If there was one thing Bodhi did that didn't match his character as a whole, it would be that he takes meticulous notes on his potential opposition. Teammates he played with prior would all say the same thing that 'Bodhi's Bounty Book' helped them understand what they could expect from their next opponents. Really an uncanny ability they would say.
BODHI'S BOUNTY BOOK
Karasuno High School. A review by Bodhi Hamada
Daichi Sawamura
Defensive specialist, no doubt about that. The receivers are solid, but his offence remains a lot to be desired and judging by his demeanour the captain was their rock. If he were to go down, Bodhi didn't know if they would be able to recover.
FPI (Future potential improvements): Greater receive strength, Offensive Power.
Asahi Azumane
Ace of Karasuno. Mainly focused on power. The technique is a bit lacking and his stamina is also subpar (Take a break from V-Ball?), Serves are also poor, may look to improve that facet of his game, seeing as how his spiking is at an acceptable level
FPI: Serves, most probable Jump.
Yu Nishinoya
Best libero I may have ever seen? Quick to get under serves and spikes. With such a focus on underhand receives, maybe has weakness in overhand receives. Very quick as well and flexibility to match it, endless energy as well. Unpredictable. Another Maverick? Use Jump float on him.
FPI: ???
Ryunosuke Tanaka
Next ace? Second in power only to their #3. Receives are not bad, can be relied on to take some defensive pressure. Negatives: Hotheadedness, weak mental state? Can be solved with slapping himself? Peculiar.
FPI: Serving once more. Becoming calmer, although that might be the source of his boundless energy and The team as a whole has weak serves, can be used to put pressure on them by using mine and potentially other teammates' serves (learn more about teammates)
Tobio Kageyama
Perfect setter. Almost too much so. Tends to send sets where he believes is best. Doesn't let his spikers think for themselves. Serves are really good as well. Strong but could stand to be zippier.
FPI: Less of a control freak. More lax, trust his players more (past problems with teammates?)
Shoyo Hinata
Of. Sunshine. Decoy. Got some good hops too, very quick as well. THAT FUCKING QUICK THOUGH!! Nutty fast that is. Impressive they were able to block it. But it was predictable (Setter uses it as a safety net, expose that)
FPI: Literally every other facet of his game. Relies on superb reflexes and not much else. Needs more knowledge about the game to build a better base. Move to wing? Middle is wasted.
Kei Tsukishima
Methodical blocker. Great at blocks. Thinks about everything. Good quality but should improve his reaction speed and explosiveness to keep up with his brain. Friction between him and the setter, doesn't like his sets? Or doesn't like being told how to hit?- Wait...Definitely the latter
FPI: Increase stamina and reaction speed. Serves are a weak point. But most middles have weaker serves as they don't stay in the back often.
Other players.
All are similar in skill. #2 The setter can change the moods of players, see him change the style of play with hand signs. Sets were standard nothing flashy but does have connections with other players which #9 does not have. The only other standout was #12. That jump float should he get it over will cause problems. Wait and see on him. Not enough information on other players.
As the video came to an end, Bodhi finished writing his thoughts down. Karasuno as a whole were a team that mainly focused on offence. Other areas of their game were heavily reliant on a few players. Their captain and libero were their main players on defence taking care of the receives for the most part. The other wing spikers while they did their best, you could tell if they didn't have such a skilled libero and a captain as reliable as he was, they would lose more games than win. Their blocking was anchored by #11 and he was damn good at it, but with the shorty being primarily a decoy and most glaringly short. When the blonde was in front their blocking fell off a lot, which meant even more pressure on their receivers.
Overall if Karasuno could put more of a focus into their defensive game they could become a real threat, the offence would come naturally as they had a very talented setter and the wing spikers considered to be their ace and future ace had power to spare.
As Bodhi's thoughts came to a close, Coach Irihata began to break down their gameplay against Karasuno.
"Our game against Karasuno went as well as expected. We stayed true to our style of play and it proved to be effective against them. However, towards the end of the game, their tall middle blocker number 11 began to catch on to our time-delay attacks and quicks. Next time we play them we must be sure to use the entire breadth of the court, in order to try and shake off their timing." Coach Irihata explained.
The talk went on for longer detailing more areas the team could put more focus on. Not relying on verbal signals as they had grown accustomed to in the pre-match video. They had been burned that way. And instead to rely more on their sight and instincts. Getting a hand on their quick was a surefire way to either completely kill it or stop it enough to allow for an easy chance ball, seeing as it wasn't powerful and there was little risk in touching it. Shorty needed to work on that.
By far the most interesting video had been the one that played next. Their final game against Shiratorizawa. It was here Bodhi caught a glimpse of what was to come, should Aoba Johsai face them again. And as expected Bodhi began to write in his bounty book, observing the team known as Shiratorizawa.
BODHI'S BOUNTY BOOK
Shiratorizawa Academy: A review by Bodhi Hamada
Wakatoshi Ushijima (Ushiwaka)
Ace of Shiratorizawa. Incredible power and being a lefty on top of that make it hard for receivers who normally grow accustomed to righties and the rotation on that ball. Serves are powerful, lacks accuracy, but the strength and speed it comes across the net at, causes receivers to panic a little and more often than not react to it, even if it looks like it goes out. Technique is also something to behold, his aerial form leaves no hints on where he is going to spike. Truly a gifted player and worthy of being in the top three aces in the nation
FPI: ???
Reon Ohira
The main strengths lie in serving and receiving. His attacking power while good isn't his main focus. Uses feints more often than other teammates. Much more of a background character. Does well in a support role
FPI: With how content he feels in his role, I doubt he'll improve much leading up to the spring tournament.
