Academy Report

From Friday, January 5 to Sunday, January 7, 2018, we conducted an "Ofunato Expedition" in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture.
This expedition came to fruition due to the wishes of player Ogasawara.

The circumstances leading to this expedition were as follows: a new artificial turf field was constructed on the former site of Akazaki Elementary School, which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake late last year. The "Winter Cup 2018 in Ofunato" was then planned as an inaugural event for this new field. Since player Ogasawara was heavily involved in the launch of this project, it was decided that Antlers school students would participate.

Another objective, and a major factor in making it happen, was not only to participate in the tournament but also to visit the affected areas and experience various things. Many children in the affected areas still do not have adequate space to play, some still live in temporary housing, some have lost family members in the earthquake, some still have missing acquaintances, and some have lost their lives and are no longer with us.
We hoped that this expedition would help them "know that such people exist," "realize that their own environment, which they take for granted, is not a given here, and that they are in a blessed environment," and "work hard without excuses, no matter the circumstances."
“We wanted them to grow stronger as human beings, even if just a little, through this expedition.” This desire took shape.

■Tour of the Affected Area
□Player Ogasawara himself explained the situation at the time and the current state of the affected area.□Temporary housing units are still standing on the elementary school grounds, and many people still live there.
Because of this, many children attend school without knowing the concept of a "schoolyard."□At the "Reconstruction and Town Development Information Center," Mr. Suzuki of Tokai Shinpo shared insights on "the earthquake" and "the present and future of the affected areas, primarily Rikuzentakata City."
What left a lasting impression was his remark, "No matter how difficult things are for adults, if children are energetic and smiling, it gives us strength. That's why we can keep going."
The presence of children is a major driving force behind the recovery. That's why we want to do things that benefit children.
I believe the Akasaki artificial turf field is one manifestation of that sentiment.□There is a blue arrow on the gas station sign, which indicates the height the tsunami reached.
It was higher than I could have imagined, and it was hard to believe that a wave of this height actually occurred, but when I stood there, I felt a sense of terror.□This is the current state of the old roadside station. It remains as it was then, with the devastation from that time still visible.
Seeing it in person was a completely different experience than seeing it in videos.□The apartment building that was damaged by the disaster suffered damage up to the 4th floor. At its highest, the water reached 16.7 meters (above the 5th floor of a building).□After dinner, we watched videos of the earthquake and tsunami. During the viewing, player Ogasawara spoke about the situation at the time and what to do if we were to encounter a major earthquake or tsunami in the future.
He talked about the disaster and then spoke about soccer.