Report

Hometown Elementary School Visit: Namegata City Kaname Elementary School

On June 17, players Yamamura and Ohashi visited Hikata City's Yo Elementary School and interacted with 86 children from all grades in the gymnasium, playing "tail-tag" and conducting player interviews. Yo Elementary School will close its doors this season after more than 130 years of history and will be integrated into Kitaura Elementary School starting next year.

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Players Yamamura and Ohashi were welcomed with handmade decorations.



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In his self-introduction, Player Yamamura greeted them with, "Let's make some memories at Yo Elementary School."



Tail-tag was played separately for lower, middle, and upper grades. In addition to the two players, children also wore red hats and participated as "oni" (taggers). Each grade played for three minutes, but in the lower grades, all tails were taken within one and a half minutes. In the middle grades, the last person's tail was taken with 5 seconds remaining. In the upper grades, many children managed to escape without having their tails taken.

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Children running away from the players



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Player Yamamura, aiming and taking tails one after another.



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Player Ohashi, chasing children by utilizing his proud running ability but unable to grab a tail.



In the upper grades, the "oni" linked hands to try and corner the children, but they lost speed and failed. It was a complete strategic blunder.

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Chasing speedy children but failing to catch them.



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Player Ohashi successfully grabbed a tail with good timing.



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A child skillfully unbalancing Player Ohashi with nimble footwork and escaping.



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Player Yamamura smiling wryly, unable to grab a tail.



During the player interview, questions were asked such as "What do you value most in playing soccer?", "What do you like besides soccer?", and "How can one build up physical strength?". To the first question, Player Ohashi replied, "Enjoying soccer." To the second question, both players answered, "Eating." And to the last question, Player Yamamura replied, "When I was in elementary school, I used to run 1km in under 4 minutes once a week."

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After the interview, the players demonstrated juggling. Listening to requests from the children, Player Yamamura performed an "ooguruma" (big wheel) trick. The two players also delighted everyone by circling all the students without letting the ball drop. They also showed off their accurate kicks with a kick target game.

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Player Ohashi, a little nervous but hitting the target as declared.



Both players missed the smallest triangle on their first kick, but Player Yamamura successfully hit it on his final attempt.

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After the demonstration, they had a penalty shootout with the children, but Player Ohashi made perfect saves.



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Player Ohashi casually catching the ball as it wasn't kicked with much force.



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A girl also participated and shot powerfully!



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For the upper grades, the distance was increased, leading to "no goals" and them throwing up their hands in defeat.



Finally, the children expressed their gratitude.

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A child gave a greeting, saying, "I want to be a soccer player like Yamamura and Ohashi."



Players Yamamura and Ohashi were seen off by all the students forming a path.

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