NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: <20> The First Day of Practice
Chapter 20: The First Day of Practice
"So you're going to be their coach? Training starts tomorrow? ⊙_⊙!"
"But what about me? You can't just leave me behind!"
"Say something!"
After just solidifying his plans for the baseball club, Sendo was bombarded with questions by his childhood friend that evening.
At that moment, Sendo wasn't in the mood to talk.
"Is it clear in Tokyo right now? The night sky should be beautiful then, since summer is near." Sendo's words came with a smile that betrayed his serious tone.
"Yes, it's clear! (smiles)"
And then? Well, then nothing more happened.
"Looks like it's settled, what a hassle this is." Several minutes later, noticing no further messages, Sendo muttered, tossed his phone aside, and continued with his evening.
"I'm a bit tired, but I really don't want to sleep yet! A hard-earned holiday is about to end just like this! Plus, my life as a homebody... c'mon!"
Finally, turning over and over, Sendo drifted into slumber. Completely forgetting everything else.
…
"Oops, it's already this late! I need to take a shower and go to bed!" said the other, standing up in a hurry and bustling around.
Well, some people just forget things easily and don't notice anything unusual at all.
…
"That reminds me, our school really has only a few clubs. After school, there aren't many people around, and the baseball club doesn't have any seniors. You started the baseball club yourself, right, Eijun?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Sawamura replied with his characteristic exaggerated serious tone, clearly showing how thrilled he was about Sendo joining the baseball club.
"And… Mr. Sano must be having a tough time dealing with you, right?" Sendo remarked, looking at a box filled with dozens of balls.
"Huh?"
"Haha, yes, that's how it is. Mr. Sano often gets pestered by Ei-chan, like asking him to take us to practice matches and promising to treat us to barbecue if we win. We lost the match, but he still treated us to barbecue. And then there are the club budget issues. Many things in the baseball club were bought with Mr. Sano's own money!" Ohno laughed, and the others joined in, leaving Sawamura feeling a bit embarrassed.
"That's great, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Everyone looked at Sendo in confusion.
"This baseball club needs someone as shameless as you. Hahaha!"
"Hey, hey, Sendo!" Everyone quickly held Sawamura back.
"Okay, jokes aside. Fielders, everyone get to your defensive positions. Shin, put on your gear."
"Got it!" Takeda Shin replied.
Everyone started to move.
"What about me?" Sawamura asked, pointing at himself.
"Oh, when you're free, go for a run! And be careful not to get hit by a ball!"
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Nothing, nothing, I'll start running immediately." Saying this, Sawamura quickly escaped and began running laps around the field.
"In rural schools, at least there's plenty of space." Sendo mused to himself.
"I'll keep hitting them continuously, so be prepared!" he shouted to the field.
"Yeah!!!" the field responded loudly.
"First up, third baseman!"
"Ping!"
Just like Coach Nakani used to do, Sendo hit a slow ground ball.
The third baseman casually picked it up and threw it to first base.
However, the throw was off target...
"Another one, third baseman!!!"
"Ping!"
However, the ball wasn't caught...
"…"
The scene became awkward for a moment.
Sendo rubbed his forehead with his right hand.
"Alright, forget the defensive positions. Everyone line up right here!" Sendo said after a moment of silence, pointing at the standard position of the third baseman.
"Wakana, grab a glove and field balls at first base."
"Okay, got it." Wakana replied as she ran toward the first base position.
"You bunch of fools, what have you been doing all these years? This is an exercise from my very first day on the little league team, with the same ball speed. You're worse than when I was nine years old, no, worse than my classmates who were worse than me. I barely tapped the ball with my bat, it had no speed, and you still missed it. Haven't you practiced catching and throwing at all? What have you been doing?" Sendo lamented, exasperated.
"Sorry, Sensei!"
"No, maybe it was just an error. But these basic errors are why every potential out turns into a hit. Like I said yesterday, our first step is to secure every single out we're supposed to get. Do you understand?!!!" Sendo suddenly shouted at the end, after initially speaking clearly.
"Yes!!!"
"So the only way to eliminate these mistakes is through relentless practice. You must catch everything, and then I'll increase speed until you can do this in a game. Let's start, another ball!"
"Ping!"
And then, they demonstrated just how inexperienced they were.
Though Sendo realized something, he didn't plan on stopping.
As a batting coach, he wasn't like Coach Kataoka from the original story, who would go all out. He merely swung lightly, as if practicing bunting, to make contact with the ball.
Yet they still missed catches, and their throws were wild.
As time went on, though, with Sendo saying, "Prioritize accuracy. Throw slower and let your body memorize the motion."
After hearing this, there were finally fewer wild throws to first base.
Half an hour later, when Sendo noticed the catches becoming more consistent, he slightly increased the speed, but only a bit. Not like when Coach Nakani tested him by continuously increasing speed with each ball drastically.
Meanwhile, Sawamura was running silently on the field, casting a resentful glance their way as he ran... only to find he had been forgotten.
In this team, the only real fool is him. Although what Sendo had them doing was relatively straightforward, they understood the correctness of his reasoning.
Without any slacking, many had joined the baseball club because of Sawamura, and it was his presence that showed them the fun of baseball.
Having never watched games or even known the rules, they were experiencing formal guidance for the first time. Despite the monotony, they were all thoroughly enjoying it.
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