Haikyuu!: Hinata's Unseen Training Regimes

Key recommendations

• Hinata went beyond team practice, practicing on the streets and beaches to improve her volleyball skills.
• Hinata's off-screen training regimens, including speed drills and cycling, contributed to his growth.
• Hinata's transformation during a two-year break and beach volleyball experience in Brazil have significantly improved her skills.

To become a professional in any sport, team training is crucial, but reaching the top is more than team training, especially for Shoyo Hinata, a 5' 4.6″ boy with a passion for volleyball in Haikyuu!! series. After entering Karasuno, Hinata realized how far she was from reaching professional status as a volleyball player.

Instead of relying solely on team training, Hinata took to the streets, the beach, and empty fields to train. Anything that would allow him to improve. With his unyielding determination to improve, this schoolboy became a professional, but with many unseen training regimes and innovative practices behind Haikyuu!! series.

Initial training methods

Maximum exploitation of limited resources

Hinata Shoyo has always been very gifted athletically despite her height. In his early years, the young volleyball player practiced alone most of the time, running and jumping to improve his already given talents. Without a middle school volleyball team, team practices did not exist; however, since volleyball is a team sport, Hinata would gather some of her friends who, despite their lack of experience in the game, would at least help Hinata practice passing the ball. Even in competitions, Hinata's team usually served as nothing more than filler as the young volleyball player tried to do everything on her own, using her speed to compensate as she continuously ran around the court. Despite her lack of formal training, Hinata made up for it with determination and innovation. As many mocked him for his height, he simply shut them down with his speed and vertical jump.

After entering Karasuno, Hinata began actual team training. With his team training, Hinata learned things like receiving, serving, and even the infamous fast attack between him and Kageyama. The indoor volleyball drills that Karasuno's flyer went through allowed him to learn a lot. With team practice matches, defense and receiving drills were crucial for the 5' 4.6″ individual who could only run, jump and barely aim. Volleyball is more than just shooting and Hinata had to at least learn the basics to become a Team Player Aside from receiving, Hinata had to learn to function as a blocker despite her height, and her vertical leaps played a large role in her being able to blocks from the opposition were not enough to elevate him to the ace he wanted to become. training unseen.

Training beyond official practices

Hidden work behind Hinata's growth

The actual training that increased Hinata's speed, explosive power, and vertical jumps were all off screen. On screen, he mostly demonstrated the results of what he had trained himself to do. For his speed and agility, Hinata must have practiced cone drills, which would have turned him into weaving through cones in a straight line. In addition to basic training, this especially helps with changing directions quickly and being nimble enough with one's speed, not just fast.

For his sheer speed, Karasuno was often seen jogging long distances, and Hinata no doubt did this alongside sprints of her own. Furthermore, Hinata is known to ride his bicycle up and down the mountains every day, which greatly improves his muscle strength, flexibility, and balance.

For her explosive power training, Hinata started without looking at the ball at all. The moment she joined Karasuno, and he and Kageyama developed the quick attack, Hinata would simply throw the ball without aiming or looking at where it was going to land. Eventually this changed as Hinata began targeting an area to throw the ball. Instead of jumping and parrying, a critical offensive technique called approach and spike would be used. This technique emphasizes footwork leading up to the spike, where the individual jumps and hits the ball at the highest point, directing the spike. Fans of the series have only seen the speedy attacking duo use the move in a game, but the training leading up to it was mostly off the pitch. This simple eye opening change improved Hinata's overall splashing ability, if only slightly. However, the biggest change came off-screen during the time jump in Brazil.

Brazil's experience

Hinata's biggest transformative event was off-screen

After the Tokyo Nationals Arc, which happened mostly in the manga, Hinata felt she was not fit to compete at the world level. Instead of joining Kageyama and others who went straight to play at the world level, Hinata took a two-year break to practice volleyball, improving her skills. This time, Hinata truly became a complete volleyball player who could excel without the Court King by his side. Before the passage of time, Hinata's strengths consisted of her speed, jumping power, and stamina. However, he was sorely lacking when it came to his game sense, technique and power.

With beach volleyball, Hinata improved on all of her weaknesses, but never really overcame them. Switching to beach volleyball rather than indoor volleyball forced Hinata to go all-out because there are fewer players, making each player that much more important. Moreover, with the beach comes wind and sand. Wind, which changes the direction of the ball and sand, which affects the agility of those who play on it. Playing in such conditions for two years, Hinata adapted to respond to the unpredictable factors and improved her footwork and overall technique.

Hinata's unconventional training in Brazil served very differently from what she would have learned in official practice matches. The unpredictability of beach volleyball and the many factors that affect it are very different from formal matches, but Hinata decided on this form of training regimen that existed beyond simple and formal team practices. This is very similar to the difference between professional basketball and street basketball. As for unseen training regimens, going to a beach in Brazil to practice volleyball was what Hinata decided was best for him.

Studying the Game

Hinata's tactical growth through observation

One of Hinata's most overlooked training regimens, as basic as it may seem, is simply observation. As he observes, Hinata does not participate in practice matches by simply watching others practice or play. Very few in the series consider this a form of training, whether seen or unseen, but Hinata has shown that she has learned a lot by simply watching others. Especially during the First Year Selective Training Camp, where Hinata crashed, he was told to serve as a ball boy and not train in any official training.

However, Karasuno's Ultimate Decoy decided to learn and train through observation. A ball boy primarily receives balls and maintains the court, but by watching the others play, Hinata discovered how the players moved in sync with each other and paid attention to the movements of their teammates. For retrieving balls as a ball boy, Hinata decided not to run after the ball after it leaves the court, but to actually be in the right place at the right time to catch any ball. This required him to observe the ball carefully and where it would be. To get to where the ball will be faster than the ball itself, Hinata used the split step technique, a technique she was taught by a friend in middle school for tennis practice. In this way, despite not being invited or allowed to train, Hinata created a form of training for himself outside of being allowed for official training.

Mental preparation

The silent development of a new mindset

Every successful athlete needs and suffers from enough mental toughness to become the best. However, this is not something Haikyuu!! the series actively depicts Hinata doing. As an athlete with just as many disadvantages as Hinata, Karasuno's aspiring ace no doubt engaged in mental training, particularly by increasing his mindset, reflecting on his mistakes, and visualizing. Hinata's growth mindset is especially seen when he states that he no longer has the desire to become the next Little Giant and would rather become the Ultimate Decoy. In this way, Hinata realized that while the Little Giant was cool, his abilities and personality in general were better suited to becoming something else. This kind of mindset and decision must have been built brick by brick rather than suddenly becoming aware of it, as becoming the Little Giant is something he always dreamed of.

Aside from his mindset, Hinata is known to engage in visualization exercises by mentally playing out various scenarios in his head. This in turn allows him to anticipate first hand what the opponent can do in a real match and also helps him mentally prepare and calm his emotions to match his expectations in head.

Although this form of training has not been actively described in Haikyuu!! series, is undoubtedly one of the things that allowed Hinata to be as successful as she is today. It's safe to say that without it, he'd still be the young, inexperienced kid who simply ran down the field hoping to be useful to his teammates without getting a real read of the game. Therefore, this workout is definitely the most important thing that fans can pay attention to when examining the regimen that the little man on the court has decided to rely on in his quest for improvement.

Haikyuu!! is available to watch on Crunchyroll.