Miya Osamu rolled his eyes. "Of course. How could you forget something that happened just half an hour ago?"
This guy's head is so full of the Little Giant right now that he's already completely forgotten the important information from just half an hour ago.
Miya Atsumu waved his hand dismissively, not having the time to argue with his brother: "I know, I know."
It's time for him to find some reference books.
Everyone dispersed to prepare to leave, but the First String's training had not yet finished.
Hinata just sat there, clutching his bag, waiting for Rishia Heisuke at the entrance of No. 2 Gymnasium.
Coach Kurosu called out to him, "Hinata, come have a chat."
"Okay." Hinata changed his shoes and entered No. 2 Gymnasium once again.
No. 2 Gymnasium was a bit smaller than No. 3 Gymnasium, but all the equipment looked newer, giving it an exclusive, elite feel.
The two sat down on the chairs by the court, Coach Kurosu was the first to strike up a conversation: "You played well in yesterday's match; your speed in following up was very fast."
However.. your decision-making on various tactical plays is a bit slow.
Hinata scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "I always look at the opponent's positioning after I jump, but I feel like sometimes I can only do a cross-court spike."
I don't know why, but maybe his reaction speed has become a bit slow.
Coach Kurosu smiled and gave a brief explanation: "Kumagai is very smart. He realized at the beginning that you don't have much experience, so the balls he gives you are basically all with instructions."
Hinata froze for a moment. "Instructions?"
Coach Kurosu lowered his eyes.
He naturally already knew how terrifying Hinata's maximum reach could be, but.. it was still far from enough.
Hinata has very little combat experience, so the balls Kumagai gives him subtly hint at exactly how he should spike.
Additionally, since single blocks and immature double blocks offer limited restriction to one's field of vision, Hinata's performance during yesterday's club tryouts went relatively smoothly, but this issue has become particularly evident after the change in the Setter.
The stronger the opponents they face, the higher the block height becomes. A sufficiently sharp Middle Blocker can make a decision the moment the ball's trajectory changes and intercept it directly in the center.
Hinata cannot rely on the Setter's judgment and instructions forever; even for Miya Atsumu, he must find the path he should take.
“Hinata, do you know the Little Giant?” Coach Kurosu looked up and asked the boy beside him.
Hearing those three words, Hinata's thoughts, which had been immersed in the previous question, instantly snapped back. "Karasuno's Little Giant! I super like him!"
It wasn't just a matter of liking him.
When he watched the other's match on television several years ago, it marked the beginning of his fascination with volleyball.
Seeing him get so excited, Coach Kurosu smiled knowingly. "That Little Giant once tore through a three-man iron wall of 190cm during a match; he didn't rely on just speed and jumping."
“Observation, thinking, experience.” Coach Kurosu watched quietly as the others continued their serve practice on the court.
The ability to choose a tactic isn't limited to the moment of an aerial battle; observation during the approach and final adjustments during the jump are all vital components.
Observation..
Hinata silently took Coach Kurosu's words to heart. Although he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to observe yet, he needed to have a basic concept of it.
Coach Kurosu's voice was gentle yet firm: "No one can stay at the peak forever; perhaps the next person to surpass them will arrive soon."
But.. never be afraid.
Hinata nodded slightly.
He never considered himself to be the tallest one; while height was certainly his advantage, it was only so for himself.
Whether it was Kumagai or Rishia, with the addition of strength, his simple height alone was somewhat insufficient.
Coach Kurosu continued, "The net is never just about one person. Whether it's the setter or the other teammates, everyone shares the pressure and works together to create openings."
“Of course, it's the same for you.”
Hinata stared intently at the members of the First String, but the words he had just heard kept echoing in his mind.
After a long time, Coach Kurosu finally stated the purpose of his conversation: "We have scheduled a practice match for next weekend, our opponent is the veteran powerhouse, Karasuno."
I hope you can join the team this time, because there is a player I think you should get to know.
"A player I should know?" Hinata was somewhat puzzled.
In the case of Karasuno, having giants nearly two meters tall, yet acting as the ace with a height of only 169 centimeters..
Hoshiumi Hikari, come here.
He is also the undisputed Little Giant that the media talks about right now.
Hinata's eyes widened.
Author's Note:
Foxes belong to the canine family, tangerine puppies are also canines!
Chapter 8: The Eighth Fox
There was still time before the scheduled practice match, during this time, Coach Kurosu had been intentionally or unintentionally focusing heavily on Hinata's fundamentals, especially when it came to receiving.
