Now that Ken had seen the form slowed down, he could see its magnificence even more so. Not only was the swing fast and beautiful, it was also effective.
"Alright, you try." The coach said, handing Ken the bat. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but he remained quiet, wanting to see how Ken would fare with only this much instruction.
Ken took the bat, his mind in deep thought. He got into position and closed his eyes, using his memory recall to view the swing again. Only after replaying it a few times did he have an inkling of what to do.
Like he was shown, Ken put his weight on his back foot while lifting his lead leg. He stepped forward, but instead of shifting his weight to the front, he stayed leaned back.
His bat dropped down and when it came time to twist his body for torque, Ken almost shouted in surprise. Since his foot was not planted, he had a larger range of motion, allowing his bat to speed up considerably.
WHACK
"Eh?"
Ken stood still in shock, almost not understanding what was happening.
"Excellent!" Coach Johnson clapped, "Looks like you have a good instinct for batting." He stated, smiling. "Hit a few more."
Ken nodded, not wanting to lose the feeling he'd just chanced upon. With the next few swings, he was able to grasp the technique even more, leading to a sense of puzzlement.
He had been batting seriously for the past 5 years, quite well in fact. Many praised him as being a legitimate two-way player, even coming into college. Yet it turned out that he had been brute-forcing his way through everything.
'Is this why I sucked at batting when the system was upgrading?' He thought to himself.
Since his technique was flawed since the beginning, it would make sense that the reduction in his physical abilities would also hinder his batting. But now, with this technique, he felt an ease with which he was not used to feeling.
"Alright good. Tomorrow we'll put you against a live pitcher and see how you go." Coach Johnson said, ushering Ken out of the batters box.
"Next."
Ken moved to the side and began to think deeply about this new technique.
'Mika, why didn't you tell me about the flaws in my technique?' He asked, more out of curiosity than blame.'
[User did not ask.]
"…"
Ken let out a small sigh, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. But he quickly recovered. There was no point in crying over spilled milk. It was better late than never, after all.
"Did you know about this technique?" Ken asked Steve who was quiet.
Steve shook his head. "I went through batting practice with a coach for a while, but I was never taught this. Maybe it's some new technique or something?"
"Or maybe the college coach's are just that much better." Ken replied, silently giving himself a pat on the back for choosing to go this route.
He had been given quite a few options during his Senior year of High School, but it seemed he'd made the right decision. Even if this was the only thing that he learned this year, it would be worth it.
Thinking about this, Ken remembered the conversation he had with a scout for a major league team. Instead of urging him to declare for the draft, the guy had asked him to join an open tryout so they could give him a minor league contract.
Ken let out a dark chuckle. He would have been an idiot to take such a shady sounding deal for a simple minor contract. Especially since he was a top prospect for college.
"What are you laughing about?" Steve asked curiously.
"Oh nothing, I just remembered something funny." Ken said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Tell me…"
"No… It's only funny to me."
"Nah, just say it. I'll even give you a pity laugh if it's bad." Steve urged.
After a few minutes of pestering, Ken finally gave up. If there was one thing Steve was good at, it was getting under his skin.
"I had a scout tell me to forgo the draft and college to enter the open tryouts for a Major League team. He said that they would definitely sign me, but could only do so with a minor league contract at first." Ken replied, shaking his head.
"Eh really? What team was it?"
"Boston Red Socks." Ken replied nonchalantly.
"EH!?" Steve exclaimed in shock, his mouth wide open. Both the players and the coach in the vicinity turned to him, but he ignored them.
"You're telling me that a scout from the Red Socks asked you to try out, and you rejected him?"
Ken frowned, "I can't risk my career on some shady promises from some guy I don't know. The most tried and tested way of getting to the Majors is through college. I'm not about to throw it away for just anything."
Steve was silent for a few moments before nodding. "I guess you're right… I also hate the Red Socks, so I think you made a good decision." He said, giving Ken a thumbs up.
Ken shook his head, letting out a small chuckle. "I hope they draft you."
"O—Oi, you take that back." Steve stammered.
The two squabbled for a while until it was Steve's turn to enter the batters box. He struggled for a while to understand what changes to make to his form, but Coach Johnson was not only good at his job, he was also patient.
WHACK
"Good one mate!" He exclaimed, patting Steve on the back. It had taken the guy an additional 10 minutes, but he had eventually gotten the hang of the technique.
"Alright, I've got your swings on camera now. We'll review them together later this week. For now, it's time for some strength and conditioning with Coach Coleman." He said, directing them to the other side of the field.
Ken saw the dark skinned man in his tight polo shirt and mentally prepared himself.
'This is gonna be tough…' he thought, remembering the nice guy attitude of the coach.