The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

If being called to the front was something Yuki hadn't expected, the request to reveal one of his most powerful tricks was enough to make him frown. He knew that Sato's purpose in making this request was to demonstrate to everyone that a service ace wasn't necessarily a powerful one, but the players in front of him were his future rivals. It would put him at a disadvantage if they knew the secret behind his trick before facing each other.

"Kobayashi-kun, I know I'm asking a lot, but I don't think you need to worry about your secret being revealed," Sato said. It seemed that Yuki's concern was apparent as he froze on the spot for a few seconds.

"… What do you mean?" Yuki finally asked.

"I know you learned that trick from Sekine, and you don't have to worry about me knowing him since we share mutual connections," Sato explained. "My point is, I know Sekine has been working on a project promoting trick serves like yours to all the head coaches in Tokyo. The last time I heard from him, it seems he's close to achieving that. So, if I'm not mistaken, your trick will be revealed before summer is over, so I don't think it would make a difference if you showed them now."

Yuki was dumbfounded by this revelation. He had no idea that Sato and Sekine were connected—something he should have considered, given that they were both significant figures from the same generation in Japan's volleyball world.

Regarding Sekine's project, Yuki was aware of it too, as the old man always dreamed of enabling any Japanese player to make a name for themselves based on their serving arsenals. To achieve that, Sekine worked hard to convince all the volleyball coaches he met to prioritize serving training rather than just training their players to execute powerful serves. For a serve trainer like Sekine, this was a big deal.

Yuki was happy to hear that Sekine was one step away from achieving his dream. However, he was also in a dilemma because he didn't know whether he should agree to Sato's request. Even if the secret would soon be revealed, that didn't mean he wanted to expose it himself.

Seeing the hesitation on Yuki's face, Sato sensed the boy needed one last push, so he continued speaking. "Here's my final attempt to persuade you: it doesn't matter whether they know your trick or not, because you know what?"

"… What?" Yuki asked with a blank expression.

"Because you have a creative mind and enough serving arsenal for your opponents. As long as you don't let them predict your moves, you will be fine."

After pondering for a moment, Yuki finally sighed in resignation. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Atta boy!" Sato grinned, patting his back. Then he turned toward the players, who looked on with curiosity, and said, "Since Kobayashi-kun is volunteering to demonstrate the serve, except for Ichiro-kun and Miyauchi-kun, please go behind the line."

Everyone immediately followed the order, eager to see what Sato had in store. Yuki took a deep breath, grabbing the ball while concentrating on the two players on the other side of the net. Aside from the liberos, Ichiro and Miyauchi were probably the strongest defenders in the group, as they had been able to handle his serve a few times. It would be quite a challenge to try to break through their defense with just one trick.

"Okay, everyone! Watch closely! Ichiro! Miyauchi! Do your best to receive the ball! Kobayashi, begin your serve!"

At Sato's command, Yuki took a deep breath, tossing the ball slightly into the air. Since this was Sato's request, Yuki didn't use any fancy techniques, relying instead on his accuracy. He glanced at the other side of the net for a moment before deciding where to send the ball.

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Miyauchi, who was in the middle back position, moved, but something seemed to slow him down, preventing him from getting to the ball. In the end, the ball fell easily behind him, which would have earned a point for Yuki in a real game.

"Does anyone know why that happened?" Sato asked. When he saw the confusion on their faces, he turned back to Yuki and said, "Do it one more time!"

Yuki nodded and picked the ball up off the ground. Ichiro and Miyauchi tensed up, preparing to receive his serve. However, the same thing happened as before—Miyauchi was unable to react quickly enough to pick up the ball.

"If you studied his serve closely, you'd find that Kobayashi-kun did this trick many times during the game. So, does anyone have an idea of how he accomplished that?" Sato asked again. When no one spoke, he sighed and murmured, "Man, analysis class is going to be a pain for them."

Sato shook his head quickly and turned to Yuki. "Care to explain?"

"It was because of Ichiro-kun's positioning," Yuki replied bluntly. Everyone was taken aback by his answer, while Ichiro himself was startled, not knowing what his mistake had been. Yuki continued, "I was aiming the ball towards Miyauchi-kun but still a bit wider, closer to Ichiro-kun's position. This way, Miyauchi-kun would be able to notice through his peripheral vision that Ichiro-kun was moving forward to prepare for the next play, and his brain would unconsciously signal to him that Ichiro-kun would receive the ball. I didn't need to fool them for too long, but once they were caught in this trick, you can see that one second is enough to make a difference."

All of them gasped in awe while some stared at Yuki with admiration. Before they could speak, however, Sato interrupted them. "As you can see, there are many tricks that can be used, such as aiming very close to the net, aiming near the end line, or targeting their strongest attacker to cripple their next offense. There is so much you can achieve with better control. If you can add your signature techniques—like a spin serve, jump serve, or even a floater—I'm sure you can imagine the kind of impact you'll have on the game, right?"

Everyone grew excited as they envisioned themselves as powerful players on the service line. Sato just shook his head in amusement, letting the players get caught up in their dreams. After a while, he finally cleared his throat and explained the next training exercise.

"Okay, each of you has ten minutes to get a service ace against the other team. I don't care how you do it, just get that ace. I want to see your creativity here. Are you ready?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Good! Now, let's start the training!"