Various events, including clinics and New Year's soccer tournaments, were held, with over 400 players participating!
Please see below for details of the events and how they unfolded.
[January 7 (Sat) New Year! Mini Soccer Tournament in Namegata]
The "New Year! Mini Soccer Tournament in Namegata" was held at the Namegata City Aso Sports Park Multi-Purpose Ground for kids (nursery and kindergarten) through sixth graders.
111 players participated on the day.
As this was the first event of 2023, many players from not only the Kashima area but also the Tsukuba area and Norte area participated.
At the event, participants first divided into age groups for warm-ups and mini-games.
Many players were meeting for the first time, and many seemed nervous at first, but as the games progressed, many players started to communicate proactively.
Finally, at the end of the event, all participants played a game using the entire ground.
It was truly impressive to see so many players chasing the ball and aiming for the goal!
It was an event filled with smiles, where players who usually attend different schools and players of different grades enjoyed playing soccer together!
[January 14 (Sat) & 15 (Sun) New Year! Otoshidama Soccer Tournament]
The "New Year! Otoshidama Soccer Tournament" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court for kids (nursery and kindergarten) through sixth graders.
In the soccer tournament, teams were formed from the players who participated on the day, and matches were played.
Many players actively communicated, introducing themselves to remember the names of teammates they were playing with for the first time, and calling out names during the games, allowing everyone to enjoy soccer!
At the end of the event, a New Year's lottery drawing was held, where all participants received prizes such as Antlers wear, player towels, and Antlers stationery.
The lottery was a great success, with players cheering when they won their desired prizes and others waiting excitedly to see what they would win!
[January 21 (Sat) 1vs1 Strongest King Deciding Battle January Tournament]
The January tournament of the "1vs1 Strongest King Deciding Battle" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
As the name suggests, the 1vs1 Strongest King Deciding Battle is a tournament where individuals compete in 1-on-1 skills.
It's a highly engaging tournament where the results of daily training are showcased, as individuals compete in the crucial 1-on-1 skills in soccer.
With each tournament, the intensity of play has increased, with feints to outwit opponents and forceful breakthroughs. In front of the goal, we saw strong shot blocks and intense battles for the ball, showing passionate plays in both offense and defense!
The winning players were awarded "Antlers player towels" and the right to challenge for the "Championship."
Next month, the Championship will be held, bringing together champions from each month!
Highly skilled matches are anticipated, and I'm looking forward to it!
(January Tournament Winners: Kairu Kinjo (4th grader) on left, Yuma Iizuka (5th grader) on right)
[January 22 (Sun) Defense Clinic for Elementary School Students Grades 3-6]
A defense clinic for elementary school students in grades 3-6 was held at the Kashima Antlers Futsal Court.
This time, the theme was "Strength in tackles not to lose in 1-on-1 situations."
During the warm-up, we played 1-on-1 ball snatching, starting with hand passes.
Many players approached with force, and intense ball snatching was seen from the beginning.
Next, we practiced 1-on-1 with feet.
The goal of 1-on-1 with feet is to steal the ball. We trained with an awareness of how close we could get to the opponent the moment they touched the ball, and the distance at which we could steal the ball.
As a result, when the distance to the ball was short, the number of times we could touch the ball increased, and the chances to steal it gradually became more frequent.
However, despite good defense, there were several instances where the ball could not be stolen. Nevertheless, we trained on how to steal the ball in tackles and how to move our feet, and players who initially couldn't steal the ball or who made good approaches but lost out in tackles gradually became able to steal the ball.
Finally, when we played a 3-on-3 game, many players bravely challenged to steal the ball, utilizing what they had practiced in training, and their strong desire not to lose in tackles was very evident.<
We saw fierce battles for the ball and intense contests in tackles, resulting in a very high-quality training session.
We will be holding another defense clinic, so please invite your friends to participate.
[January 29 (Sun) Parent-Child Soccer Class for Kids]
A parent-child soccer class for kids (preschool, nursery, and kindergarten) was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
On the day, parent-child tag and dribbling shoot training were conducted.
In the parent-child tag, the children were eagerly chasing their guardians to catch them, which was very lively.
For dribbling and shooting, they focused on fine and gentle touches, skillfully avoiding cones, and scoring goals, which they did very well.
Finally, a game was played. The children kicked and dribbled, mindful of the points practiced in training. Many children bravely challenged their guardians with dribbles and scored many goals!
We will continue to hold events where parents and children can participate together, so please join us!
[January 29 (Sun) 3-on-3 Tournament for Elementary School Students Grades 1 & 2]
A "3-on-3 Tournament" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court, played with three players per team.
This tournament saw the participation of a record 12 teams this year. More teams are now participating with matching uniforms, increasing the excitement.
In the tournament, 6 teams were divided into 2 groups for a preliminary league. Based on the results, they were divided into an upper and lower tournament to compete for the championship.
The winning team of this tournament was "Super Tiger."
*Yuzuru Okamura, Ryuki Kimura, Kirin Takai, Ryota Ushiki, Naoto Suzuki, Shunri Nagamine
The winning team was awarded "Antlers player towels."
In the final match, after falling behind in the first half, they showed great spirit in the second half, equalizing and then successfully taking the lead to clinch a magnificent victory!
All teams played tense matches from the preliminaries, aiming for victory.
Both individually and as a team, the technical and tactical levels have significantly improved, making each subsequent tournament more engaging!
The next tournament will also be held, so please form a team and participate!
