[44] Grade 11: National Youth Team Intensive Training Camp
The first round of group assignments was finalized after all the players lined up again.
The team roster for the national youth team training camp is usually readjusted and regrouped every half day based on the players' training performance and teamwork.
However, since the contestants just arrived at the training base today, and spent most of the morning waiting for the other contestants and the team to speak, the roster will remain unchanged for the whole day.
Just like the pre-arranged dormitory list, contestants from the same school were deliberately scattered and assigned to different teams.
Please give me your guidance.
After exchanging greetings, the members of Team A followed the assistant coach to the court to begin basic training.
After a simple basic training session, the players began warming up in preparation for their match.
The national youth team's training camp has a very tight schedule. In addition to basic training, it focuses on improving the teamwork and understanding between players through actual combat.
The actual matches will be played in a round-robin format, focusing on assessing the players' offensive and defensive transitions and teamwork. Today's first round will see Team A play against Team B, and Team C against Team D; the second round will see Team A play against Team C, and Team B against Team D…
As the core of the team, Imadegawa did not rush to practice during warm-up, but instead went to each of his teammates and had a brief conversation with them.
After he finished walking around and asking everyone about their hitting habits, running preferences, and so on, he stood back next to Ooshiro to start warming up. Ooshiro couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "...Aren't you going to ask me anything?"
Imaizuchi stopped what he was doing, turned to look at Ooshiro, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
He pointed at Wei Bai with his finger: "You like to generate power from balls slightly behind the setter, and you excel at straight-line attacks, especially when the ball goes out of bounds..."
Wei Bai was taken aback, his eyes widening slightly: "Huh? How did you know?"
Imadegawa didn't answer directly. He withdrew his hand, turned his head to look at Ushijima, who was warming up on the other side, and continued calmly, "And Ushijima—he likes to cut in from the left side of the court, but he will flexibly switch positions depending on the setter's position..."
Ooshiro blinked, clearly not expecting Imadegawa to be so familiar with their characteristics.
Jin Chuchuan raised his hand, tapped his fingertips lightly in front of his eyes, and smiled even more: "Both of you are people I have carefully observed in actual combat."
His voice was unhurried, yet it gave Wei Bai a strange sense of calm.
"Furthermore, as a setter, understanding the habits of each attacker... is a fundamental skill, right?"
Wei Bai suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation.
......
"Bang--"
The sound of the volleyball landing on the opposite half of the court was so loud it was almost ear-piercing.
...Is this also a basic skill?
Ooshiro slowly retracted the hand that had struck the ball, his five fingers clenching and then relaxing, his palm seemingly still retaining the wonderful sensation from when he struck the ball.
The heart palpitations I felt during the pre-match warm-up returned.
As the opposing team on the other side of the court, it's normal to observe the opponent's movement preferences and offensive tactics.
But in their first collaboration, he managed to deliver such a solid and perfectly timed ball to a completely unfamiliar attacker with whom he had no prior experience. Is this really just a matter of basic skills?
“It’s almost like…” he looked down at his palm, “like I can read minds.”
He didn't even make a sound when he made that pass; he just slightly adjusted his stride during his run-up.
But the volleyball, as if it had anticipated his intentions, appeared precisely in his spiking zone.
—It was two centimeters higher than his usual position, but it allowed him to complete the smash in the most relaxed posture.
"Tail White? Was the height of the ball you just held appropriate?"
He looked up abruptly and met Imadegawa's smiling eyes.
His eyes were so clear that they reflected his bewildered expression.
"How did you know..." Wei Bai asked blankly, "that I'm suited for a ball that's two centimeters taller?"
Jin Chuchuan tilted his head, his bright red hair swaying gently with his movement: "In the IH National Top 16 Tournament, your adjustment of the attack position before the second technical timeout in the fourth game was very difficult, but when you smashed at the highest point, the wrist rotation was smoother than usual."
Tail White's pupils constricted slightly.
