The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Shimoyawata High, Timeout!"

Right after watching how the last play was unraveled, Miura, Shimo's head coach, didn't hesitate to call for a timeout immediately. After all, the last few minutes didn't go in the direction he wanted, and while before, he still wanted to let the players on the court solve this matter by themselves to see their maturity, this time, he decided to throw away that idea as far away from his head as possible. This time, he knew that the players needed his help, so he would provide it for them while also cutting off the opponent's momentum straight away.

"Still, isn't it a bit too late for him to call a timeout?" On the stand, Riku couldn't help but ask his teammates, feeling confused. "I mean, we saw it clearly how outmatched his players are, right? What did he want to see by waiting and watching his team suffer like this?" Besides him, Yuki also nodded in agreement, but couldn't understand Miura's decision.

The other Tsunemori players there also looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. After all, at the end of the day, they were still a high school player who still had too little experience in this game. It was understandable that they couldn't see Miura's intention clearly.

In the end, it was an old man sitting in front of them who answered the question. "Boys from Tsunemori High, you brats seem to be confused about his decision, so let this old man explain to you." The man barked out laughter first before continuing, "This is something that the head coach of the second-tier teams would always do whenever they felt that their team was ready to step into a higher realm. After all, to be a top-tier team, their players have to be able to solve almost every problem on the court by themselves! Just look at Konan High and Matsuyama Kita High!"

At that, all of the Tsunemori players widened their eyes, feeling enlightened. However, Riku was still skeptical about the explanation, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "How could this be the first time I heard about it? Also, should the qualification to be a top-tier team be winning the game against the other top-tier teams? Not something so trivial that people could brush off so easily, like solving the problem on their own like that?"

The old man just chuckled amusedly when he heard that. "Boy, you are still so young, there are still a lot of things that you have never heard before. Don't be impatient." Riku couldn't help but blush at the gentle reprimand the old man gave to him. It didn't help that some of his teammates there held back their laughter, too, finding this scene to be funny.

"As for the condition to be a top-tier team, well, winning or losing one game wouldn't tell you a lot, except for the team's condition on that day. It is possible that the stronger team has a bad day during the game, or the opponent has a group of fierce supporters behind them, or something like that. So, a lot of coaches think that winning or losing doesn't matter too much to the team's status as a strong team or not. What matters is how adaptable their players are on the court, especially when facing the never-ending hardship the opponent gives them. Unfortunately, Shimo High failed to show a strong response here, telling us that they are not ready to stand side-by-side with Konan High or Matsuyama Kita High yet."

After the old man said that, all the Tsunemori players recalled their memory of the time when they played against the two top teams in Japan. Indeed, they could still remember several times they caused trouble, just for the opponent to solve it immediately without calling for a timeout. It seemed the ability to solve the problem by themselves was a pretty important thing for a team to have if they wanted to step into a higher place.

"Old man, you sure know a lot about the dynamics of the game. Are you a loyal fan of the sport?" Riku couldn't help but ask after praising the old man first. In fact, all the Tsunemori players around also looked at the old man curiously, wondering where did he get all the knowledge he just shared earlier.

"Of course, this old man is an old fan! I have been watching this game since I was 7 years old, about 45 years ago! I have watched this game since Saburo Honda – that is Matsuyama Kita's head coach, by the way – emerged for the first time as a high school player! Your parents might not have been born yet when I came to the volleyball court for the first time ever! Hahaha!" The old man barked a loud laughter.

However, this statement stunned all of them. They didn't expect that they would sit next to a veteran fan here. No wonder the old man could sputter so much wisdom whenever he opened his mouth.

"Hey, Ojiisan, if you have followed the game for so long, you should be able to think something beyond our understanding, right? What do you think will happen after this timeout is over?" This time, Yuki decided to join the fun, asking the old man curiously.

"What will happen after this timeout is over? Bah, that is too easy! Nothing drastic will change, and Shirayuki High will be able to win this set easily!"

"Eh?" This bold statement somehow made everyone around here curious. After all, Shimo High was not a team that anyone could shrug off just like that. So, the old man should have a reason why he was sure about what he had just said. "Why would you think that Shimo High wouldn't be able to challenge back in this set, Ojiisan?" Yuki asked again.

"Oh, it is because the psychological state of you young men is too volatile." The old man couldn't help but sigh. "Once you are on fire, you will be unstoppable, and once you fall to the bottom of the ocean, you will not be able to swim back to the land. No matter how much the coach said, no drastic change would happen in Shimo High's mood. If anything, their performance would only get worse, and the only thing that could snap them from their current pitiful state is a direct result that would slap their face, like losing the first set. When they realize that they are down by one set, someone will finally step up, it would be the captain usually, and raise the morale of the team. That would be when the game is finally back into the same competitiveness as when it started earlier."

Even though most of the Tsunemori players here didn't understand what the old man said, they still nodded politely. However, they all could grasp the point that the old man wanted to convey, which was the fact that Shimo High wouldn't be able to get up from their slump before losing the first set. Now, they were all curious, wanting to see whether the old man's theory would work or not. After all, only time would tell the answer to their question here.