Six players from Antlers Youth, namely Rui Onuki, Yuwa Fukuoka, Sora Iwato, Koki Kurahashi, Eito Takagi, and Shusei Takizawa, are participating in the J-Village camp, which began on Thursday, July 9.
Iwato, Kurahashi, and Takagi will participate until Monday, July 13, while Onuki, Fukuoka, and Takizawa will join midway through, starting on Tuesday, July 14.
Here are their aspirations before departure and a glimpse of their training at the camp.
Rui Onuki (3rd year)
"I also participated in the Miyazaki camp in January, but at that time, I wasn't able to do anything significant, in a good way. I believe I've grown during the period leading up to this summer, so I want to fully demonstrate my abilities and achieve good results in the practice matches held during the camp. I felt a sense of growth when I participated in the camp in my second year, so I want to continue to grow in this camp as a third-year student."
Yuwa Fukuoka (3rd year)
"There are many amazing players, and I want to absorb the good aspects from the top-level players in the league and bring that back with me. I want to clearly demonstrate what I can do during the training camp. Since I participated in the previous camp, my main goal is to show how much I've grown since then."
Sora Iwato (2nd year)
"I'm really excited, not just for the camp, but because I've never participated in a top team practice before and haven't experienced the atmosphere. I don't think I'll be able to keep up unless I give my all, so I want to fully express myself without holding back, using my strengths like my left foot and being aggressive in challenges. I also want to learn about what they do before practice and other things off the pitch. I'm the type of player who gets better and better with good plays, so I hope to enjoy playing with the mindset of earning a promotion to the top team during this period."
Koki Kurahashi (2nd year)
"I'm genuinely happy to have been selected to participate in the camp. This is an opportunity to train with professional players, so I want to confidently showcase my skills without fear and impress the coach and players. There are many technically skilled players, so I want to absorb and learn from every play to make it my own."
Eito Takagi (2nd year)
"I'm genuinely happy to be able to participate in the camp. It's a short period of five days, so I want to showcase my strengths and work hard to get promoted to the top team as soon as possible. I want to prioritize communication with the top team players, and personally, I want to impress them with my cross delivery and ability to hold onto the ball. If I get the opportunity to play in a practice match, I definitely want to score a goal and impress Coach Oniki."
Shusei Takizawa (2nd year)
"I used to watch videos of the top team's camps when I was in junior high school, so I'm incredibly happy to be able to participate in the training this time. I participated in a top team practice about a month ago, and while there were times I could show my play, there were also times I held back. In this camp, I want to approach the training without holding back, as if I'm going to play in a match. It's a valuable opportunity to see how much I can demonstrate my strengths and weapons, such as dribbling and strength in one-on-one situations, and also to learn about professional soccer players' off-the-pitch efforts, so I hope to learn a lot in those areas."
*Updated on 7/14 (Tuesday)
Additionally, Kosei Oshita has been called up as an extra player from Monday, July 13.
Kosei Oshita (2nd year)
"I am grateful to be able to participate in the camp. It's not just about participating, but about what I can do there, so I want to give my all. I will work hard to demonstrate my coaching in front of the goal and my strong suit, shot-stopping. The top team's practice has a faster pace than youth practice, and the quality of each play is high, so I want to keep up with that. I want to confront what works and my individual challenges, improve within this short period, and return as a better player."