That was a detail he had almost forgotten, a trivial moment in a defeated match.
"Of course, it could also be my imagination." Imadegawa suddenly laughed. "After all, we setters always tend to overanalyze every little movement of the attackers."
The assistant coach, acting as a temporary referee, blew the whistle, signaling Team A to rotate positions.
Imaichi took a few quick steps back to the frontcourt to change positions, then suddenly turned back as if remembering something: "Oh, right, if you still want to adjust your height..."
He made a gesture with two fingers raised, "Just show me like this."
Ooshiro stared blankly at Imadegawa's back, seemingly understanding why the members of Tsurumyoukan always unconsciously followed his rhythm.
—That's not just a simple skill, but an observational ability that has ingrained the breathing rhythm of each contestant into one's very bones.
He clenched his fist, his palm burning hot.
Surprisingly, this feeling of being completely seen through is not unpleasant.
Now we've left Sichuan and returned to the front row.
After this scoring rotation, Imadegawa stood at the three position in the middle of the frontcourt, and Ushijima Wakatoshi rotated from the backcourt to the four position next to him.
"I want one too."
Ushijima suddenly turned his head and looked firmly at Imadegawa.
"I want the ball you gave to Ooshiro too."
He looked directly into Imadegawa's eyes and pleaded earnestly.
Imaichi Kawa raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his golden eyes.
They're already on the same team, so logically Imadegawa shouldn't have failed to pass the ball to Ushijima.
But Ushijima's deliberate emphasis on "I want it too" at this moment made this ordinary pass request extraordinary, conveying a clear message to Imadegawa:
I want your ball—not as a team-assigned opportunity, but a set ball that you've specially adjusted for me, just for me.
Before Imadegawa could even speak, Ushijima added, "And I want your instantaneous stop and dribble too."
Aoyagi, standing on the other side of the net: ...
Wooden Rabbit standing on the other side of the net: ...
Wooden Rabbit, tugging at the net, cried out, "I want to go to Sichuan too!!!"
Team B's setter went berserk: "Wood Rabbit! Which team are you on?!"
"It's obvious that Owl-chan's heart is with Team A even though she's in Team B~"
Tendo smiled and hooked his arm around Aoyagi's stiff neck: "But he's not the only one whose heart is with Team A~ Our Mio-chan is also eagerly hoping to join Team A~"
"Oh dear, how terrifying! Our Team B has actually been infiltrated by two spies from Team A!"
The assistant coach blew the whistle again, warning the players not to fool around.
The players obediently took their positions.
In the quiet of the half-court during Team A's serve, Imadegawa, with a smile in his eyes, responded to Ushijima's request: "Sure."
"However, Ushijima-san, in the upcoming match, you will have to completely follow my instructions."
“No problem,” Ushijima said decisively.
......
(SoLg) "I previously thought Imadegawa would be the kind of player with a strong individualism."
On the sidelines, Coach Jinshan's pen scratched as he took notes in his notebook.
The assistant coach, who had watched several of his live matches at the Heming Hall, whispered in agreement: "His dominance within the Heming Hall team... is simply terrifying."
"Yes," Coach Jinshan agreed with the assistant coach's use of the word "creepy."
Therefore, Coach Jinshan was convinced that players who wanted to work with Imadechi would need to erode their willpower in order to get close to him.
For example, the members of the Crane Sound Hall can only create more intense sparks with Imadegawa by sharing their own ideas.
Coach Jinshan said, "But judging from this game, Imadekawa is actually very good at teamwork..."
In this practical training match, Imadegawa's cooperative style with the unfamiliar team clearly broke his previous stereotypes.
Imadekawa's command was not a one-sided, forceful control, but rather based on a holistic consideration of the offensive and defensive systems.
What is particularly impressive is his keen observation skills.
Facing attackers he was playing with for the first time, Imadegawa maintained a standard ball-handling style for the first few balls, and then immediately began to test each player's hitting limits.
