Chapter Eighty-Two: Tennis Ball Dribbling Training Method!
"Including Midorima, who lost to Tetsu, that makes three of them who've tasted defeat now..." Aomine Daiki looked toward Yosen's rest area, his expressionless face revealing no emotion.
"But you're not actually surprised, are you?" Yagami Sorato asked calmly.
"From the moment we went to different high schools, this outcome was inevitable." Aomine Daiki's voice carried detached understanding. "If anything, we always hated that 'Generation of Miracles' label. After all, to prove who's strongest, only one person can stand at the peak."
Aomine Daiki left half his thought unspoken. Someone losing was perfectly normal—he just hadn't expected the ones defeating them would be outsiders.
"In that case, I assume you're prepared?" Yagami turned to look at him, smiling casually. "Before meeting Ryonan, don't lose carelessly."
"Hmph, who do you think you're talking to?" Aomine Daiki finally curved his lips into an arrogant smile. "That's my line to you."
After the game ended, the arena buzzed with noise—victors celebrating, defeated players dejected.
But high in the stands, Yagami Sorato and Sendoh Akira simply stood calmly and left. On the other side, Aomine Daiki also walked away with hands in pockets, Momoi Satsuki beside him as they merged into the departing crowd.
They had no intention of communicating with the players on the court. Whether Sannoh or Yosen, no one would pay attention to them right now anyway.
This was an unspoken understanding. The next time they met would be on the national tournament battlefield.
And their relationship was nothing more than opponents.
On the bullet train returning from Akita to Kanagawa, Yagami Sorato leaned against the window with closed eyes. Outside, scenery flew past rapidly, but in his mind, every detail of the Sannoh versus Yosen battle replayed repeatedly.
Although Sannoh ultimately claimed victory, the final quarter statistics were thought-provoking—Sannoh scored only 19 points while Yosen scored 29.
Admittedly, this reflected Sannoh's tempo-controlling, victory-protecting style. As long as the margin stayed within controllable range, they needed no further adjustments.
But another undeniable fact: merely having Murasakibara Atsushi willing to pass was enough to completely revitalize Yosen's entire offensive system, drastically increasing its power.
On the surface, Yagami Sorato seemed completely dismissive of Yosen. But deep down, he understood better than anyone—as long as Murasakibara Atsushi continued growing, Yosen's strength would undergo geometric transformation.
"However..." Yagami Sorato exhaled lightly.
When his eyelids lifted, what showed wasn't gravity at opponents' strength, but anticipation paired with composed confidence.
"As long as I can become stronger, as long as Ryonan can become stronger, the opponent's identity doesn't matter!"
"Ding dong. Dear passengers, the train will shortly arrive at Kanagawa Station..."
The arrival announcement sounded. Yagami Sorato cleared his thoughts, his gaze inadvertently falling on the elegantly packaged box before him. An unconscious smile crossed his face—one he didn't even notice himself.
After parting with Sendoh Akira, Yagami Sorato headed straight home. When he pushed open the door, the expected figure immediately rushed forward.
"Sorato! You're back!"
"Was the game good? Who won?"
"Was Sannoh super amazing? That guy you mentioned before, Murasaki..." Chinatsu Yui's questions came like rapid fire.
"Here."
Just then, Yagami Sorato casually presented a paper box marked "Akita Specialty" to the still-chattering Chinatsu Yui.
Chinatsu Yui's voice stopped abruptly. She blinked, staring blankly at the box thrust before her, then looked up at that expressionless face.
"This... what's this?" Her voice carried uncertain delight.
"Bought in Akita. Chestnut manju." Yagami Sorato said calmly, as if it were something he'd casually brought back. "Last time, didn't I forget to bring you 'specialty snacks'?"
"Wow!" Chinatsu Yui cried out happily.
This time she hadn't even asked Yagami Sorato to bring anything—who knew this blockhead would actually buy something himself!
Chinatsu Yui accepted the box and opened it. Inside were exquisite, adorable chestnut-shaped confections. She looked up, her face instantly blooming with a radiant smile. "Hmph, I guess you have some conscience after all!"
"I'll make tea. Let's all try them together!" Chinatsu Yui cheerfully clutched the sweets and turned toward the kitchen, her steps light.
Chinatsu Kazushi sat on the sofa, watching them with a peculiar expression.
"Kazushi-ojisan." Yagami Sorato nodded in greeting.
"I heard you went to watch Sannoh's game?" Chinatsu Kazushi cleared his throat. "How was it?"