Satori Tendo
'Guess Monster' as I had been told was his nickname and I can see why. Despite sometimes guessing wrong. He has an uncanny ability to read the setter and what they plan to do with it. Allow him to go for the kill block more often than not. Court awareness is also at an elite level, helping him narrow down more options. 70/30 in his guesses. 60/40 on a kill block.
FPI: better guess? He definitely is a fellow maverick
Tsutomu Goshiki
Has a fixation on Ushiwaka. Wants to best him, it can easily be seen in the video as every time he does something impactful or good, he looks for approval from the third year but always is ignored. Line shots are his bread and butter, can cut them very His serve is no joke either, more accurate than Ushiwaka's but not as powerful.
FPI: calmer head, gets distracted when he isn't praised and ignored. He's down on himself too often
Kenjiro Shirabu
Nothing special about him. Has a hard-on for Ushiwaka.
FPI: Don't really care honestly. Sucks dick too much. People pleaser almost. Might be fun to get under his skin. Fluster and frustrate him. May cause him to mess up and give a shitty set to Ushiwaka
Taichi Kawanishi
Good Middle blocker. Good on quicks. Due to matching with the guess blocker takes a more reserved role and relies more on soft blocks than kill
FPI: Take some risks. Go more for the kill. Improving serves might be key as well
Hayato Yamagata
Libero is good nothing outstanding but can get the surprising save meaning he can swing momentum. Consistent. Is a supportive pillar in the mental aspect, offering words of encouragement and support.
FPI: Not sure, better consistency? Hard to improve what is already good. Try for jump sets maybe? More diverse attack options never hurt.
One thing that can be said about Shiratorizawa is that they are a beast. A well-oiled machine led by a hardass of a coach if what Coach Irihata had to say, 'might make right' is that coach's motto apparently. With having such a talent in Ushiwaka he must be salivating at getting such a prospect.
"Our match against Shiratorizawa went like all the ones before. We've been able to keep pace with them, but never take the reigns during the match. With always being led along and always reacting and never acting, it's always an uphill battle. Thankfully I've been told that our third years are returning for the spring tournament. Meaning we have another shot at them. By playing our style of volleyball we will overcome the mountain that is Shiratorizawa. We just need to make some improvement as a whole." Coach Irihata began, before stopping and considering his words, he looked at his players. The third years staying on was a huge boon. The improvements of the second years would be crucial to make up for some lacking areas. And the first years becoming more confident and consistent in their plays would be critical. His eyes then landed on the two students that would undoubtedly be the most important pieces. The return of Kyotani means the offence will get a much-needed punch it was lacking, despite him being a double-edged sword he would take those chances. But what poses the greatest challenge to Coach Irihata is the arrival of the new transfer student. If even a shred of what he said was true, that he can use both his right and left arms equally, would make him an unparalleled player. In that short demonstration Coach Irihata had gleaned a lot of information from it. He could tell Bodhi Hamada held great pride in his play and technique and his power was definitely greater than Iwaizumi's maybe even Ushiwaka's if he used his dominant arm. Mmm how should I approach this, should we keep going with what we have been doing, relying on systems that have proven to work? Or should I put a more primary focus on evolving to something potentially greater… He looked once more at his third years. They've only known loss during their time under him. Never once taking the crown from Shiratorizawa. His two best players Oikawa and Iwaizumi have been losing to Ushiwaka and Shiratorizaw for 6 years by this point. Considering that, he made up his mind.
"No…" Coach Irihata began. Causing the team in front of him to worry at the coach's words. "No, we can't keep going on like this. Our systems up until now have not worked. They have grown outdated. Shiratorizawa has grown accustomed to our play style and can work around it. From this point on, I will devise a new system we will play in. One that focuses on our new talents, while our old helps make the new bloom into a brighter future." He said, shocking all of the players present. "I will take some time to develop our new system. So in the meantime you will focus on honing the weapons you currently have. And if those are honed to the best of your ability, find something else you can use. Come together with other teammates and come up with attack patterns. Learn from each other. From this point on it's a new age for Aoba Johsai! That being said, if you have any ideas on how we can improve as a team come and voice them to me or Coach Mizoguchi. We will end this meeting here. Come back tomorrow with a plan in mind to improve yourself. Dismissed" Coach Irihata said proudly. Acting as if he hadn't just torn down the structure he built up over the years. But before the players could start contemplating, he asked one of them a question. "Hamada, do you have film on yourself?" Coach Irihata questioned the new blood.
"Mmm?" Bodhi said looking up from his notebook, he had actually missed most of what the coach just said, he was busy writing down information in this Bounty Book. "What did you just say? I missed it all. I was writing in my Bounty Book," he displayed said book, which was currently open to a page on Shiratorizawa. Having confessed to not hearing anything Irihata had just said, both him, Mizoguchi and the rest of the team sweat dropped.
With a heavy sigh, Irihata asked the question again, Bodhi truly was a bit of an anomaly.
"Oh sure, just go to YouTube and search up U-16 Commonwealth Games Volleyball and click on one that has 'Maverick' in the title," Bodhi stated like it was nothing.
Not many in the room knew what these 'Commonwealth Games' were, but if it would show their new teammates skills in a real match, they were all eager to watch it. Mizoguchi typed it into the browser and clicked on the first link titled, "The Maverick Paves the Way for GOLD". The audio came out a second later detailing just who their new teammate was.
"Led by team captain Bodhi Hamada, otherwise known as 'the Maverick,' for his unconventional and often phenomenal play, Team Australia looks to reclaim Gold in this years Beach Volleyball U-16 Commonwealth Games here in Melbourne, Australia!"
A collective thought ran through everyone's mind listening to the opening ramble.
"Team Australia…A NATIONAL PLAYER!"