Various events were held, including a New Preschool Parent-Child Exercise Class and a 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match Championship, with a total of 400 players participating!
Please see below for event details and photos from the day.
[Sunday, March 3: Coordination School for 1st and 2nd Graders]
A "Coordination School" was held for 1st and 2nd graders at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
When humans move, the brain issues "instructions to move the body." Coordination is the adjustment of these instructions and bodily movements. Coordination consists of seven abilities: 1. Rhythm ability, 2. Balance ability, 3. Conversion ability, 4. Reaction ability, 5. Connection ability, 6. Orientation ability, and 7. Discrimination ability. To enhance athletic ability and motor skills, it is important to comprehensively develop these seven abilities.
Furthermore, it is said that about 90% of neurological abilities, including coordination ability, develop by the age of 12, so it is necessary to enhance coordination ability "during childhood."
Therefore, this time, we held a coordination school for 1st and 2nd graders, focusing on training emphasizing "rhythm ability" and "balance ability," which are necessary for dribbling and stepping, and "connection ability," which combines movements such as running, jumping, and squatting.
We saw children happily engaging in movements they were practicing for the first time, and also enthusiastic participation in competitive training formats.
We hope to continue holding such events in the future where children can enjoy themselves while improving their coordination skills.
Let's not only train technical soccer skills but also the ability to control the body well and as desired!
We look forward to seeing many of you at the next event!
[Friday, March 8, Friday, March 15, Friday, March 22: Adult School]
An "Adult School" was held for junior high school students and older at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
The Adult School provided training on movement development, such as stepping and coordination, and basic techniques.
The stepping exercises during warm-up, such as backward dashes and cross-steps, involved movements not typically used in daily life, providing various stimuli. Some participants who performed these exercises commented, "I used to be able to do this."
Training focused primarily on passing.
Within passing, we emphasized "kicking" and "stopping."
For "kicking," we focused on accurately pushing the center of the ball with the instep. By kicking the center of the ball, it travels to the opponent without spinning, so we practiced passing while watching the ball after kicking.
For "stopping," we focused on the orientation of the instep, receiving the ball while moving, and stopping the ball with the far foot.
Afterward, we practiced shooting using the passing and receiving techniques practiced in training.
For shooting, in addition to aiming accurately at the target, we focused on quickly shooting after controlling the pass.
Finally, all participants enjoyed a game of soccer!
Starting in April 2024, a new Adult Course for junior high school students and older will be held every Friday from 8:10 PM to 9:30 PM at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court. Please come for a free trial!
[Saturday, March 16: Kashima Antlers Soccer School in Hokota]
A soccer school was held at Hokota Sports Park for kids (middle and senior kindergarten) and elementary school students in grades 1 to 6.
The weather was beautiful on the day, and many friends enthusiastically chased the ball.
In the final game, there was a heated match as players aimed for the goal.
The Kashima Antlers School Hokota campus holds practice every Friday at Hokota Sports Park. Please come for a free trial!
[Wednesday, March 20 (holiday): Game School]
A Game School was held for elementary school students in grades 1 to 6 at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
At the Game School, participants enjoyed acquiring techniques that can be used in matches. The theme this time was "group tactics."
For lower grades, we started with practicing how to pass and accurately pass, acquiring basic passing techniques. To play with options for both dribbling and passing, how to hold the ball is important, so we also trained passing from dribbling, not just from a stationary position.
In the subsequent one-on-one and two-on-two drills, by performing with multiple players, we saw various plays beyond individual breakthroughs, by clarifying the distance to teammates and priorities.
For upper grades, we conducted basic training, one-on-one and two-on-two drills, and a four-goal game where the goals they aimed for were on both sides. We focused on group tactics such as making decisions when multiple teammates and opponents were present, how teammates moved, and positioning for support, rather than just individual breakthroughs.
Having two goals to attack helped them learn to judge which goal to score on faster and which side had a numerical advantage through repeated training.
Both age groups played a match at the end.
In the matches, many players were seen playing with the training points in mind.
We hope that by being able to make various decisions and execute plays accurately, they will become players who can excel in matches!
The Kashima area schools offer a game course at the Kashima, Kamisu, and Itako schools.
Please come for a free trial!
[Sunday, March 24: Parent-Child Exercise Class for New Preschoolers]
A Parent-Child Exercise Class was held for new preschoolers (2- and 3-year-olds) at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
In the parent-child exercise class, various exercises, soccer training, and games were enjoyed by parents and children together.
In the parent-child exercises, they collaborated to jump over cones, crossed marker bridges, and competed in sibling races.
In soccer training, the focus was first on getting familiar with the ball, so parent-child catch ball and passing drills using their feet were conducted.
As they gradually became more accustomed to the ball, more players enjoyed kicking it!
Finally, two teams were formed for a match.
Many players enthusiastically chased the ball and tried to take it from adults!
Some children were playing soccer for the first time, and even those who initially hid behind their dads eventually started to actively kick the ball themselves!
The Kashima Antlers School offers a preschool course every Tuesday from 4:20 PM to 5:10 PM at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court. Please come for a free trial!
[Sunday, March 24: 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match Championship]
The "1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match Championship" was held at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
The 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Match Championship is a tournament where only the winners and runners-up of the monthly 1-on-1 Strongest Champion Deciding Matches in the Kashima and Norte areas can participate.
As expected from a championship, all matches were high-level.
Every player showed a strong desire to win, with many scenes of sliding tackles and blocking shots with their bodies in front of the goal, and intense battles for the ball. In attack, players used feints and changes in speed, honed over the past year, to engage in tactical play with their opponents.
And the glorious annual champions were...
1st grade: Kiodai Miyauchi (pictured left), 2nd grade: Taito Sekiguchi (pictured right), 3rd & 4th grade: Yui Yokota (pictured center).
The three winners received a signed uniform from a player and a trophy.
We hope that the many players who felt frustrated at this tournament will use that feeling as a spring to become even stronger and continue to show us high-level matches in the future!
We will also hold the tournament in 2024, so please aim for the monthly championship and participate!!
[Sunday, March 31: 3-on-3 Tournament for 1st and 2nd Graders]
A 3-on-3 tournament was held for 1st and 2nd graders at the Kashima Antlers Clubhouse Futsal Court.
The 3-on-3 tournament is a soccer tournament played with three players. In this tournament, in addition to individual skills, many exciting matches were seen, featuring all-out attack and defense with three players, and various team tactics.
Although 12 teams participated in this tournament, as it was the last event of the 2023 season, every team was highly motivated.
More and more teams were wearing original uniforms!
The tournament was divided into two groups for a preliminary league to determine rankings, followed by a final knockout tournament with six teams each from the upper and lower tiers.
Since the preliminary rounds were crucial, the strong desire not to lose was palpable in every match.
The winning team of this tournament was "FC POTECHI" (Ryunosuke Ueda, Ryunosuke Shishido, Tsubasa Hashimoto, Haruhi Onuki).
The final match was a heated battle befitting a grand finale!
We will be holding it again in 2024, so we look forward to your participation!
