Chapter 35 – First Summer Training Camp – Night Meeting

 

The first night meeting of the first summer training camp begins. It's a time to discuss what kind of team we want to build heading into the Spring High qualifiers in November, but…

“The moment I speak as a supervising teacher, it might be mistaken for the right answer, so I’ll keep quiet at the start. Uesugi-sensei feels the same. Now then, how do you all want to fight from here on out?”

That’s the first thing Saeki-sensei said—she’d stay quiet at first. For better or worse, it seems Saeki-sensei wants to let us play volleyball in a way that makes us think for ourselves.

She said:
“At the recent Inter-High qualifiers, the strong teams—Himesaki and Tamaki Commercial—had players who were capable of thinking on their feet during matches. I don’t intend to give up on teaching or guiding you, but at the same time, I want you all to develop the habit of thinking on your own.”

And so, it’s our turn to think: how do we want to fight?

First, the current situation.
The third-years have retired, and there were no second-years to begin with. All current members are first-years. The team we had up until June (which Eri-senpai described as being centered on me and Reiko, though I’m not sure she was even aware of that herself) was without a doubt centered on her.

That team had a foundation—Eri-senpai, a third-year and the team's cornerstone. Me and Reiko were added to that structure, and that's how the team took shape. Now that the cornerstone is gone, we have to rebuild from the ground up.

…Probably, traditional teams are the exact opposite of us.

Take for example a team known for its strong serves. If it had members from first to third year with that shared trait, even when the third-years retire and the team is rebuilt, it would still focus on serving. That team, led by second-years, would continue to emphasize serving, and when the next generation comes in, it would again be a strong serving team.

Or like Tamaki Commercial—when a single coach continues leading for many years, a team naturally develops a distinctive style.

But in our case, our coaching continuity was cut between last year and this year. And on the player side, that connection was severed in July too.

Those of us who were originally in the volleyball club (with beginner-level drills also tailored for me and Reiko) didn’t really inherit any traditional Matsubara Girls’ High volleyball style.

As for Mirai and the three who joined later, they’re starting completely from scratch.

Still, that comes with its own advantages. While we have to build everything from zero, we also have a lot of diversity. So then, what kind of team should we aim for?

Let’s start by looking at the three new members. I had a hunch before, but today we ran a variety of drills, so now I can be confident in assessing their skill.

All three of them have greater overall athletic ability than the third-years who retired. Well, by the time you’re in high school, the physical difference between first-year and third-year girls isn’t as pronounced as it is for boys.

Interestingly, their desired positions each match up with the three third-years who retired. So let’s compare them accordingly.

First up is Mirai.

Despite a three-year gap since junior high, she’s already better at volleyball than me or Reiko. Same goes for Hina, who also had a three-year gap—she’s still better than me, so it’s not that surprising.

Her preferred position is setter.

Maybe it’s her natural athletic sense, but her receive, toss, serve, block, and spike are all on par or better than Miho-senpai, who held that position until June.

Mirai’s also taller and has better jumping ability.

But does that make her a clear upgrade over Miho-senpai? Not quite. Mirai’s specialty as a setter is fast, short, and low tosses. But our team's ace is me—and Reiko.

To capitalize on our height, we’ve always used high tosses. Especially for me, since I can jump higher than the block, there’s no need for a quick, low toss to avoid it.

Frankly, her being a setter is a bit of a mismatch. We already have Hina as our main setter. Hina is taller and her tosses are more precise—personally, I find them easier to hit.

If we compare setter ability between her and Hina, they each have strengths and weaknesses.

Mirai’s personality leans more toward spiker anyway, so I’d rather she switch to wing spiker. Though, she’s all fired up about becoming a setter—even if it means pushing Hina aside…

Next, Kaori.

Right now, she’s worse at receiving than me or Reiko. Honestly, she’s the worst in the club.

But there’s a reason—like me and Reiko, in junior high she played in a way where, “Leave the receiving to someone else. Focus on blocking and spiking. Swap with the libero when rotating to the back.”

That’s how she played.

In fact, her spiking and blocking are better than mine or Reiko’s. And while her general receive is weak, she’s practiced hard on specific ones—like recovering from absorbed hits or loose balls after a block—and she’s better than us in those.

