It wasn’t just Ken who was starstruck in that moment. There were at least 5 different players on the men’s national team that were played in the Major’s and they were all gathered in the same place.
The players in attendance were the best Japan had to offer.
“You can all learn something by watching how these professionals train.” Coach Takashi commented, addressing the players.
Unlike the rest of the team, the Head Coach was on the field. He received a few glances from the players, yet they quickly ignored his existence.
‘Wait, wasn’t he the Head Coach for the men’s national team until last year?’ Ken thought, feeling as if he was missing something.
The reactions of the players on the field seemed as if something was off.
“Aren’t they treating their old coach a bit coldly?” Hiroki leaned forward and asked Ken.
“Yeah… I wonder what happened.” Ken mumbled.
It was then that he remembered what the coach had said when they first met at the tryouts.
[“I’m tired of training those fools who won’t listen. I need soldiers.”]
By the time that Ken thought he might be onto something, a figure approached Coach Takashi from the field.
Not wanting his team to overhear the conversation, the Head Coach casually waltzed towards the figure with his hands behind his back.
“Ah, it’s the Toupee Coach!”
Aki pointed and yelled out from his seat, causing everyone to follow his finger.
The coach in question froze in place and stared at the seats with visible frustration as he gnashed his teeth.
A few of the professional players on the pitch started snickering in response to the outburst, yet they quickly went back to what they were doing after receiving a glare from the coach.
If it wasn’t for the circumstances, Ken would have laughed. However, he was straining his ears trying to hear what the two were discussing. Unfortunately they were a bit far away, causing him to give up rather quickly.
“Riku, is that your old coach?” Ken leaned back and asked the boy behind him.
Riku nodded briefly, “That’s Coach Katai. He was the U18 coach ever since I first made the team.”
“Do you know why he left?”
Masayuki spoke up next, “We never got told why, but I’m sure he sees moving up to the men’s team as a promotion.”
“They don’t seem to get along…” Before he could comment, Daichi spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention back to the two.
Although they couldn’t hear anything, it was clear by Coach Katai’s body language that he wasn’t happy with his colleagues words.
“I can already see what kind of players you’ve scouted! Don’t come crying to me when you’re knocked out in the group stages!”
Coach Katai pointed at the U18 players and yelled before storming his way back onto the field, leaving Coach Takashi unmoved. From an outsiders perspective it looked like he’d just thrown a tantrum before vacating the scene.
“Ah man, don’t take it too harshly.” Aki said, patting Daichi on the shoulder.
“Huh?” Daichi blinked a few times in confusion.
“He was talking about you, idiot.” Masayuki bonked Aki on the head.
“Owww.” Aki rubbed the top of his head, whining a little.
Chris who was not far away, couldn’t help but utter a laugh after seeing the antics of the players.
“Dad, what was that all about?” Ken was too curious to stay silent, asking his father for the juicy gossip.
“It’s none of our business.” Chris said dismissively, much to Ken’s disappointment.
Since his father wasn’t willing to spill the tea, Ken could only try and put the pieces together himself. Unfortunately, he was missing a lot of context, so he had to throw it to the back of his mind.
After around 40 minutes of training, the men’s team finished up what they were doing and began to cool down.
Coach Takashi approached the U18 players and told them that it was time to leave. There was a little disappointment since they were hoping to at least interact with the men’s team, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.
Ken thought that it might be because of the coach’s earlier discussion, but there was no way to prove it.
So, the team was ushered back onto the bus rather quickly, unable to even interact with some of their idols.
They returned to the hotel and were led into one of the meeting rooms downstairs for their film study sessions.
“Alright, our first game is tomorrow against South Korea. They have a dynamic line up with excellent defense, so we’ll need to be on our toes.”
Chris led the film session as usual, pulling up videos and plays from the South Korean team’s games earlier that year.
“Keep an eye on the player on 1st base, Dam Bon-Hwa. He is known for getting under the skin of opposing players, even resorting to petty tricks.”
The moment his face appeared on the screen, Ken recognized him. He had a horizontal scar on the bridge of his nose which extended under each eye.
He remembered that the guy flashed him the finger earlier that day.
‘So that’s Dam huh?’ Ken thought.
Chris continued, “While these guys aren’t known for hitting home runs, they are fantastic at playing small ball.”
He pointed to the screen and showed some examples.
Small ball was an informal term for a strategy which focused on getting players on base and advancing them into scoring positions. It was often used to whittle away at an opponent stronger than oneself.
Many of the Asian countries were known to use this tactic which relied more on technique rather than pure athletic abilities.
Until the last decade, Japan was also a large proponent of small ball.
“Therefore, we’ll need to be sharp with our leads and pitching. I also expect our infield to be ready for bunts and quick to rotate when needed.”
After saying this, Chris went on to reaffirm the defensive rotations and drill into the players their roles.
*DING*
As Ken and the others walked out of the meeting room, he heard the most beautiful noise.