Published in Aurelia Sports Monthly, Special Edition: National League Rising Stars
Coach Profile: Kenzaburo Daigo (大悟 健三郎)
· Age: 58
· Current Role: Independent Coach (unaffiliated with major academies)
· Known For: Harsh training methods, unrelenting discipline, blunt attitude.
· Nickname: "The Coach Who Never Smiles."
Training Philosophy
Ask any player who has survived Daigo's training, and the answer is the same: "You don't leave his court alive. You crawl."
Every drill is doubled, every mistake repeated until muscle memory is carved into bone. He makes his trainees draw footwork patterns with chalk until dawn, hit a thousand serves without water breaks, and read ball angles in pitch darkness.
A famous quote attributed to him:
"Talent lies. Feet lie. Lungs lie. The ball never lies."
Reputation Among Players
· Shizuka Amane (Prodigy, National Player): "He's infuriating... but he's right. Always right. I hate it."
· Haru Nakatani (Comic Relief, Street League): "Coach Daigo once hit me with a ball canister for chewing noodles mid-drill. I still think about it when I eat ramen."
· Anonymous Academy Player: "Some say he's a relic. Others say he's the only reason the 'Substitute Messiah' hasn't collapsed yet."
Public Perception
To the common fans of Aurelia, Daigo is more myth than man. He doesn't give interviews, doesn't pose for cameras, and has turned down every sponsor that tried to slap their logo on his cap.
Instead, he is seen at odd hours, standing by cracked glass courts, cigarette smoke curling in the night. Young players whisper that he can read rallies just by listening to echoes off the wall.
No one has ever seen him smile—not after a win, not after a trophy, not even when Tachibana Ren survived the infamous Court of Penance Duel. All he did was mutter:
"Your feet lied less today."
And yet, in Aurelia, those words trended overnight on social media as the highest form of praise.
Rumors & Mystique
· Some say Daigo once coached a prodigy who vanished before reaching Nationals.
· Others whisper that he walks the courts at midnight, still training with ghosts.
· But when asked directly, Daigo simply growls: "Stop asking stupid questions. Go run fifty laps."
Final Note
Kenzaburo Daigo may never smile, but in a world where padel is everything, perhaps the harshest coach is exactly what Aurelia's newest underdog needed.