"Ah… We're in different teams?" Steve said, seeming a little disappointed. However, the woman behind the counter didn't seem to care at all.
"Ma'am, I'm not sure that you want to split us up. I don't think any other catcher here can catch Ken's pitches." Steve spoke up a little anxiously.
The woman scoffed, "We have some of the best under 18 players in the Southwest here, I highly doubt that it will be an issue."
Steve couldn't reply to the harsh words, so he just let out a sigh and moved to the side, his head lowered. "Well, good luck out there buddy." He said, raising his head towards his friend.
"O—Oi!"
However, Ken had already walked off towards his team, completely disregarding him. This caused Steve to let out another sigh, feeling his anxiety increase.
'It should be okay right?' He thought.
As Ken made his way over to where the team was warming up, the first thing that he noticed was the tense atmosphere. Only a few of the players sent him a brief glance before returning to their stretches.
'Hmm, they look nervous.' Ken thought inwardly.
"You there, why aren't you in uniform?" A deep voice called out from the side.
Ken turned his head, only to see a middle aged man pointing at him. At first, Ken was going to answer rudely, however he quickly realized that this was likely the coach for team 1.
"My apologies coach, I only just received the uniform. I'll get changed right away." He said, dropping his bag on the ground.
Ken took off his shirt on the spot, throwing it to the ground on top of his bag. His toned muscles were on full display, showing just how well-trained and symmetrical his body was.
"Ahem… Be quick, we've got a long day ahead." The middle-aged man said, turning his head from the sight in front of him.
After Ken got changed, he felt a few more pairs of eyes on him. Upon seeing his name on the back of the shirt and the number 1 assigned to him, many even began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Hey, you must be Ken." A figure approached him, holding out his hand.
Ken looked the guy up and down, he seemed to be one of those kids who had attended private school and was from a well off family from the way he held himself. Of course Ken wasn't one to judge from appearances alone, so he replied respectfully.
"That's me, sorry I didn't catch your name." He said, grasping the hand.
"Taylor Jenkins, I'm a catcher for the Upstate Mavericks. I'm looking forward to catching your pitches." The guy said, giving him a warm smile.
"I see. I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before." Ken asked with some confusion. How did this guy know that he was a pitcher?
"Heh, we never met personally, but my team also competed at the WWBA Tournament a few weeks ago." Taylor replied matter-of-factly.
"Ah, I see. Well it's nice to formally meet you then."
"Likewise. Is this your first time at a PG Showcase?"
Ken grinned, "Could you tell?"
"Nah, It was just a guess." Taylor replied a little sarcastically. "How about I run you through what we'll be doing?"
"Mmm." Ken nodded, "That would be a lot of help."
"Alright no problem. We'll be doing some drills today, depending on what position you play. Even though you're a pitcher, you also played in the outfield right?" He asked.
Ken rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I didn't have much choice though."
"Alright, well if you can play outfield, I'd suggest taking part in the outfield drill. We'll also have batting practice a bit later where they test your exit velocity. Apart from the physical drills, we'll also have a game later today."
"Seems easy enough."
"Yeah, it's pretty simple. I've been doing this every year since I was 14, so you came to the right person." Taylor added with a smile. He seemed rather confident and easy to talk to, which made Ken drop his guard a little.
"Mmm. Do you have any tips for me?" Ken asked off-handedly. He didn't expect a proper response, especially since they were all competitors.
"Sure. The main purpose of the showcase is to get the attention of coach's and scouts. Try and be respectful if a coach approaches you or gives you some feedback. Also try and treat the drills as if you are in an actual game."
Taylor paused, looking around slightly before continuing on, "Make sure you focus on technique, particularly your batting and pitching mechanics. Generally the coach's aren't looking for velocity and power, but technique instead."
Ken's eyes widened, not expecting Taylor to reveal so much to someone who he'd just met. For some reason, he felt like he was a really good guy.
"Well thank you for that, I'll definitely take heed of your words." Ken replied bowing slightly.
"Hey no problem, we gotta look out for each other right? Who knows, we might even join the same college in the future." The guy added, sending him a wink.
"Ha ha… Sure thing."
"Alright, everyone head over here to get your mugshot. Once you're done we'll start playing some catch before moving into the physical drills." The coach stated, his deep voice getting everyone's attention.
Ken had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in response. He hated getting his photo taken, professionally or otherwise. Just thinking about this made him remember the team photo posted on the Perfect Game website after the tournament.
Everybody else in the photo seemed to be happy apart from him who looked like he was on trial for murder.
'I just don't understand why I can't smile naturally for photos…' Ken thought, letting out a sigh.
"After you man." Taylor said, gesturing for Ken to go before him.
"Nope, I'll go last. Otherwise we'll be here for too long." Ken shook his head, moving to the side.
Taylor looked at him with confusion, but eventually dropped it. It wasn't until afterwards that he understood what Ken meant.
"Help me out here man… Can you just smile naturally?" The photographer asked, his face looking impatient.
"This is the best you'll get…" Ken replied with annoyance.