31 Coach Soma's Decision
Inside the room reserved for PE instructors, where Coach Soma Yage of the volleyball team frequently stays, he pondered upon the question that was drilling itself inside his brain.
"Who the heck will I put in the starting seven?"
He was already sure of the six players, but one playing position in particular is his current point of concern. The second left wing spiker….who will it be?
When the team manager reported to him about Toshiro's condition after the check-up, it showed the results that the assistant manager of the team was right on her initial hypothesis. Fukuzawa Toshiro is indeed having a bad eyesight. This can easily be corrected, though, with the right grade of spectacles.
Which brings him to his biggest concern – will he resume starting with Fukuzawa as the OH, assuming that his performance will be back to normal with the aid of his glasses, or will he give merit to the rookie, Asuma Genji, who showed an incredible performance during the last game they played against Itachiyama?
Will he go for consistency? Or will he add a spear in their arsenal that's still rough around the edges?
"Ugh." He sighed, just thinking about his choices.
They're only three days away from the start of the Inter-High Prefectural Qualifiers, and today, the team is actually recording the new stats of the players, to be submitted in the official players list of the tournament organizing committee.
Hijikata Kayo was away for she accompanied Toshiro in an appointment towards an ophthalmologist to get him some glasses. So the responsibility of measuring the player's stats was left to Kamiya Megumi, the assistant manager.
They were inside the gym, measuring stuff like the player's height, weight, etc., when Coach Soma stepped in to take a look at the ongoing stat assessment. The players were making a running approach towards the basketball ring, where their fingertips were marked with chalk so that the manager can measure the height of their jump reach.
Kouen recently finished his jump to measure his running vertical, and Hiro was the last to be measured for the second years. After him, the first years, starting from Asuma, will be measured.
"Kouen-san, 334cm." Megumi said.
Kouen showed no particular reaction to his jump reach measurement, so he just sat around the corner and waited to the others to finish. Now, it's Hiro's turn to jump. From the free throw line, he ran towards the rim, then jumped as if he was in form to spike.
"Hiro-san, 337cm." The manager commented.
'High, but not enough.' Hiro thought to himself. He glanced at Kouen, who also caught his eye, as if to agree. 'Yeah, not high enough.' It was like he was slapped in the face by the 169cm Hoshiumi Kourai's 342cm jump stat. Now, Asuma moved to show the height of his jump.
He made an audible kick to the floor as he willed himself up, until his fingers made contact with the rim.
"Asuma-kun, 333cm."
'That's high.' It is, given Asuma's height which is only 168cm. 'That means he's got a longer hang time.'
[FAQ / Volleyball Trivia: To make this clear, a running vertical reach is different from jump height, also known as hang time. It's also different from block height. The running vertical measures the height from which the body jumps away from the floor, meaning, the height of how high the player can reach for his spike, basically the distance from the floor towards the tip of the player's fingertips. Hang time, on the other hand, measures the height from which the leg of the player jumps away from the floor, meaning the height of how high the player can actually jump, basically the distance between the floor and the player's legs which are flying in midair. So, the higher the hang time, the longer it is for the player to stay in the air.
In my opinion, in the canon, when Kageyama told Hinata that he can 'fly higher', he meant that Hinata can jump higher than Hoshiumi because he is lighter compared to him. Also, he has a longer hang time than Kourai. The 'BOOM' vertical jump of Hinata actually measures 342cm too, like Hoshiumi's, but Hinata has a higher hangtime because his legs stayed longer in the air. Remember that Hoshiumi is taller than Hinata by a few centimeters.
Block height, on the other end, is similar to doing a running vertical, only without actually doing the 'running' part. No momentum, meaning, slightly lower block height, compared to when there is a proper run up.]
Coach Soma was once again amazed by how high the little spiker can jump. Just in time for that, Toshiro and Kayo arrived, the former already wearing some glasses.
"Introducing our new member in the team, Megane-kun." The manager said upon her entrance.
