Unabara froze upon hearing this: "Further training?"
He wondered, "Is it learning some new tactics, or perhaps some cutting-edge international training methods?"
Probably not," Rishia shook his head. "Coach Omimi has always been in charge of our health and physical condition checks; I think it's related to those things.
And.. I heard Coach Omimi went to Osaka to study with a professional football team?
Even if he said he wanted to learn running techniques and such from a football coach.. it would be a bit too far-fetched.
Unabara nodded earnestly, "That makes sense."
Inarizaki's tactical style is itself famous for its fast pace, this fast pace inevitably comes with high risks; in almost every match over the past two years, they have had players suffer injuries.
If only there were a way to reduce the frequency of injuries..
Chapter 391: The Three Hundred and Ninety-First Fox
The Head Referee signaled for the players on this side to continue serving. Hayami withdrew her gaze from Hinata, a general idea forming in her mind.
He knew Hinata meant the timing for the jump should be a bit earlier, but this was actually the same for a Libero's positioning.
In past matches, he had relied on his own excellent reaction speed to chase down and save the ball, but he wasn't sure if his current self could still do that.
No.. it's highly unlikely he can do it.
Using judgment to predict the ball's landing point and direction is indeed a viable strategy, his advantage in reaction speed could also be applied in this regard..
Coach Hiya, who had walked around from the other side of the court, stood beside Coach Unabara. "Miya Atsumu's receiving skills still have some issues, but even when he plays Libero, he actively directs the offense from the back row. It's a very novel style."
Coach Unabara reflected, "He probably learned from that Aobajohsai Libero; that player is unique enough to stand out even in the entire high school volleyball world."
Speaking of Aobajohsai, he thought of that talented setter who had slipped through his fingers once again, he couldn't help but close his eyes in pain.
Coach Hiya laughed heartily. "There's probably only one person who would transition from a setter to a libero."
Among the Liberos currently selected for the National Team, there isn't anyone of that type, but if needed, both Komori and Yaku could play that role.
As for Hayami..
Coach Hiya sighed softly and said in a low voice, "To be honest, players who have suffered serious injuries to their knees and ankles find it extremely difficult to ever return to their peak condition."
Muscle, bone, ligament recovery is one aspect, but on the other hand, it is more about the player's physiological response and the inevitable issue of psychological trauma.
For them, the former issue isn't actually that serious; after all, even if they have sustained injuries, as long as they can play for ten or twenty minutes as a substitute, it is enough.
The truly serious problem is the latter.
Because of having been injured before, there is a subconscious avoidance of any possibility of getting injured again, which manifests in one's movements as hesitation and indecision in certain situations.
On the extremely fast-paced volleyball court, even this tiny bit of hesitation can be fatal.
And what they hoped Hayami could adjust was this very aspect; they were unwilling to see a talent like her say goodbye to her future career because of such things.
Coach Unabara gave a light smile. "I believe in them."
Younger players haven't fully matured mentally, so while they are prone to making mistakes, they are also just as easy to mediate.
As long as I can smoothly overcome this hurdle, my future life.. will definitely, definitely be a smooth road ahead.
Hayami's gaze swept across everyone on the court, after shaking off the nervousness, her mind quickly cleared and summarized the current situation.
He was personally a stranger to the vast majority of people on this court; after all, most of the players in this training camp had been selected from their respective regions, he hadn't seen many of their match recordings.
By the same token, these people must also be quite unfamiliar with him; after all, since entering high school, he has only appeared as a substitute during last year's National Sports Festival.
And this strangeness.. can also become his weapon.
Hoshiumi glanced at Hayami, then turned to exchange a look with Kageyama, attempting to remind Kageyama that the opponent was incredibly strong.
Kageyama blinked at him, failing to successfully receive the signal from Hoshiumi.
But he felt like Hoshiumi wanted to say something to him, so he nodded toward him.
Hinata, who was over here, couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Pfft."
Facing Hinata's slightly teasing smile, Kageyama frowned and snapped back decisively, "What are you laughing at?"
Hinata stood at attention. "It's nothing, um."
Before Hoshiumi-senpai could lash out at Kageyama, the Head Referee blew the whistle to signal the serve.
The service right passed to Hoshiumi and his team, the player responsible for the serve used a Jump Float Serve.
In terms of pure power alone, a Jump Float Serve is actually easy to receive; the difficulty lies in the fact that those who lack proficiency cannot judge where the ball will land.
Hayami might currently lack some speed in her follow-up, but she can still accurately judge the landing range of a Jump Float Serve.
Watching the volleyball flying over the net, Hayami took a step toward his left.
His movements were a bit unrefined, but his body's instincts still drove him effectively to complete the entire follow-up process.
His forearms pressed together to form a flat surface, precisely cushioning the ball from underneath; the solid sensation transmitted through his arms made his eyes sting for a moment.
The ball flew up steadily, landing high and stable near the front row attack line where Hinata was located.
To judge whether a Libero has solid fundamentals, one only needs to look at the stability of their First Receive.
Coach Hiya, standing by the sidelines, let out a smile, his expression incredibly gentle.
