Various events, including striker and goalkeeper camps and soccer classes, were held, with over 400 players participating!
Please see below for event details and how the day unfolded.
[April 2 (Tuesday) Defense School for Elementary School Students in Grades 3-6]
A "Defense School" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse.
This time, the training focused on "winning the ball," primarily through 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 interpersonal drills.
In the 1-on-1 drills, participants were instructed to "approach the opponent quickly while the ball is moving to win the ball," and they focused on closing the distance to the opponent while the ball distributed by the coach was in motion.
While more players were able to win the ball by being mindful of the distance to their opponent, some players were unable to stop and were beaten on the first touch.
The coach then advised, "First, approach quickly. Next, assess the distance to the opponent and if you can't win the ball, stop and react!"
It is important to press while making your own judgments.
After that, multi-player interpersonal training, such as 2-on-2 and 3-on-3, was conducted with the same focus.
By winning the ball individually, players became able to transition to the next attack in a good situation!
We hope they will continue to challenge themselves to win the ball in matches and become more successful!
[April 3 (Wednesday) & April 4 (Thursday) Striker and Goalkeeper Camp for Elementary School Students in Grades 3-6]
A 2-day, 1-night "Striker and Goalkeeper Camp" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse.
At the Striker and Goalkeeper Camp, training was conducted a total of four times: morning and afternoon on day 1, and morning and afternoon on day 2.
On the first day of the Striker Camp, training focused on basic kicking and shooting, which are fundamental to soccer. Participants learned how to kick the center of the ball, where to kick to make it float, and how to hit strong ground shots by increasing the number of kicks.
On the morning of the second day, in addition to shooting from the first day, advanced training focused on movements to receive passes and ball control for shooting, where participants learned the secrets to scoring goals.
The Goalkeeper Camp on day 1 focused on "defending the goal," and day 2 focused on "winning the ball and defending the space behind the goal."
On day 1, with the theme of "defending the goal," in addition to basic drills such as fundamental form and how to extend hands to block shots coming straight on, training also included positioning.
As form, pre-jumps, and positioning improved, the number of shots saved significantly increased!
On day 2, with the theme of "winning the ball and defending the space behind the goal," training focused on having the awareness to win the ball from an opponent's through pass or when the opponent's touch became large in a 1-on-1 situation.
By changing their stance when defending the goal, such as not keeping their feet together and the position of their upper body, they became able to approach passes quickly to win the ball.
On the afternoon of day 2, participants were divided into 8 teams at the academy field and played matches for the entire time, conducting practical training.
Many participants from both the Striker Camp and Goalkeeper Camp were seen challenging themselves in matches with what they had learned over the two days!
This camp included an overnight stay at Mikasayama Ryokan. Participants showed various signs of growth through guidance in areas other than soccer, such as managing their own belongings, planning their actions by working backward from deadlines, and showing good manners in public spaces used by others.
Also, on the evening of the first day, everyone, including the coaches, watched the match between "Kashima Antlers vs. Avispa Fukuoka." There were scenes of participants listening to the coaches while watching the match, and talking about soccer with their friends, making it an event where they could focus on soccer from morning to night!
It was a very meaningful camp for the participating players, as they could make new friends through soccer and immerse themselves in soccer in an environment where they could focus solely on it.
[April 7 (Sunday) Coordination School for Elementary School Students in Grades 3-6]
A "Coordination School" for elementary school students in grades 3-6 was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
This time, the theme was "footwork" x "soccer," and training involved movements such as stepping, turning, jumping, and squatting, integrated with soccer. The competitive style training was particularly exciting!
Some players showed changes in their movements during the event, and some improved their speed and agility. It was a great event that led to skill improvement while having fun!
Please join us for the next event.
[April 14 (Sunday) 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match for Elementary School Students in Grades 1-6]
The "1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match, April Tournament" for elementary school students in grades 1-6 was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court!
This was the first time it was held in the 2024 season. Many players who had just changed grades participated for the first time!
Children participating in the 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match for the first time initially struggled with remembering the rules and some almost gave up after conceding many goals, but as the matches progressed, they showed a determination to win.
The glorious champions of the April tournament were "Takuma Ishibashi" in the 1st grade division, "Aoi Miyauchi" in the 2nd grade division, and "Asahi Sakagami" in the 3rd and 4th grade division.
The three winners received a shield as proof of their championship!
Although it was the first tournament of the season, many exciting matches unfolded. We hope that the players who missed out on the championship this time will acquire new skills in May and June and grow to become champions!
We will continue to hold these events, so we look forward to your challenge!
[April 20 (Saturday) Soccer Class for Kids (Ages 4-5) in Namegata]
A soccer class was held for kids (ages 4-5) and elementary school students in grades 1-3 at the Namegata City Aso Sports Ground Futsal Court.
In the kids' soccer class, participants first warmed up by running and touching cones with their hands and feet, and then got used to the ball through ball-feeling exercises like throwing the ball with their hands.
In practice, various ball touches such as inside and sole touches, and dribbling were performed.
In dribbling, players practiced passing through cone gates of the same color. Initially, many players struggled, colliding with cones and other players, but by focusing on ball touches, the number of collisions with friends and cones decreased.
After that, they practiced dribbling past randomly placed cones and then shooting, further improving their skills by quickly avoiding cones and shooting!
Finally, the coaches also joined in a match! By focusing on the dribbling and shooting practiced, many goals were scored!
The Kashima Antlers School Namegata branch offers a kids' class every Wednesday from 5:10 PM to 6:00 PM at the Aso Sports Ground multipurpose field!
Please come and try a free trial session!
[April 20 (Saturday) Movement Development & Soccer Class for Elementary School Students in Grades 1-3 in Namegata]
A "Movement Development & Soccer Class" for elementary school students in grades 1-3 was held at the Namegata City Aso Sports Ground Futsal Court.
In movement development, rhythm training and footwork training were conducted. Children who initially found it difficult and couldn't do it well became able to do so by approaching it with enjoyment and a positive attitude, making it an event where they felt a lot of "I did it!"
Among the most exciting training was "Coach Imitation Training." In this training, children imitated the various movements of the coaches, and since the three coaches performed completely different movements, the children struggled but it was a very lively training session.
In the latter half of the event, training and matches that combined movement development with soccer were held, and it was a lively time throughout!
The Kashima Antlers School Namegata branch holds classes every Wednesday at the Aso Sports Ground multipurpose field! Please come and try a free trial session!
[Namegata School Schedule]
Kids (ages 4-5), Elementary School Grades 1-2: 5:10 PM - 6:00 PM
Elementary School Grades 3-6: 6:20 PM - 7:20 PM
