After practice, Captain Hosaka reflects on how he should prepare the students for the future. He thinks they are at the stage of coaching themselves. However, for him, they still lack self-esteem. Their lack of excitement might be due to the reduced opportunities for one-on-one coaching – if he should be stern with them as he has been in the past or not.  Sugihara hesitates and he seems conflicted. He just wants his students to be achievers like their senior predecessors.    The seniors have left us their own legacies, not only in terms of winning and losing but also in the way they work hard. The daily actions of the third-year students are very important to what they want to leave behind. The team has not been able to achieve the desired results and is not doing well individually. It may be difficult, but third-year students should learn to lead the team more.  It is not about the results, but how aggressive they are in their willingness to win. They should be able to learn by themselves even without their captain pointing this out.  They should come out of their shell and carry the responsibility of the team’s destiny. There is no need to fear failure. Sugihara will take the responsibility for the final result. However, it is up to the pride of the students to establish and stick to the baseball of this team and what they will carve in the history of the Meihachi baseball team.    Return of ace candidate, Kotaro Haneda