The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 301 First Team Meeting

A moment later, Akira finally arrived at the building, just to find out that not a single player took notice of his appearance. They all were too busy gathering around the two freshmen, chatting and laughing as if they were long-lost friends. Not that he couldn't blame them, though. Hell, a small, fond smile even formed on his face as he watched their interaction, feeling relief that no one made a fuss about their kouhai entering a professional team.

He wiped out that smile quickly, though, as he walked through the court and coughed, stopping all the interaction there. "Well, good to see that everyone has already gathered here. For now, let's sit down first and talk about our future."

This announcement alone was enough to make all the players move from the spot and sit in front of the coach. Even though the playful expression from chatting with each other was still there, Akira could see the focus was back on him, and he nodded in a satisfied manner for that.

"Okay, first of all, congratulations to Yuki and Riku who managed to break through the Thunder U-19 main team and showed a good performance for the last couple of weeks. Now, they are on almost all the professional clubs' radar and would be treated as a professional player too." Applauses followed the explanation as everyone looked at the two rookies in awe. "Now, is there anything you both want to share from your experience there?"

The corner of Riku's lips twitched in annoyance and Yuki could see why. They both came here under the impression of going for an emergency meeting, yet the first thing Akira did was throw them under the bus.

"Well, how should I say it..." Yuki pondered, taking over the conversation. "No offense to you guys, but even though we are just in the U-19 competition, everyone was a level higher than in the Inter-high tournament. The players there know how to fight for their own and do not always rely on their teammates, and even the specialist players are still better overall compared to us."

Riku also nodded in agreement.

"What about Konan or Matsukita?" Ogawa suddenly asked. "Can you compare those two teams with the pros?"

"This..." Yuki and Riku stared at each other, hesitating. However, it wasn't them who answered that question, but Akira.

Akira shook his head quickly, trying to banish that thought for now. Looking at the downcast expression on his players' faces, he clapped his hand loudly to gain their attention.

"Okay, that is a story for another time. For now, let's focus on what we are going to do first." Even though the negative aura still lingered among the players, they all put it aside to focus on the coach one more time. "Well, thanks to Riku and Yuki for sharing their experience. Now, let's jump onto our main topic, the winter tournament."

All of them straightened their back immediately at that.

"As all you know, the winter tournament will start in the first week of November, which is still two months from now. However, we will start our preparation from tomorrow."

This stunned half of the players there. "From tomorrow?" Koji repeated the coach's words hesitantly. "But is it a bit too... Early?"

"I know." Akira nodded in acknowledgment. "But here is the thing. I heard from someone that Konan High and Matsukita had already started practicing for the winter break a week ago. So, if the two championship teams have already been one step forward, how would you chase them if not by working twice as hard as them?"

At first, most of them were startled, but their spirits burned immediately when Akira mentioned them chasing the two championship teams. Although they knew they were still far from those two teams, having been improving themselves during the summer training had given them the confidence to think about it. And now, with their two super rookies back on the team, they finally dared to dream more.

"Good expression." Akira nodded in approval. "For now, go back home first and rest well, because after this, I will not show any mercy for you all. The training will be started fifteen minutes after the school is over, and whoever comes late will have to clean the gymnasium after the training is over, is that acceptable?!"

"Yes, Coach!"

And that was the beginning of a new story, of how Tsunemori High tried to repeat their miraculous performance for the Inter-high to the winter tournament. As for how it went, well, who knew? But as long as they worked harder than anyone else, they all believed that they would achieve something at the end of the journey.