The next day, Ken's father had already left the house by the time he woke up. As if trying not to make her son worried, Yuki made up an excuse that he had an early morning meeting.
Ken decided not to call her out on her lie since she looked like she was having a hard time. It would be best for all of them if he just kept his mouth shut for now.
Of course he planned to tell his parents the information that he'd learned, but that could wait a few days.
After doing his morning exercises, Ken attended school like usual. However, Shiro noticed that his mood was somber most of the day. No matter how much he spoke to his friend, the guy seemed out of it.
Any attempts to pry resulted in Ken dismissing him. Whatever it was, he clearly didn't want to talk about it.
When it came time for club practice, nothing had really changed. Ken still pushed himself in training though, going above and beyond what was required.
Even with the addition of the new training today, Ken never complained once, pushing through with a determined expression.
The other players however, had a rude awakening.
"W-What the hell is this training?" A first year exclaimed, gasping for air. His eyes were on the figures of Ken and Hiroki who were at the front of the pack, seemingly getting further away with each passing moment.
"They're not human…" Another stated, feeling his muscles screaming out in fatigue.
After another 20 minutes, the coach called an end to the training session. Since it was the first day of extra training, he wanted to ease the team into it.
Those new to the club might eventually quit if the training was too hard at the beginning.
"Ken, you got some time?" Coach Hanada asked as the team were headed towards the lockers.
"Hmm? Sure."
"I know it's only been about 6 weeks, but I can see your constitution has improved greatly. Your shoulders are practically bursting out of your uniform." Seiji said, seeming rather impressed.
Ken nodded. He had been taking the training seriously, basically working himself to the bone. That, in addition to his breakthrough were deciding factors as to why he was able to improve in such a short time.
"So, are you ready to work on your pitching form?" He asked, wearing a grin.
"Ah, y-yes."
Hearing the unexpected proposition, Ken felt elated almost instantly. Originally he'd thought he wouldn't be ready to pitch again in time for the Fall Tournament, but it seemed he'd lucked out.
"Okay good, follow me." Coach Hanada said, walking towards the equipment shed.
Ken nodded like a pecking chicken, feeling his excitement rise. If he could get one on one training with the Coach, it should only be a matter of time before he was back in form.
When they arrived, Seiji pulled out a camera and told Ken to grab a glove. They moved over to the mound and he set up the tripod, pointing directly at Ken.
"Alright, now pitch for me." The coach stated.
"But I don't have a ball?" Ken replied, looking at the coach weirdly.
Seiji shook his head, "No need for a ball right now."
Ken felt it was a little odd, but he did as he was told. He imagined that he had a ball in his hands and brought his glove to his chest before lifting his leg.
In the next moment he took a stride forward and proceeded to whip his arm out, completing the phantom throw. Without the weight in his hand, it felt a little odd.
"Ah, I forgot to turn the camera on… Please do it again."
Ken blinked a few times before swallowing whatever he was going to say. He then repeated the process again.
"Mmm good." Seiji nodded.
"What do you know about the biomechanics of pitching?"
"Uhhh… The what now?" Ken wasn't sure what the coach was getting at.
"Makes sense." The coach muttered, letting out a small sigh.
Quite often, pitchers would just throw intuitively, at least before they reached the professional stage. A lot of kids would just imitate their favorite pitchers, without understanding the reasons for the actions.
"Biomechanics focuses on the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems. In this case, human movement."
"In pitching, we break it down into 6 phases: Wind-up, Stride, Arm Cocking, Arm acceleration, Arm deceleration and follow-through."
As he was talking, Seiji motioned for Ken to get off the mound, collecting his glove in the process. He stepped up and put his back foot against the pitcher's plate and stood facing 3rd base.
"First we have the Wind-up, then the stride." He said, swinging his front leg up and leaning back slightly before taking a stride forward.
The movement was smooth and dynamic. At a glance, Ken could tell that the coach had built up a lot of momentum just from the few movements he did.
"Watch again." Seiji said, demonstrating the move once more.
"Just as I'm about to take my stride, I bend my back leg, using it like a spring to propel myself forward."
Ken nodded in response, taking in the information.
For a 3rd time, the coach performed the action, stopping as his lead foot planted.
"Notice how my hips are open and my shoulders are closed? Doing this properly will allow you to generate more torque when throwing."
With that, he moved off the mound and handed the glove to Ken, gesturing him to try it himself.
Ken did as he was told and took his position, going over the coach's actions in his head. He visualized the moves and tried it himself.
He lifted his leg and took a stride before planting his foot just like the coach.
Seiji shook his head, "Your shoulders are open. Make sure that you're almost facing 3rd base as you plant your foot. Try again." He said, crossing his arms.