"Very strong." Yagami Sorato was concise. "Not just the players' individual strength—the entire team's coordination is extremely high."
"Oh? Sounds like the trip wasn't wasted?" Chinatsu Kazushi didn't press for details but stood instead. "I happen to have something interesting to teach you. Let's go."
Yagami Sorato understood immediately. "Yes."
"Eh? You're going to practice again?!" Chinatsu Yui emerged carrying a tea tray, calling out unhappily. "You just got back!"
"This time we don't need to go out. Just in the yard." Chinatsu Kazushi waved dismissively. "We'll eat the snacks in a bit."
Chinatsu Kazushi walked toward the entryway, bending to rummage through the cabinet storing sports equipment.
"Kazushi-ojisan?" Yagami Sorato looked somewhat puzzled at his actions. Basketball training equipment should be in the storage room.
"Ha, found them!" Chinatsu Kazushi straightened. The items in his hand made Yagami Sorato freeze—three brand new, bright yellow small balls.
Tennis balls.
"Use these for basketball training?" Yagami Sorato couldn't help internally grumbling about a certain "killer sport." Surely this world didn't also have some ridiculous tennis, right?
"That's right, tennis balls." Chinatsu Kazushi weighed the tennis balls in his hand, cunning flashing in his eyes. "Don't underestimate them. This is a method from a basketball trainer colleague of mine."
"These things are your secret weapon for grinding ball control, coordination, and stability under high-pressure interference!"
"So how does it work?" Yagami Sorato still didn't understand their purpose.
The two came to the yard's center. Chinatsu Kazushi placed a tennis ball in Yagami Sorato's left hand.
"Come on, try the simplest first—basic toss-and-catch practice."
"Feet apart, knees slightly bent, lower your center of gravity and stand ready." Chinatsu Kazushi personally demonstrated standard dribbling posture, his right hand beginning rhythmic stationary dribbling. "Left hand, toss the tennis ball upward, then catch it in the air. Then slam the tennis ball toward the ground and catch the bounce."
"Repeat this cycle. During the process, your right hand's dribbling can't stop. Understand?"
It seemed not difficult. And Chinatsu Kazushi, as a power forward, completed the movement quite smoothly.
"You mean like drawing a circle with the left hand and a square with the right?"
Yagami Sorato focused, his right hand beginning to dribble while his left attempted tossing the tennis ball upward.
When he locked onto the tennis ball to catch it, his right hand's dribbling suddenly destabilized. Yagami Sorato barely controlled it. But when slamming the tennis ball downward again, he couldn't help instinctively checking whether his right hand's dribbling stayed stable. Just then, the tennis ball escaped his left hand's control, bouncing aside.
Simultaneously, his right hand's dribbling also wavered, nearly slapping it away.
"Hahaha!" Chinatsu Yui, just stepping outside, saw this scene and laughed mercilessly. "Sorato, you're so clumsy!"
Yagami Sorato shot her a look, bent to retrieve the tennis ball, and began his second attempt.
"Don't get clever. Don't toss the tennis ball too high—about forehead level is fine." Chinatsu Kazushi emphasized.
"Plop."
The tennis ball escaped control again.
Yagami Sorato stopped, not immediately starting a third attempt.
"What's wrong?" Chinatsu Kazushi asked with interest.
"This training seems like both left and right hands are working, but the emphasis is actually different, right?" After thinking, Yagami Sorato said, "The tennis ball the left hand tosses and catches has small volume, fast speed, and requires upward and downward motion—obviously more complex to handle than the right hand."
"So the key point is that throughout the entire process, the eyes must always track the tennis ball, not watch the dribbling hand!"
"..." Chinatsu Kazushi froze. "Cough, I was planning to let you try several more times before explaining."
He hadn't expected that after only two attempts, Yagami Sorato would discover this training's trick.
That's right. This training forced a player's brain and body to simultaneously handle multiple tasks: maintain dribbling rhythm, eyes locked on the tennis ball's trajectory, predict landing points, catch precisely.
As long as the right hand achieved stable dribbling without interference, concentrating energy on the tennis ball side became much easier.
Yagami Sorato began his third attempt. He forced his vision to lock onto the rising and falling tennis ball, relying only on his right hand's feel to control the basketball.
Tennis ball tossed up, falling... he successfully caught it!
But his right hand's dribbling still became stiff, even pausing briefly.
"Hmph, even knowing the principle, there's still a great distance from truly accomplishing it." Chinatsu Kazushi said lightly.
