"Thank you coach."
The older man's deep voice drifted over the field. It resonated in the ears of those who heard it, grabbing their attention.
"I am Coach Takashi. I've looked after the Japan Team for over 25 years. Together, we've won silver at the Olympics, and many podium finishes in the world cup."
As the coach introduced himself, he began to pace with his hands behind his back. His gait was steady as his gaze moved through the players assembled on the field.
"However… I'm tired of training those fools who won't listen." He said with a scowl, directed at no one in particular.
"What I need are soldiers who will execute orders, not civilians who make up excuses."
Ken raised an eyebrow in question, he wasn't expecting such an attitude from the legendary coach. It was almost like he was a drill sergeant in the military, not a renowned figure in the baseball circle.
Coach Takashi didn't seem to care what anyone had to think about his words, directly moving onto the next order of business.
"You've all been selected to participate in the National Team tryouts. Some of you might have been in the team before, while others are new arrivals. Yet you all have one thing in common… "
The older man stopped in place, before turning to face everyone.
"You show potential."
He smiled widely before pointing to a teen in the front.
"You there, what are you?"
The player who was picked out looked confused and slightly panicked. He looked around a little bit, yet saw that no one was going to help him.
"I-I'm a catcher sir."
"Wrong!"
Hearing such a response from the coach, the teen felt mortified. What kind of question was that anyway?
"You, what are you?"
Riku was the next to be picked, his smiling expression suddenly froze stiff.
"I am a man sir…"
This time, the coach looked him up and down briefly before shaking his head in disappointment.
"Ha-haha" Riku nervously laughed, not knowing how he should have responded.
"You! What are you?"
Coach Takashi's finger pointed directly at Ken who had just seen the previous players fail to answer correctly. He panicked inwardly, but thankfully his mind had been working furiously in the background to pinpoint the answer the coach wanted to hear.
"I'm a soldier sir!"
Ken would have saluted, but he thought that would have been too much.
"GOOD! Finally someone who gets it."
The coach looked vindicated as Ken correctly answered the question. Those in the vicinity who had already been paying attention to him increased their vigilance.
After all, until the team was selected, they were all competing against each other.
Coach Takashi ignored the reactions of the players and continued his speech.
"Like I said, I only need soldiers right now, otherwise our goal will be too far out of reach."
These words elicited some looks of confusion from the rest of the squad, yet the coach didn't elaborate. It could be seen just from this small interaction that the legendary coach Takashi was an eccentric man.
Even Chris who had seen his fair share of oddballs in the baseball world, couldn't help but acknowledge the quirkiness of his new boss.
Seeing as how Coach Takashi wasn't going to clarify for the players, Chris stepped forward and added some context.
"We're here today to select the players who will be competing in the Baseball World Cup which is being hosted in America this year. Our goal should be to win the whole thing, with no exception."
This time, the players began to murmur among themselves.
It was well known that the US were on top of the baseball world. Every other team in the world aspired to be as dominant as they were, yet none could even come close it seemed.
They had yet to be toppled from their throne.
"Exactly. We will be the first to take down the so called inventors of baseball." Coach Takashi stated, flashing a wide grin not dissimilar to a Cheshire cat.
Even Chris felt goosebumps at his words. If any other coach were to declare such a thing, one might think that they were just full of hot air. Yet this man's accolades gave him sufficient authority to speak in such a manner.
"Alright, enough about this. Today we'll be running some physical drills to get an assessment of your fitness. If you're not fit, don't expect to get a spot on the team, regardless of your position."
The coach then clapped two times before gesturing for everyone to follow him.
Most of the players felt a fire lit underneath them at the suggestion of beating the best team in the world. There was a sense of national pride at stake, along with their own individual aspirations.
Any player who could make it to the finals and take down America would have their name in lights for the world to see. A professional contract would be just around the corner if they played well enough.
Ken, Daichi and Hiroki followed the crowd towards the first set of drills, their curiosity piqued. Though they had done plenty of drills before, it had never been at this scale before, surrounded by the best teens in the country.
Once everyone had gathered, Chris spoke up and gave some instructions.
"Everyone please line up in between the cones, we'll be doing a 30 yard dash to test your speed between bases."
There were 4 cones lined up, about 1.5 meters apart from each other on the field. The players did as they were told, lining up in 3 lines and waiting for further instructions from the coach.
Ken was one of the last to arrive so he was at the end of the line with Diachi and Hiroki.
The distance between bases was approximately 90 feet or 30 yards, depending on how large the bases were. Which was likely why the coaching staff had chosen this particular drill.
"When I blow my whistle, the first of each line will begin their run. Your runs will be timed, so please take this seriously."