Since there was no intention to use him in the short term, there was no need to focus all the emphasis on adjusting the offense.
Receiving and serving are the most critical components, they must be addressed immediately.
And because they were in the same group as Hinata, Kumagai and the others were also being forced to practice Connecting Balls together.
Coach Kurosu stood on a ladder, raising his hands to spike one ball after another down, forcing everyone to line up to receive the serve.
His physical build and strength were both not weak, his spikes from this distance were basically no different from those of a high school wing spiker.
Kumagai, who had previously thought his receiving was decent enough, couldn't help but feel a bit disheveled.
Kumagai! Speed up your diving!
Hinata! How many times have I told you not to get into a ready stance first? Once you judge the landing spot, move quickly into position, then assume your stance!
When you dive, land in the order of your arms, then your chest and abdomen, finally your legs. Don't just slam yourself straight into the floor!
Next!
Once again, Hinata's center of gravity lowered as he stared intently at Coach Kurosu's movements.
Move first, then ensure you use the front of your arms to receive the ball..
With a loud bang, Coach Kurosu raised his hand and slammed a spike toward the area just ahead of Hinata's diagonal.
Through the muscle memory formed during these past few days of training, Hinata instantly judged the approximate landing spot of the ball.
—About one and a half steps away at the three o'clock position to his right.
A ball at this distance should..
“Ugh!”
Hinata's first step was too large, causing him, who had originally intended to take a step and a half, to collide head-on with the ball on his very first step.
The volleyball hit him directly in the chest, knocking him all the way to the ground.
The world spun before his eyes. Hinata didn't see the volleyball at all; all he could see in his field of vision were the sneakers of the person behind him.
Above, Coach Kurosu let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
He suddenly felt that Hinata should be thrown into the Third String for a round of training; the progress here was indeed a bit too fast.
But the results were visible to the naked eye; at the very least, Hinata's receives were no longer based solely on instinct, but were backed by basic judgment.
In the end, he spoke up, "Hinata, Kumagai, take the first string and do two laps of diving around the court."
“Yes, sir!”
The two responded. Kumagai followed behind Hinata with a look of agony, preparing to dive.
Help me.. why is Hinata still so full of energy..
On the other side, Miya Atsumu, who was still practicing serves as usual, took a sharp breath. "That's terrifying."
Miya Osamu glanced at Hinata, who had already started diving: "His movements are much cleaner than before."
When they first started practicing, they would basically just fall straight face-down onto the floor, scaring Coach Omimi so much that he wouldn't let them continue until he had set up mats for them to practice on for an entire day.
Suna said expressionlessly, "Receiving spikes is fine, but practicing counterattacks is what's truly painful."
When practicing counterattacks, they basically never got up from the floor, by the end of the practice, their minds were completely clouded.
Just then, a hellish voice reached everyone's ears: "Tomorrow morning, we will focus on practicing counterattacks and receiving serves."
The second-year students turned around and saw Akagi Michinari walking toward them while holding a ball.
As the team's Libero, Akagi naturally feared no receive drills.
And Miya Atsumu's vision went black.
Help, he really doesn't want to practice this.
At the end of the direction where Akagi was walking, Rishia Heisuke and Unabara Uta were already lying flat on the ground.
I can't train anymore, I really can't train anymore..
Next group, come over here.
While Hinata and the others were diving around the court, Coach Kurosu also called over the next group from the Second String.
Before this, he had actually considered whether or not to place Hinata in the Middle Blocker position, since at this stage, the Quick Attack was basically the responsibility of the Middle Blocker.
Moreover, if he played as a Middle Blocker, he could relax quite a bit regarding receiving serves, which is the most time-consuming task.
But.. with an answer already available, playing Middle Blocker is clearly not the optimal solution.
Inarizaki's strength lies in its powerful overall ability. Hinata's height means he is destined to have no significant breakthrough in the other duty of a Middle Blocker—blocking.
If that's the case, it would be better to move him to the wing spiker position like Karasuno, but then receiving would become an obstacle that he simply cannot avoid no matter what.
Aran himself is an ace capable of both attacking and defending, Suna and Oori are already doing a great job at blocking.
An ideal lineup would actually involve placing wing spikers capable of performing quick attacks to split the block on both sides of Aran, one of them is Miya Osamu.
As for what comes after that.. I suppose it will depend on how the lineup is arranged next year.