If we compare her to Yui-senpai, it’s like trading receive and toss skills for better spike, block, and overall athleticism.

Lastly, Mana.

I hate to say it, but right now she’s a lower-tier version of Eri-senpai. She only played from fall of second-year to summer of third-year in junior high. Comparing her skills to Eri-senpai, who played from the start of junior high through high school, is a tall order.

She said, “When I was in middle school, this one skill was guaranteed to be used in matches, so I practiced it the most.”

That skill—her serve—is definitely above average. But compared to Eri-senpai’s, it’s still a bit lacking.

That said, like Eri-senpai, Mana uses a no-spin floater serve.

But it’s not like Mana doesn’t have anything going for her. As I said earlier, her physical ability is better than Eri-senpai’s.

She’s got solid athletic instincts, too. Even with limited experience and a long gap, she’s already better than Kaori—maybe even me or Reiko—when it comes to receiving.

 

So, how should we build the team based on all this?

If we want a team similar to what we had up to June, the most seamless option would be swapping Mana in for Eri-senpai and Kaori in for Yui-senpai. That setup would probably work smoothly.

But then we’d have to leave Mirai—the most well-rounded of the new members—off the starting lineup.

So then, should we put Mirai in?

Well, she wants to be a setter. If we pair her with Hina, are we going for a two-setter strategy?

We’ve got time until November, so it’s not impossible.
And it’s not just Mirai—Hina’s good at spiking too. If we go all-in on offensive firepower, having three front-row spikers at all times is certainly tempting. But… does that mean we give up on the two-attack option?

There's still time until November, so it’s not an unreasonable idea. And it’s not just Mirai—Hina’s spiking is solid too. If we’re going all-in on offensive power, having three front-row spikers at all times is definitely attractive. But... are we really giving up on two-attacks?

“Hey. Shouldn’t we first decide on the team’s core—its direction?”

As I was pondering what to do, Mirai brought up the idea of deciding our team’s direction.

“Mirai, didn’t you say that before?”

“I’ll say it as many times as it takes, because I think it’s important. How are we going to fight? Looking back on our practices, I don’t think it’s wrong to build the team around Japan (Yuuri) and Reiko.”

“No. As pathetic as it is to admit, putting me and Yuuri on the same level isn’t realistic. Yuuri can spike from a height no one can block, and her spikes are more powerful than mine. She’s not just above Himesaki—she could hold her own even in the pros. But my spikes... don’t even work on Himesaki.”

Seems like Reiko is still traumatized by getting stuffed over and over in our match against Himesaki a month ago.

“I think saying Reiko’s spikes didn’t work is selling yourself short, but yeah… compared to Yuu-chan, I get why it’s tough. Her spikes are ridiculously high and powerful—it’s just not normal.”

“Yuuri, at this rate, I think the team will naturally be built around you as the core attacker. Even when you rotate to the back, I imagine we’ll have you participate with back-row attacks. Are you okay with that?”

Yuki asked me. Actually, everyone was looking at me.

“I know I can jump higher and hit harder than most people. If it’s spiking, leave it to me.”

I declared. At this point, everyone was coming along for the ride with me.

“And also, I suck at receiving, so I’m counting on you guys to cover for me ♪”

I quickly laid down the groundwork. No point in acting tough—I can’t do what I can’t do.

“Tch. Fine, whatever. We’ll cover for you in that area. But Japan (Yuuri ), until now, you’ve been subbed out for the libero when you were in the back row, right? Can you even hit back attacks?”

“I can. Honestly, if you just give me a toss that’s high enough anywhere on the court, I can hit it.”

“Well, considering your serve is basically a spike from the end line, yeah… I guess you really can hit those.”

“Still, with spiking technique that crazy, how come you suck at receiving and setting?”

“Ah, that’s because Yuu-chan and Reiko have only ever practiced hitting high balls from anywhere on the court, without worrying about receiving or setting.”

“So in other words, if they actually practiced, Yuuri-chan and Reiko could learn to receive and set?”

“There’s potential. Yuuri’s motor learning is above average, and Reiko learns even faster.”