Watching the ball falling from above, Hinata's peripheral vision swept across the opponent's block configuration, while he made a quick decision in his mind.
If it were Atsumu-ge, he would most likely choose to pull back at this moment, letting the first receive pass directly over the net to steal the opponent's front court.
Although the opposing Libero was far away, the players in the front row had not fully jumped yet, so a direct steal might be saved by the front row.
But if it were Oikawa-senpai..
Chongtian, who had jumped at Position 4 in his field of vision, suddenly appeared within Hinata's observation range. At the very moment he instinctively wanted to pass the ball toward that side, his entire movement faltered slightly.
No, considering both of those situations combined with his personal range of ability..
The next second after making a setting motion toward Position 4, Hinata abruptly pulled his hand back.
Kageyama had already moved a step toward Position 4 on Hinata's side along with the person beside him, but Hinata's sudden withdrawal of his hand caused the ball to drop directly over the net.
The step he had originally taken meant he had no chance to turn his head to save it, in the end, he could only watch helplessly as the ball landed at his feet.
The whistle blew, Hinata's side scored.
Nice!
Hinata turned his head and reached out his hand toward Hayami, the two of them high-fiving heavily: "Great first receive!"
Hayami responded, "Beautiful feint!"
Hoshiumi took a sudden step back, glanced at Hinata, then looked at Miya Atsumu wiping the floor on the adjacent court, finally wore an expression of sheer terror.
Wait, wait, wait, why did he feel like Hinata's feint just became twice as disgusting?!
Is it just me, or did he suddenly go from being Oikawa-senpai to Miya Atsumu?
No, no, no, speaking of which..
He had wanted to say a few days ago that Kageyama's serve had a strange feeling of Oikawa-senpai about it.
Kageyama, Kageyama.. thinking about it now, that name does sound strangely familiar.
He confirmed that he hadn't heard this name in high school, Hinata hadn't mentioned it much to him either, so it must have been from even earlier.
A famous player from Junior High..
After racking his brain, Hoshiumi finally pulled a name from the corners of his memory that had been legendary during their junior high school days—the King of Kitagawa Daiichi.
Unlike high schools that participate in the three major national tournaments, the only important national-level competitions in junior high are the National Tournament held every summer. As for the remaining small-scale competitions and the preliminary matches for the National Tournament, the vast majority are divided into Kansai and Kanto.
Sakusa from Kanto and Kiryu from Kansai were both players who had already gained a certain level of fame during junior high.
However, at that time, Kiryu Ya had not yet displayed such terrifying talent as Ushijima or Sakusa, but because Kansai itself did not have many talented spikers, Kiryu was already the strongest among the notable players in Kansai at that time.
And the reason Kageyama became famous wasn't because he had achieved any particularly extraordinary results, but simply because he was the most talented Setter in Kanto over the past few years.
Coach Aran had previously lamented the fact that Kitagawa Daiichi's setter was nowhere to be found, yet he has unexpectedly encountered him now.
No, no, no. Given the talent he had already displayed in Junior High, joining the Junior National Team was only a matter of time. This was a fated encounter.
Before Hoshiumi could think any further, Kageyama suddenly turned back to look at him. "Hoshiumi-senpai, our receiving level isn't very good. Even if you're playing as a setter, you should still reach out and help with the receive."
Hoshiumi-senpai was completely stunned: "Huh?"
Wait, he should be playing as the setter, right?
If Kageyama is referring to that last play, someone on the other side of the front row should have received it; no matter how you look at it, it shouldn't be his fault.
A setter should be receiving the ball at a time like this.. Who on earth taught Kageyama this!
Seeing that Hoshiumi did not respond, Kageyama frowned slightly.
Taking the entire team's situation into account, even a strong player at the setter position should take on more responsibility, he has always done so.
But.. Hoshiumi-senpai doesn't seem to agree with this?
That was true; after all, the gap in defense during that recent receiving movement actually occurred because he was deceived by Hinata's feint.
Kageyama apologized sincerely to Hoshiumi-senpai: "Sorry, I won't be fooled next time."
Hoshiumi, who had no chance to speak, had a distorted and ferocious expression; he completely failed to understand Kageyama's thought process and was also completely unable to communicate with him smoothly.
He wished he could travel back ten minutes to slap himself.
Introduce Kageyama to Shwaiden Adler?
What a joke, pairing him with a setter who is completely unable to communicate for a long time.. he would definitely, definitely go crazy!
He refused to join Kageyama's Team One in the future.
A firm refusal!
Hinata, who was already celebrating with his arm around Hayami's shoulder, turned his head back toward Kageyama's side, just in time to see the two of them staring wide-eyed at each other.
Feeling increasingly wonderful, Hayami asked Hinata, "Was the feel of the ball okay for the set just now? If so, I'll keep up this rhythm later."
Hinata, who was just about to walk over to say a few words, was called back by Hayami's voice. He quickly tossed Hoshiumi and Kageyama to the back of his mind, turned his head, said to Hayami, "Yeah! That first receive was perfect!"
But I can jump even higher! If I'm going to do a Quick Attack in a moment, it would be much more comfortable if the First Receive is sent a bit higher!