Talent (3)

"Nice control. I want to see where your limit is!"

"Throw it here!" He positioned his glove in the upper-right area from Sendou's perspective—the inside high-ball location for a right-handed batter.

Coach Nakanishi understood very well that praise was the best way to build a child's confidence. Besides, Sendou genuinely deserved praise. At the same time, he wanted to test Sendou's limits, so he said this.

Whoosh!

Thud!

"Good, good. This time, here!" Seeing that it had still accurately entered the inside corner, he made another request. This time it was still inside, but on the edge of the inside corner, around the middle of the Strike Zone.

Whoosh!

Thud!

"It's a little too far inside, but the Ball Trajectory isn't bad! If I didn't know better, I'd never believe you were a beginner. In over ten years, this is the first time I've seen someone throw this accurately on their first try."

"Does that need practice?" Sendou asked.

In his previous life, when Sendou had watched baseball anime, he would sometimes fool around when he had nothing to do.

He had played a game where he set one walnut more than two meters away, held another in his hand, and threw it with all his strength to hit the walnut he had placed.

Back then, he hit it about two out of every three times on average. Even when he missed, it had flown right past it, so Sendou had never thought it was particularly difficult.

(I really did this stupid thing, and I'm not making up the hit rate. Maybe I was just in good form back then. I'm not really sure. Covering my face!)

"That'll do for now! Does anyone else want to—" Coach Nakanishi felt rather helpless at Sendou's lack of self-awareness, so he decided to ignore him and turned to the other players who had volunteered to pitch.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Before Coach Nakanishi could finish, Sendou had already thrown another fastball straight down dead center.

Coach Nakanishi could tell that the pitch's speed had increased again.

Could it be that his form still hadn't been smooth enough before?

It looks like as he gets used to the motion, he'll waste less strength in unnecessary places, and his velocity will rise accordingly.

Judging from that pitch just now, this kid's top speed is probably around 110 kilometers per hour. Coach Nakanishi smiled faintly.

"All right, Sendou, switch out!"

Sendou nodded and returned to the group with his glove.

"All right, next up, Sasaki!"

The players tested afterward all had baseball experience at school. After seeing Sendou's form correction, they quickly learned it as well and began their tests.

Overall, Coach Nakanishi was quite satisfied.

Those who came to the Wildcats would not be too weak—unless their families were relatively wealthy.

Those who did not know might not think much of it, but anyone who followed Little League would know that Tokyo Wildcats Little League was known as the Kanto Champions.

In fifteen years since its founding, it had won the Kanto Tournament ten times, finished runner-up twice, reached the Semifinals once, and the quarterfinals once. It was a powerhouse club of the highest order.

Its coach had been a professional Major League player and, during his career, a catcher who had served as the brain of his team. Even prestigious high schools generally did not have coaches of that caliber.

As a result, the Wildcats held tremendous appeal for young players. Talented players who had shown promise from an early age also gathered here because of Coach Nakanishi's reputation.

With professional guidance, combined with the Wildcats players' professional-level tactical awareness and discipline, they bullied teams all over Kanto to the point of despair.

That was why Coach Nakanishi had to raise the entry requirements. The Wildcats' tuition was very expensive.

However, it was the opposite for outstanding players. Those who passed the entrance test could receive tuition reductions, making it even much cheaper than other teams.

Those who failed but still wanted to join had to pay the steep full tuition.

So, those who came to the Wildcats had either already shown talent, had confidence in themselves, or came from wealthy families.

Likewise, many fourth graders had not yet revealed their potential, but if they showed it before retiring in sixth grade, they could also receive a certain refund.

No one doubted Coach Nakanishi's judgment when it came to the amount of tuition reduction for each student. He did not lack money; running a Little League team was merely a hobby for him.

At the same time, this team placed even greater emphasis on teamwork, so there had never been a lower-grade regular player.

Sendou had enrolled at full tuition, but after observing him for a while, Coach Nakanishi was already considering waiving all his tuition and taking him on as a true disciple.

Few players volunteered for the pitching test, so it ended quickly. After that came the general testing.

However, having already formed an assessment of Sendou's athletic ability over the past few days, Coach Nakanishi had Sendou go last in every event so he would not affect the others' performances.

Sendou's final results were astonishing: an incredible 87 meters in Long Toss, 6.1 seconds in the 50-meter sprint, and 11.8 seconds in the 100 meters.

In Coach Nakanishi's eyes, Sendou's 50-meter result was nowhere near his limit.

The reason was that Sendou's explosiveness allowed him to reach full speed after just over five meters, certainly before ten meters. Normally, even 100-meter runners could not reach full speed by the 50-meter mark.

It should be said that while sprinters needed explosive power, they did not need explosiveness this extreme. Usually, only basketball players or baseball runners needed such terrifying explosive power.

However, having instant explosiveness did not mean one could become a sprinter. A sprinter's late acceleration and final charge had little to do with instant explosive power.

For example, a basketball player with monstrous explosiveness could drive from the three-point line to the basket in just two steps. In other words, they could cover ten meters in a little over a second, while 100-meter runners only covered the first thirty meters in three seconds.

That meant that from a standing start, their first ten meters were already around 1.7 to 1.8 meters per second.

But in the final sprint, the fastest people in the world could reach fourteen meters per second. That involved the difference between instant explosiveness and sustained explosiveness.

Sendou, however, was clearly an anomaly. Judging from his results, he could bring out his instant explosiveness at around fifty meters, yet during the 100 meters he had not gone all-out in the first half. Otherwise, at his age, his legs would have gone weak in the latter half.

"If his results were announced, track coaches across the country would probably go crazy!"

"Mm, this kid is too skinny, and his leg muscles haven't been trained. No wonder he volunteered for the Going-Home Club. Otherwise, his 100 meters should have been even faster." Several thoughts passed through Coach Nakanishi's mind.

"That's all for today! Sendou, stay behind for a moment. I want to talk to you about your position. Everyone else, dismissed!"

After everyone dispersed, Coach Nakanishi brought him inside.

"Sendou, your results are far too outstanding. Aside from second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, which are not very suitable for left-handers, your physical condition allows you to play every position.

"But I want to know whether you have any particular requirements for your position?" Coach Nakanishi asked earnestly.

Japanese people placed great importance on children's personal opinions. Even elementary school students were consulted rather than forced to do something.

"I have no particular preference for defense, but batting comes first for me."

"At this stage, any position would work, but our fielders are very strong, and they will not be replaced easily.

"So that leaves the pitching lineup, which has required innings to fill, and catcher, a position that is difficult to develop at the elementary school level.

"Our team's catchers are weak, while our pitching lineup is strong—but that is only relative. Your pitches are good enough for you to become our team's ace.

"I still don't know how strong you are at batting.

"So tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to try batting against the Pitching Machine.

"As for defense, I recommend that you first train as a pitcher and catcher.

"As for what happens in the end, that will still depend on your performance after I teach you.

"The only thing I can say for certain is that your pitches should have no problem making you our ace pitcher."

At that moment, Coach Nakanishi had already made up his mind.

He would make Sendou the first fourth-grade regular in the history of the Wildcats, a team that relied on whole-team tactics for both offense and defense.

"I understand! Then I'll be going now." Sendou still had that same indifferent attitude.

"All right, see you tomorrow!"

Sendou gave a slight bow and left.