"Eyes on the tennis ball, maintain low center of gravity, dribbling rhythm can't break."
Yagami Sorato murmured, continuing the toss-catch-dribble practice.
Sweat began seeping from his temples. This seemingly simple exercise was far more difficult to balance than imagined. Eye-hand-brain coordination was thoroughly disrupted and restructured.
Yagami Sorato repeated endlessly: toss ball—watch ball—dribble—catch ball. The tennis ball dropped again and again. Dribbling rhythm broke again and again.
"Rhythm... dribbling needs sound, needs cadence! The tennis ball is just interference—dribbling is the core!"
Yagami Sorato constantly adjusted, eyes focused. He quickly forgot the two people beside him.
"...Has he been practicing like this lately?" Chinatsu Kazushi looked toward his daughter. Once Yagami Sorato started practicing, he seemed unable to hear others speaking.
"Yeah." Chinatsu Yui propped her chin with one hand, speaking helplessly.
But focused Sorato is really handsome. Watching him, she couldn't help smiling.
"Forget it, let him practice alone then." Chinatsu Kazushi scratched his head. "This requires time anyway. We'll call him when dinner's ready."
"You go in first. I'll watch a bit longer." Chinatsu Yui waved her hand, telling her dad to just leave.
"You—"
"The snacks are on the living room table. You're only allowed one piece! The rest are for Mom and me!"
"...Got it." Chinatsu Kazushi glanced back at the practicing Yagami Sorato with some displeasure before returning inside.
One hour later.
"Kazushi-ojisan, this training has advanced content, right?" Yagami Sorato stood before Chinatsu Kazushi asking.
"Ah?" Chinatsu Kazushi pulled down the newspaper covering his face. "First get the first stage flowing smoothly before considering what comes next. Rushing has no meaning."
"No, Dad, Sorato's already completely mastered it!" Chinatsu Yui excitedly answered first.
"What?!"
Chinatsu Kazushi shot upright, looking toward Yagami Sorato. The other calmly nodded, confirming.
"Then let's see outside!"
Chinatsu Kazushi stood. The two came to the yard.
Yagami Sorato's right hand rhythmically dribbled the basketball, his vision directed left. Meanwhile, his left hand smoothly completed a series of actions: tossing the tennis ball upward, catching it steadily, slamming it toward the ground, catching the bounce after it rose... repeating this cycle. And his right hand's dribbling, from start to finish, wasn't disrupted in the slightest.
"This... way too fast." Chinatsu Kazushi murmured.
According to his colleague's description, high school players needed at least one to two weeks to grasp this first stage's adaptation and basic coordination.
Even he himself had spent three days practicing to master this movement pattern...
"That's enough." Chinatsu Kazushi called Yagami Sorato to stop. "Now switch to left hand dribbling, right hand tossing and catching!"
After switching to the non-dominant hand for dribbling, difficulty increased sharply. Chinatsu Kazushi wanted to see how long he'd need to adapt.
"Mm." Yagami Sorato responded calmly. Beside him, Chinatsu Yui couldn't suppress her laughter.
When Yagami Sorato switched to left hand dribbling and right hand tossing the tennis ball, his movements still maintained surprisingly smooth flow!
"Actually, Sorato already switched hands to practice on his own. He only came to find you after completing both, hehe." Chinatsu Yui laughed as she revealed the answer.
"???"
This time Chinatsu Kazushi was truly shocked. This meant Yagami Sorato's time completing the first stage's foundation might be far less than one hour?!
He suddenly regretted going inside earlier, even briefly.
"Kazushi-ojisan?"
"It's nothing. Then let's begin the second stage—'figure-8' dribbling alternating with tennis ball toss-catch."
Chinatsu Kazushi collected himself and led him to the wall, beginning the second stage demonstration.
He first dribbled the basketball with his right hand, then his left hand threw the tennis ball toward the wall. When the tennis ball bounced back, his right hand dribbled the basketball between his legs to the left side. His right hand caught the tennis ball and threw it toward the wall again. His left hand received the basketball for one dribble, similarly doing a between-the-legs dribble switching to the right hand, then his left hand caught the rebounding tennis ball again.
Repeating this cycle.
The instant Yagami Sorato saw Chinatsu Kazushi perform the movement, he knew the difficulty had greatly deepened.
In the first stage, the approach of completely separating left and right hands no longer worked.
"So this time, the thinking should separate into basketball and tennis ball..." Yagami Sorato thought.
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