The second day of the All-Japan Women's Volleyball training camp has come to an end.
Today, I barely participated in the group practice and was mostly on a separate training menu by myself. Basically, I was getting special treatment. To be blunt, I was too much of a burden to join the team practice.
Even so, it was a very productive training camp.
It’s obvious, but the skill level at a prefectural tournament-losing school like Matsujo is vastly different from that of the national team. The types of drills themselves aren’t drastically different, but the technique is on another level. More than anything, their awareness is different.
Take yesterday's serving practice, for example.
Our team practices placing serves into six zones: left, right, and center — near the front or deep into the back of the court. But here at the All-Japan camp, they’re targeting areas on the 9m x 9m court in 10cm increments.
Every single play in volleyball is executed with precision and skill. Even the same serve drill is carried out with completely different intentions. Sure, we’ve always tried to aim for specific zones and adjust power, not just randomly hit the ball. But here, these players fine-tune their form down to centimeter-level discrepancies. There’s no room for compromise.
Of course, that’s only possible because of their incredibly high-level skills — but watching these girls train with such strong awareness is genuinely inspiring. That kind of pressure could be stressful, sure, but it’s not the bad kind.
So this is what it means to elevate each other.
As players, I really admire them. As people though… they’re kind of, well, questionable.
“Yuuri-chan, you’re so cute today too. What color are your panties?”
“Yuuri-chan, let’s take a bath together. I’ll even wash your back.”
…How am I supposed to respect people like this?
===
“I'm exhausted... I'm just gonna sleep now.”
As soon as I reached the room we were given, I collapsed onto the bed. I’ve already eaten, taken a bath, and changed into my pajamas. There’s nothing left to do but sleep.
Honestly, today was less about volleyball training and more about testing my limits. That’s pretty much how I spent the entire day — pushing every part of my body to the brink with intense exercises.
I mean, seriously, don’t make a high school girl squat with a barbell over six times her body weight! That’s basically child abuse!
“But, you know, a normal high school girl can’t squat 300 kilos. All the staff were gaping in shock.”
Mika-nee responded with a wry smile.
At this camp, we’re rooming in pairs. It’s a proper twin room, not like the big shared hall we stayed in during our last club camp. The facilities here are way better too. I’m impressed this place is free. The bed is super comfy. Alright, time to sle—
Before I could finish the thought, the door burst open with a loud crash.
“Yuuri-chaaan!! Comfort your onee-san!”
The person who barged in was Yumi-san.
“Sorry, Yumi. Yuuri’s wiped out and going to sleep,” said Mika-nee.
“Then your onee-san will snuggle with you.”
Ignoring Mika-nee’s words and my own intentions, Yumi-san smoothly climbed into bed right next to me. Seriously...
“Yumi-san, you want to be comfo—”
“It’s Yumi onee-san.”
…She’s such a pain.
“Yumi onee-chan, what happened that you want to be comforted?”
“Listen, Yuuri-chan! My adorable juniors lost today!”
“Huh?”
Who are these "adorable juniors"?
“Ahh, so Himesaki and the others lost in the Inter-High? Where did they lose?”
“Semifinals. Their opponent was Kinhouzan Academy. And Kanetoyama went on to win the finals too, so they did a double — Inter-High and Spring High in January.”
“So the favorite won, huh.”
“Kinhouzan’s setter is really good. Even Director Tashiro of the All-Japan team and Director Ōe of the U-23 team, who are usually super harsh on high school players, both said they wanted to call that setter to this joint training camp.”
“How good is that setter, exactly?”
“Good enough to go toe-to-toe with Satsuki in her third year of high school.”
And just like that, Yumi-san and Mika-nee sat on the bed, facing each other, and started a deep dive into high school volleyball. A match was playing on a big tablet — probably from this year’s Inter-High.
As for me, although I had been lying down, I somehow ended up sitting on Yumi-san’s lap. Isn’t this heavy?
“Like I said yesterday, Yuuri-chan, you’re way too light. You are eating... but you should eat even more. Unlike me, you’re Mika’s half-sister, so you’ve got a bright future ahead in that department too.”
Yumi-san started squeezing my chest. Is this not considered sexual harassment?
“Yuuri-chan, you’re so soothing. Soft, warm — like a life-sized healing plushie!”
She clearly has no intention of listening to me.
Forced to sit up, my gaze fell on the tablet. The screen was showing a volleyball match. One of the teams looked familiar — Himesaki.
“Is this a match from this year’s Inter-High? Honestly, compared to the people here at this training camp... they look really sloppy.”
“Of course they do. Just so you know, you guys are even sloppier than this.”
“Mika-nee, that’s not what I meant. I think they could’ve moved better. I realized something during this camp — there's probably not that big of a difference in raw physical ability between top high school players and national team players.”
For reference, the "top high school player" I’m talking about here is Reiko. Her physical ability is on par with the national team. Still don’t get why she didn’t make it in gymnastics.
Even taking Reiko as an outlier, someone like Hina isn’t that far behind either. Sure, in the elite world, even a few extra centimeters of jump height or tenths of a second of reaction time makes a huge difference. But I feel like the national team players are on another level due to something else entirely. What is it?
“...Yumi onee-chan. What do you think about when you play volleyball? Like, when you go for a spike — what’s on your mind?”
“Huh? Like, where the open spots are? Stuff like that?”
“Yuu, you’re asking the wrong person. Yumi’s what you’d call a natural — or to put it less nicely, a muscle-brained brawler. Not someone whose methods you can actually learn from. Hold on, I’ll go get Satsuki.”
“Mika, you’re being kinda harsh on me today, huh?”
“Sigh... Yumi, Yuu’s high school team lost to Himesaki in the prefectural Inter-High qualifiers. And they did it in a really traumatic way — by targeting the total beginner Yuu over and over. I get it was a serious match, but come on. Maybe you’re asking the wrong person for comfort?”