[Megane-kun = four eyes]
Kouha snickered from her remarks but the spiker didn't mind it. What caught his attention was the jump he just witnessed. The jump made by the rookie who substituted him during the game against Itachiyama. He felt like he just lost his position to the kid, and he understands why.
"Kakuzo-kun, 340cm"
In the end, it was Kakuzo who had the highest contact point, followed by Hiro and Kouha, who both measured at 337cm.
"Yosh, yosh." Coach Soma clapped his hands. "Gather round." And the players huddled around him.
He took a piece of paper from his pocket, and showed it to the members. It contained the tournament brackets for the Inter-High Qualifiers.
"As you can see, our team is seeded since we had a good performance in the last tournament. That means, we will be playing directly in the second round." He pointed to their school name.
"Oh – coach, that means were amazing right?!" Genji asked.
"Heck, yes, Genji. 'Course we are!" Gai responded on behalf of the coach.
They small talked some more, but Toshiro felt that the coach was avoiding an anticipated thing the entire time. He didn't voice it out during the huddle, instead he waited for the proper time to talk to his coach about it.
The practice went on in the afternoon, and once it was done, Toshiro excused himself for a while to talk to their coach who was in deep thought while sitting on the bench. "Coach?" This somehow startled Soma.
"Ah, yeah. Toshiro."
"Are you thinking about who to put in the starting left wing position?" He didn't beat around the bush anymore and went directly to the point.
A single bead of sweat dripped from his forehead, when he faced that direct inquiry by his player. He wasn't able to give a coherent reply, just an "Uh."
"I see." Toshiro looked down, then continued. "Maybe because you are thinking too much based on the player's perspective. My perspective, specifically."
Soma's hands were now sweating. How can he be pressured like this when he's the actual coach?!
"Don't worry too much about it, coach. I've always wanted to play, but what's more important for me is the overall dynamic of the team. So don't pressure yourself by trying to think about me wanting to play as a starter. Think of what's better for the team. The choice is so obvious."
The coach can't believe what Toshiro just said. 'Is he really - ?'
"I can contribute in any way I can. Pardon me if I sound rude on this, but please make your decision by putting the team first, before the feelings of your individual players. Of course, I want to play there. But that doesn't mean you should choose me over the much better option." He flashed him a genuine, selfless smile. "I don't care if I can't play that much, as long as we are winning."
"TOSHIRO-SENPAI!" Asuma Genji shouted, and Toshiro turned in time to catch the ball that was thrown his way. "SORRY! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO RETRIEVE THE BALL AND PUT IT IN THE CONTAINER BUT KAKUZO CHALLENGED ME TO RECEIVE HIS SPIKE!" Toshiro just laughed from the antics of their freshmen.
Before he walked away from the coach, he said. "Don't worry about me, coach."
When Soma returned to his house that night, he remembered the wise words given to him by the veteran Coach Washijo of Shiratorizawa.
'The overwhelming sense of hunger that is experienced in trying to overcome a wall of pure physical strength. Whether one is conscious of it or not, whether it exerts a positive or a negative impact, it is something that well and truly exists. For people like us, what is bestowed upon are not those innate talents, but that insatiable hunger. Be careful, Coach Soma. You might encounter people like this kid too. And once you do, hone them, and let their hunger invade you too. Take the risk, and surprise me with your decisions.'
"Surprises, huh?" He said out loud, and took out a piece of paper to write down his starting seven for the Inter-High Qualifiers:
--
S – Ginoza Kouen (2nd Year) 183cm
OPP – Ginoza Kouha (3rd Year) 186cm
OH – Sukiyata Maki (3rd Year, Captain) 178cm
OH – Asuma Genji (1st Year) 168cm
MB – Arakata Hiroaki (2nd Year) 188cm
MB – Kakuzo Ryohei (1st Year) 191cm
L – Hiyorin Gaito (3rd Year) 167cm
