You mean you want me to shut up?" Sawamura initially thought Sendou was talking about Coach Ochiai and was about to loudly agree, but then he suddenly realized that Sendoh was talking about him.

Learn to listen to people until they finish speaking, and don't interrupt them easily!

"Please continue, Coach Ochiai!" Sendou replied, then let Coach Ochiai finish speaking.

How should I put it?

This kind of rote practice won't make you stronger quickly.

We must learn to use scientific methods to make reasonable exercises.

Immortal Sendou-kun did this very well!

"I see!" Sendou understood what Coach Ochiai meant.

"Our training does have some drawbacks, but it also has some advantages."

"Although I don't really like it," Sendou then said.

"Oh?"

"The heat of summer, and teaching the body to react before the brain."

These are all things that require constant practice to master.

Moreover, most of our practice is targeted.

Most importantly, this kind of repeated practice can not only hone your skills, but also cultivate your character.

As an athlete, it is essential to maintain a calm and composed mindset and not be easily influenced by external factors.

This kind of training that requires prolonged focus is helpful.

What's truly unreasonable is their independent practice!

Blindly imitating others and relentlessly pushing themselves through extra training, ignoring their bodies' painful struggles—that's their reality.

Coach Ochiai looked at Sendou, who had a smile on his face, and pondered carefully.

"Perhaps you are right."

It seems that there were some misconceptions in my thinking.

However, I still feel that this kind of practice is a bit excessive!

"On the surface, that may indeed be the case."

But that Sunglasses Uncle wasn't an incompetent guide.

He must have had some purpose in doing this.

"What is the purpose?" Coach Ochiai asked with a tone that was hard to describe.

"Um!...,

For example, as I just mentioned, honing the players' mentality is important. High school players are easily influenced by their mentality, so this can also be considered a form of accumulation!

... For the future!!

And practicing in such hot weather, it's probably precisely because of this hot weather!

After all, the Koshien in the summer is held in this kind of weather.

"Perhaps the coach wanted us to deeply experience the heat of summer and get used to competing in this environment!" Sendou thought carefully for a while, trying to analyze it in light of Coach Kataoka's personality and methods.

Around 1 p. m., there will be another post of 2,000 words, which you can check tomorrow morning.

I'm a bit rushed today, so I'll just add two thousand.