“Oof...”
Well, it was a match. I don’t hold a grudge against Himesaki or anything, but yeah... I’m not exactly eager to cheer for them either.
Still, for them to make it to the final four — that’s impressive.
・
・
・
・
・
“What’s the difference between us and high school players? Hmm, let’s see. Like Yuuri-chan said, I don’t think there’s a huge difference in terms of physical strength. Nowadays, schools that make it to nationals all follow professional-level training regimens and pay close attention to diet — well, except for your school, Yuuri-chan.”
Satsuki-san came into the room when Mika-nee called her, and without a hint of annoyance, she kindly answered my question.
“Building on that, the first major difference is physique. In volleyball, taller players have a natural advantage. Ideally, you want someone who’s tall and good at volleyball. The strong schools recruit those tall and skilled players from all over the country. But of course, there aren’t that many of them, so everyone’s competing for the same limited pool. As a result, it’s rare for a team to have every single member both tall and skilled. But here, at this camp, they’ve gathered tall and talented players from all over Japan.”
It was a valid point, but not the answer I was really looking for. I already understood that. What I wanted to know was: why does their movement look so different? That’s what I wanted to figure out.
“You’re a very honest girl, Yuuri-chan. I can see the frustration on your face. What I just explained was the groundwork. Like I said earlier, aside from exceptions like you, Yuuri-chan, this camp is full of tall and skilled players. So, what amazed you the most when practicing with them?”
“Everyone’s plays were so polished and precise.”
“Exactly. That’s the misunderstanding, Yuuri-chan. It’s not about how ‘each individual play’ looks good. Volleyball is a sport about connection. No matter how good a single play is, it means nothing by itself. For example, take your sister Mika. Watch her closely when she plays. She’s not just ‘good at receiving.’ When she makes an A-pass on a receive, you’d naturally want to end the play with a spike, right? Mika’s great at instantly opening up a path for the spiker after receiving. That allows Yumi to get a good run-up and hit a powerful spike. Every player is thinking ahead to the next play. That’s why during a rally, the flow of the game is so smooth. That’s what makes it look like high-level volleyball.”
!!
So that’s it. That’s what it was!
It’s not about each individual play!
Well... now that I think about it, it’s kind of obvious.
Even in baseball, fielders shift positions based on the catcher’s signs. Plays aren’t isolated—they connect to each other…
Wait a minute...
“Then, Satsuki-san... what do you think about when you play volleyball?”
“Good question. As for me...”
===
The third day of the All-Japan Women's Volleyball training camp also came to an end.
The final day consisted of light practice and follow-up medical checkups from days one and two. Players received advice on their health, and in some cases, suggestions to improve their diets.
The camp disbanded at 3 PM. It felt a bit early, but considering some players were flying in or taking bullet trains back to rural areas, the schedule made sense.
In just three days—or more accurately, two and a half—we didn’t become dramatically better at volleyball. But we did learn the mindset and tips that could help us become dramatically better.
They pointed out specific movements during the camp—not just my spike’s backswing. Using motion capture to analyze and improve form is an insane luxury I would never have known about if I hadn’t been here.
I even got a personalized training menu. If I stick with it, I’ll definitely get stronger.
And then there’s the “volleyball that thinks ahead.” It’s easy to say, but incredibly hard to do. Honestly, for someone like me who’s still shaky on the basics, it’s a bit early to try. But once I bring this knowledge back to Matsujo, I’m sure Asuka and the others will make good use of it (leaving it to others, of course).
I learned so much. And to put that knowledge to use, I just have to practice. The only way to improve is through practice. I want to try it right away. I want to train more.
“Hey, Yuu. What are you spacing out for? Time to head home.”
Since it was a local dismissal, Mika-nee would be returning home too—her university team’s on Obon break. That means we’re going to the same place. We walked side by side to the station.
“Hey Mika-nee. When we get back, can we do a bit of volleyball practice together? Let’s get Hina to join us too.”
Luckily or unluckily, Matsujo has no practice scheduled during Obon. The school wants everyone to take a break. Though I bet most of them will do solo training anyway.
“Oh? You’re pretty fired up, huh. Sure, let’s do it. If we’re going that far, we should rent the city gym nearby and have a full practice.”
“Depends if it’s available. Last I checked, you could rent it for 800 yen an hour if there was an opening.”
“You really know your stuff.”
“I looked it up a while ago because I wanted to practice on a Sunday.”
“Huh. Well, we’ll do that after tomorrow.”
“Why not tomorrow?”
“You’ll see when we get to the station.”
When we arrived at the station, we found Ryou-nee and Hina waiting there.
Apparently, they wanted to celebrate the one-year anniversary of my return.
Up to that point, it sounded like a sweet, heartwarming story. Right?
But then they said, “A celebration means clothes, right?” and “Obviously Tokyo has better variety,” and dragged me around to buy all kinds of super girly outfits completely opposite to my taste.
Can we not?
I’m not wearing those.
What? You already bought them and want me to change right now?
No thanks…
Wait — that’s an order from my big sister?
If I don’t change, you’ll replace all my clothes and underwear with nothing but girly stuff so I’ll have no choice but to wear them???
Huh? Because tomorrow is my “anniversary,” you want me to wear lots of cute outfits?
No, that’s basically treating me like a dress-up doll, right?
I really don’t want to...
What? It’s already decided? If I resist…
...Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tachibana Yuuri. The fourth daughter of the Tachibana family.
Yes — I am someone who can never defy my sister Ryou-nee’s commands.
...sniffle...
===
A quick note:
Why didn’t Reiko succeed in gymnastics?
→ Because she grew too tall.
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