“Then maybe we should have both of them practice receiving—”

“Hold on. That’s the real issue here. Should we have Japan and Reiko play defense too? Or should we just cover for them and let them go full offense?”

“If Yuuri plays in the back row without subbing out, our floor defense takes a huge hit. Even if volleyball is a game about scoring points, that’s still a problem.”

“So, Yuki-chan, you’re saying Yuuri should play defense too?”

Yuki nodded. Well, yeah—she’s had to deal with all the trouble I caused...

“Wait. I’m against that. Yuu-chan’s strength is her height and power—like a guy. That’s how we’ve been winning. We should aim to be the kind of team that scores 25 points before the other team does.”

“Yeah, but it’s meaningless if the other team gets to 25 first. I’m not saying she needs to be able to dig every hard ball.”

“If we’re going to have her practice, let’s focus on net play—getting balls near the net. Yuuri’s got great jumping ability. She’s excellent as a blocker.”

“But that means no practice for defending against hard spikes, right? Isn’t that pointless? Wouldn’t it be better for her to just work on her spiking technique? If Yuuri-chan could also hit parallel and broad attacks, no one could stop her.”

The debate started to split over what to do with me. Hmm. What should we do?

“Hold it. Let’s pause there for a second. First, let’s just share positive ideas. Yeah, maybe we should shift the topic. Whether Yuuri focuses on defense or offense aside, if she plays even in the back row, what court position should she be in? Looking at it from another angle might give us some new insight.”

It was Saeki-sensei who stepped in to calm the growing disagreement. She started writing on the whiteboard.

Net
------------------
① Yuu ②

③ ④ ⑤
------------------
End Line

“Okay, don’t worry about serving rotations and the complicated stuff. Let’s think about when Yuuri rotates into the front-center. Who should be in spots ① through ⑤?”

“Since Yuu-chan’s the super ace, the classic setup is to place the main setter at position ④, opposite her.”

“Then that would be me.”

“Why would you be the main setter, Mirai? That’s Hina’s role, right?”

“Oh, but listen. Mirai’s crazy good even though she used to play basketball. And both Hina and Mirai are solid spikers too. I think we should run with a two-setter formation. What do you think?”

“I agree. Honestly, based on today’s practice, either I or Mana should be on the bench.”

“...It’s not like Kaori or Mana are bad though...”

“Anyway, let’s follow Sensei’s advice and stick to positive ideas for now. If we go with a two-setter system, that means placing Hina and Mirai in opposite positions, like this?”

Net
------------------
S Yuu ②

③ ④ S
------------------
End Line

Note: S = Setter (Hina or Mirai)

“When it comes to block height, Reiko’s the next tallest after me, so it’s better if we’re not on the court at the same time, right?”

“Yeah. So in that case, we could put Reiko at position ③, away from Yuuri. Reiko subs out for the libero when in the back. That means we should have someone who also subs for the libero in the opposite position, ②. Then it’d look like this?”

Net
------------------
S Yuu ★
Rei ④ S
------------------
End Line

Note: S = Hina or Mirai
★ = Kaori or Mana

“Then ④ left would be Asuka. Huh. Can we win with this lineup?”

“...Honestly, it’s not bad.”

“Seeing everyone in actual positions really brings it to life. Okay, now back to whether or not Yuu-chan should defend...”

“Wait. Now that we’ve settled court positions, why don’t we go ahead and settle player roles too?”

 ・

・

・

・

After that, we argued about serve order, positions, strategy… a whole bunch of stuff. We didn’t settle everything, not by a long shot. But before we knew it, the clock read 9:30 PM.

“Alright, let’s wrap it up for today. We’ve still got three days left in this training camp. And plenty of summer vacation ahead. No need to rush all the answers now.”

It was Uesugi-sensei who brought the meeting to a close.

“Ehh~ But it’s only 9:30! Isn’t it too early to sleep?”

“Who said anything about sleeping? Hey, you all brought your summer homework like I told you to, right?”

...So that’s what this is about.

“For the next hour, it’s homework time. I won’t accept ‘we were at training camp’ as an excuse for not getting it done.”

Day one of camp. Looks like it’s far from over.

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