Dinosaurs 22-year-old switch-heater shortstop, confident 'NO' when everyone says YES

Word of mouth of Kang Jung-ho School is getting more and more widely spread in the KBO League. Son Ah-seop (36, NC Dinos) met Kang Jung-ho, who runs an academy in Los Angeles, and after repairing his batting average, he recovered from his slump in the 2022 season to become the king of batting average and the king of most hits in the 2023 season.

Then, Kim Jae-hwan (36, Doosan Bears), Park Se-hyuk (34, NC), Han Dong-hee (25, Lotte Giants), and Jeong-hoon (37, Lotte), who had been sluggish for the past one or two years, quit their certificates. Kim Jae-hwan had a one-month schedule at the end of last year, and Park Se-hyuk will depart on the 10th. Han Dong-hee and Jeong-hoon will also leave soon.

However, there is a player who turned down Kang. He is Kim Joo-won (22, NC), a gold medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games and a rising star that the Korean baseball is paying attention to. During the 2023 season, Son Ah-seop asked him to go with him, and he thought about going, but he changed his mind.

Kim has been conducting individual training sessions at a local baseball center since December last year. "I played a lot of games last year, so I'm doing a lot of recovery exercises," Kim told reporters at Changwon NC Park on Tuesday. "I'm studying at the center to learn skills because I'm not good at batting."

I told him why I turned down Kang Jung-ho's school. "Aseob asked me to go from the middle of the season, but I said I would because there was no reason to turn it down," Kim Ju-won said. "However, when the season ended and the period was approaching, I properly talked to him again, and he asked me to go with him in mid-January. I have only two weeks to learn from him. I want to learn from him properly, but two weeks is short. To learn, I think I should learn for more than a month before proceeding to the camp."  스포츠토토

That's a valid judgment. Even Kang expressed concern through his YouTube channel that "Sawah-seop will stay only about two weeks this time, unlike last year," adding that he has limited time. Kim Ju-won also likes Kang Jung-ho School. He thought that if he goes to mid-January, the effect will be small due to less physical time, and it could only cause confusion in hitting.

"After talking to coach Jeon Min-soo and Asop again, I think there is such an element of anxiety. I asked him if he could go next time because it could be confusing if I learn for a while. So he said it was okay." It's not that I didn't go because I didn't like Kang Jung-ho School.

For hitters who have completed their batting to the extent of Son Ah-seop, 'instrumental tutoring' is okay. However, Kim Joo-won is not at that level yet. Of course, short-term lessons can backfire. Currently, the baseball center you attend is correcting your batting form, so you can maximize efficiency there.

Kim Joo-won said, "I need to put my strength on the strike properly, but I am fixing it because there is a side that is dispersed in the movement of gathering strength." Since it has been in progress since December last year, changing the training location and coach is bound to be rather confusing.

Kang said he is confident in persuading individual batters for their direction through endless efforts and research. However, he also said he cannot change all batters. Kang's school is not a cure-all. Korea also has many good batting teachers. You can choose the way you want to learn. In Kim's situation, it is right to reject Kang's school this time.

Kim Joo-won said, "I had a lot of thoughts when I was in a bad situation last year. I was grateful to play a lot of games. On the one hand, it didn't work out well, so I thought it would be okay if I took a rest. I thought I should keep going because I have to overcome it anyway."

That's why I'm looking forward to this season. Shortstop who can challenge the Major League in the future that the U.S. FanGraph noted. "I'm grateful that you evaluated me like that. I still have a lot of shortcomings. I think we need to improve step by step. It's important to do better here than in the Major League," Kim said.