As for the two attackers, Oshiro and Ushijima, who had faced off in the national competition, Imadegawa was able to deliver a set ball that suited their habits from the very first ball.
They can even continue to adjust after each pass, delivering increasingly perfect passes that better showcase the attacker's abilities.
The only flaw in their coordination occurred between the first pass and the second pass.
Because Imadegawa was unfamiliar with the first pass, he rarely relied solely on sound to determine the ball's trajectory during this set. In addition to hearing, he would also turn his body and simultaneously use his eyes to track the ball's movement.
But this may not be a bad thing for Imaichi. With less psychological pressure, he can focus more on correcting minor deviations in the first pass.
In this set, his reception of the first pass was more complete, and his ball-setting arc was more restrained and precise than usual.
“Depriving Imadegawa and Hara of their teamwork advantage will actually force him to reach his true technical limits.”
Coach Jinshan paused in his writing.
He suddenly realized—
Imadegawa, who thrives in the Tsurumeikan team, and his fluid teamwork with his teammates not only exert a strong sense of pressure on their opponents, but also become a veil obscuring the true upper limit of his strength.
The tacit understanding between the first and second setters that is taken for granted, and the telepathic cooperation between the attackers and the setters, are essentially products of long-term refinement.
Now, with the familiar tacit understanding stripped away, Imadegawa has to demonstrate an astonishing level of adaptability.
He seamlessly integrated into the new team, connecting everyone within it, and effortlessly raising their potential step by step.
The pen poked a dot of ink onto the paper.
"..."
Coach Jinshan turned his head and muttered nervously to the assistant coach.
"This is even more terrifying—"
"It is a rare soil that can adapt to any seed."
The assistant coach looked at the national youth team's head coach with a bewildered expression, who was unable to suppress his twitching.
When Coach Jinshan turned around again, he saw Imadegawa complete a precise back pass without any prior coordination.
Entrusted with this ball, Ooshiro leaped higher and more gracefully than his previous records showed.
"Bang--"
The sound of the volleyball hitting the floor was so crisp it startled Coach Jinshan.
The teamwork between these two complete strangers was so smooth that it seemed as if they had rehearsed it hundreds of times.
—Imadegawa's attack once again scored easily.
Coach Jinshan's pupils dilated slightly, and a burning light ignited in his eyes.
His fingers unconsciously tightened, causing deep creases to form in the data logbook.
This is the monster he's been searching for...
In the midst of his racing heartbeat and fervor, an idea became increasingly clear in his mind: the setter's limits determine the height a team can reach.
—And this young man in front of us is redefining that ceiling.
————————
(Happy to pat all the little ones' paws—) So much fun eating and drinking with friends this weekend!
I probably won't be writing detailed match descriptions during the national youth team period—there aren't many players and I'm lacking inspiration. Later chapters will focus more on teamwork, like this one, or on daily life, like the previous ones. Those who enjoy watching matches can keep reading. Because I seem to have stretched the story a bit too far, I'll be writing at least nine official matches (the current outline tentatively includes Itayama, Inari, Saki, Furuya, Oogawa, Kazusa, Oto, and Komado), so I won't be writing about volleyball in every chapter. I can't keep writing without connecting it to daily life (plus, I'm purely inspired, I write whatever comes to mind).
(Finally, a few random thoughts about this chapter) Sorry, as a genius setter, our Xiaohe is just that authoritative ( )
A quick-witted and meticulous monster like Xiaohe can be matched with anyone—even a complete stranger is incredibly easy to understand! For Xiaohe, connecting teams is as simple as connecting circuits—
However, of course, our Crane Cry Pavilion is the perfect environment for our little cranes!!! Our little cranes, with their exceptionally strong control, only like the babies in our Crane Cry Pavilion. Their excellent teamwork with other attackers is simply because they actively cooperate and direct. But these attackers can't completely control our thoughts; they aren't our little cranes' ideal targets.
Little Crane: Let me go back to Crane's Cry Pavilion ( )
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