The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Okay, first things first, please, all the liberos stand up and follow Sasaki. Your training menu will be different today," Sato announced as everyone gathered back at the court after breakfast.

Despite the confusion, four players walked out of the line and followed the white-haired man to the basketball court next to where they had gathered, which had probably been transformed by the staff to serve as their second court.

After everything settled down, Sato turned around to the thirteen players in front of him and asked, "Quick question: What is the first thing you do in a volleyball game?"

"… Lining up?" one of them said hesitantly.

"He means the serve, idiot!"

"I know that!"

Sato just snorted, amused by the players' antics. "Well, you both aren't wrong. But Aizawa is correct. I do mean the serve." Aizawa looked at the others with a smug expression when Sato confirmed he was right. "Okay, listen, guys. I've seen your performance from the sidelines yesterday, and I've also read Hasebe-kun's evaluation from yesterday's mini-tournament. I hate to say this, but most of you stink behind the service line."

Some of the players bristled at that, while others looked at Sato in disbelief. The old man just raised his eyebrows slightly, unimpressed by their glares. "What? Do you think what you showed us yesterday is good enough? Out of 18 players I saw, only Kobayashi-kun, Aizawa-kun, and Ichiro-kun managed to impress me. As for the rest of you, with your current abilities, your presence on the service line only gives your opponents a chance to attack. It would be better if you stayed away from that spot and let any pinch server on your team handle it."

All of them—even the three players mentioned above—winced unconsciously at his harsh critique.

"Well, it's good for you that you're here to learn. So, first, grab a ball and form a line now!"

Upon hearing that order, everyone scrambled immediately, searching for a ball to grab before returning to their positions. They completed the task in ten seconds, which made Sato satisfied, as it meant they understood that this was their chance to improve themselves.

"Well, you probably know your weaknesses better than anyone else here. Most of you lack control and technique, while many of you also don't know how to perform a jump serve. So, I'm going to help you gain control and become more creative with it. Let me see your serves first."

After that, Sato started checking their serves, correcting their approaches, swings, tosses, hits—everything. He was trying to eliminate any unnecessary movements they had been doing while serving. Those who had learned their serves by themselves needed to correct a lot more than those who had received a little help while learning theirs. Fortunately, everyone here was a fast learner, so the process was more enjoyable.

After all the corrections were done, Sato took them to a wall with various red circles on it. "As you can see, there are red circles on the wall, and that is your target next. This will teach you how to aim your serve and train your accuracy as well. So, let's start the training!" Sato clapped his hands.

Everyone nodded and began trying to aim their serves at the red circles on the wall. After a couple of minutes of practice, Sato left them in Hasebe's hands as he went to check on the liberos' progress. By the time the alarm that signaled their lunch rang, Yuki was sure that all he could see now was the red circles on the wall and the ball.

"Okay, everyone! Go grab your lunch! See you at two, okay?"

"Yes, Sir!"

-0-

"Man, this is so boring!" Riku whined as he picked up food from his lunch box. "I know it's necessary, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I want more action!"

Yuki just snorted at that. "Lower your voice, will you? If Sato-sensei overhears that, you'll be finished." That was when Riku realized that they were still in the middle of a crowd. He quickly covered his mouth, looking at Yuki sheepishly.

"A-Ano… Kobayashi-san…?" A meek voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. When Yuki turned around, he saw someone he never expected to initiate a conversation approach him.

"Is there anything wrong, Sawada-kun?" Yuki asked curiously. Yes, the boy in front of him was Nobuhiro Sawada, Konan High's talented setter.

"A-Ano…" Sawada glanced around nervously while trying to avoid Yuki's questioning gaze. However, after a few seconds, the shy boy finally gathered the confidence to say what he wanted, suddenly bowing his head and asking, "Can you teach me how to serve?"

"Eh?"

Not just Yuki and Riku, but everyone who listened to the conversation was dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Sawada to be bold enough to ask his future competitor to train him, and right in the middle of lunch break.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Tanaka suddenly chimed in. "I saw how you served, Kobayashi-kun, and it would be a lie to say I'm not impressed. It would be a great help if you could advise me on how to do it."

"Count me in!"

"Me too!"

Suddenly, everyone grew excited over the prospect that the best server in the camp would help them with their serve training. Overwhelmed by this unexpected enthusiasm, Yuki realized that he couldn't easily reject their request. After pondering for a moment, he finally said, "Let's discuss it with Sato-sensei first, okay? If he allows us to do some extra training, I will be happy to help."

-0-

Still, even though Yuki had promised to help them all, they didn't get a chance to ask for permission as Sato began the next training session. When they returned to the court, they were surprised to see many circles in different colors on one side and a big red 'X' in the middle of the other side.

"Okay, your next break is in two hours, so for the first hour, you are going to serve at those circles," Sato instructed, pointing at the side with the circles. "Just like before, you will form a line, and when it's your turn to serve, I will pick a color, and you must aim your serve at the chosen colored circle. If your serve lands on the specific circle I ask you to aim for, I will count it as a service ace. If you miss, I will count it as an out. Every out will be punished with five serves against the wall, and at the end of the day, Hasebe-kun will tell you how many outs you have and how many wall serves you must do as a penalty. Got it?"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yes, Sir!"

"As for the other hour, you will go to the other side of the court and serve wherever you want, except for the area marked with the big red 'X.' Do you know why that particular area is marked? Yes, Kobayashi-kun?" Sato pointed at Yuki, who had raised his hand.

"Because that's where the libero will be during the game," Yuki answered, fully aware that this training method resembled the way he had trained serves with Riku in the past.

"Good observation, Kobayashi-kun," Sato nodded, satisfied. "The first drill has one rule: Don't miss the target. Meanwhile, the second drill has two rules: Don't miss and don't aim at the libero. Once again, every mistake equals five wall serves. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Well, let's start this session!"