Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.19 Ch.19: The Valkyries' "Master"

"For God's sake," Nakajima said. "I've just arrived and you two are already at it. If you have so much energy to spare, then pour into practice!" WHAM! She struck the floor with the tip of her shinai! "Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Karen and Cornelia quieted down and awkwardly glanced away. Unfortunately, this weak response was not enough for the coach.

"I don't hear your voices!" WHAM! Nakajima struck the floor again like a hardcore drillmaster! "Was I clear?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Karen and Cornelia awkwardly raised their voices.

Honestly, rather than actually drilling in the coach's message, this whole military-like routine only caused embarrassment for them. Though, that was effective in its own way.

"Good." Nakajima nodded in satisfaction. "Now, what are you waiting for, girls? Move on to the next game!" WHAM! This stirred the entire club into action. They dropped whatever they were doing and returned to their seats.

"You don't have even a second to waste," Nakajima lectured as usual. "You must play as many games as humanly possible if you want to have any chance of doing well in the regionals!" WHAM! "Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Everybody answered in unison despite how awkward it felt. No matter how many times they had gone through these drills, it never got any better...

And so, the team moved on to the next game.

Just as Ms. Nakajima said, they had no time to waste on petty in-fighting. The team was severely lacking in experience. Though the team members were skilled to one degree or another, they did not have sufficient experience as a team to make the most out of their individual talents.

Not to mention, the club only had five members, so everybody had to participate in competitive games regardless of their skill level and experience. This was very different from other school clubs, where the first-string was generally composed of seniors with plenty of experience under their belt.

Truly, on all fronts, the Valkyries were lagging behind the competition. Therefore, they had to work harder than anybody in order to catch up.

Unfortunately, even though Fiona was sufficiently talented and motivated, the same did not necessarily apply to the others. After all, they were only middle schoolers. Most girls their age spent their free time idling about, posting photos on social media, or gossiping about the latest reality shows. They did not have a shred of competitiveness spirit.

Fiona was well aware of the issue when she formed the club. Therefore, she went out of her way to hire a coach. There simply had to be an adult with authority in this club to put the girls in line.

At first, Fiona requested Fernando Rodriguez to be the team's coach. Naturally, she offered a salary that respected the fact Mr. Rodriguez was viewed as a legendary coach in this region.

Rodriguez expressed interest in taking on the job but there were two obstacles.

First, Rodriguez was a man. St. Mary's was a prestigious all-girls school, so inviting a male coach did not sit right with the board. The number of male teachers in the school was practically zero and nobody was interested in increasing it.

The other obvious obstacle was the conflict of interest. Having the same coach for two different teams from the same region was highly unusual.

The administration of the regionals debated the topic at length. They ultimately decided to allow only one registered team per coach, which meant the Valkyries would not be able to participate under Rodriguez's lead.

And so, the deal did not come to pass. But fortunately, Rodriguez found them a suitable substitute, one who easily sidestepped both obstacles.

This other coach candidate was a woman, so the school board had nothing against her. In addition, she was currently coaching a high school team in this region but not a middle school one, so there was no conflict of interest.