This year, I welcomed the New Year by visiting the shrine with my girlfriend before heading back to Shizuoka. Although the dormitory didn't provide meals, we were allowed to move in from New Year's Day.
When I arrived at the field, I saw Taniguchi already running laps.
"Hey, nice to see you again this year," Taniguchi said, jogging over.
"Nice to see you too," I replied.
We immediately started playing catch. Taniguchi had been invited again this year to join another team's top players for overseas training in Florida, but he turned it down. Even though the player had to cover all expenses, Taniguchi wasn't satisfied with last year's training. He's as stoic as ever. If it were me, I'd follow along wagging my tail.
On the second day, Takeshita and Haratani joined us, and we began our own training sessions again. Meanwhile, Sugisawa was in Australia, and Yamazaki was training in Hawaii. To be honest, I was a bit jealous.
Mitamura also returned to the dormitory on the second day, but since he had just recovered from an injury, he had to take it slow. Mitamura says recovering from a shoulder injury is like building a house of cards. Even if you carefully build it up bit by bit, one wrong move and it all collapses, forcing you to start over. Gradually, you increase your range of motion, throw a little farther, and it all takes patience.
This year, three players in their second year after high school, including Adachi, joined our voluntary training. Adachi, in particular, is a rival for the same position, but I don't mind his admiration. Besides Adachi, the other players are outfielder Tokiwa and catcher Makihara. Tokiwa, though just over 170 cm tall, boasts a powerful hit, while Makihara is large and has a strong arm. Taniguchi and Haratani have similar strengths, but if we can help each other improve, it'll be good for the team.
Our training started with light stretching before moving on to more intense exercises. One of the toughest was the American Knock. In this drill, a defender in right field had to sprint to catch balls hit towards left field, then back to right field, repeating this over and over. Though primarily a defensive practice for outfielders, its main purpose was to strengthen the lower body, so infielders like Adachi and me, as well as catchers Haratani and Makihara, also participated. My legs quickly became swollen from the exertion, but the toughest part was yet to come.
Despite a three-day weekend in January, our training followed a strict four-day work, one-day rest schedule, so the calendar didn't really matter. After a day off, I arrived at the field full of energy, only to see a strange man in a jersey standing near home plate, holding a bat.
"Who's that?" I wondered aloud, ready to tell him no outsiders were allowed. But then I recognized him.
"Hey, my beloved student. Have you grown a bit?" It was Yamashiro, our former coach.
"What are you doing here? If you want my autograph, you'll have to wait until practice is over," I joked.
"You idiot. Your autograph is worth less than my son's doodles," he shot back.
"Maybe one day it'll be worth something," I said.
"When? Not in my lifetime," he retorted.
"Why are you here? No outsiders allowed."
"It's okay. I got permission from the team. I'm off for three days, so I came to relieve some stress and check on my beloved pupil," he explained.
"Oh? Isn't it Yamashiro-san? Long time no see," Taniguchi said, coming over.
"Oh, how are you? You've grown even bigger," Yamashiro remarked.
When Taniguchi first joined the team, he was slim for a slugger. But after eating a lot and doing strength training every day, he now looked like he was covered in muscle armor.
"Will you be helping us with practice for the next three days? Thank you for taking the time despite your busy schedule," Taniguchi said, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Hey, you're a good actor. You're not really happy about this, are you?" I thought, but kept it to myself. Seriously? This person is a nightmare. If we get knocked around by him for three days, it'll be hell.
Sure enough, over the next three days, Yamashiro put us through rigorous drills that quickly blew away any lingering New Year's mood. Even Adachi, Tokiwa, and Makihara, who had already experienced tough training with the SR group, were exhausted.
But despite the grueling training, I felt I had grown stronger.
Before we knew it, January had ended, and the spring training season was upon us again.
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