Academy School Staff Profiles

Part 3: Norte Area School Coaches

The Antlers Soccer School has 21 locations across Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectures.
What football journeys have the coaches, who teach children the wonders of football every day, walked, and what thoughts do they hold in their hearts as they face football?
In Part 3, we introduce seven Norte Area coaches who operate the school mainly in Hitachi City and Hitachinaka City in the northern region of Ibaraki Prefecture.

 

As if overlooking the majestic Pacific Ocean, the traditional emblem stands proudly on the wall of the Antlers Norte office, perched on a hill. This is Omika-machi, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, located approximately 70 kilometers north of Kashima City, the home town of Antlers. In this town, where former Japan national team player Kyo Ueda once worked up a sweat, academy staff wearing that emblem face football every day.

"This town is very close to the sea and the mountains, and the view of the beautiful sea from the top of the mountains is very similar to my hometown. I feel a sense of familiarity, and it is very pleasant to live here."

Looking at the sea through the office window, Chief Coach Ryo Nishihata says.

Born and raised in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, he joined the Antlers School through a connection with Academy Manager Shuto Suzuki, who is also a senior of his at Waseda University. After graduating from graduate school, he served as a teacher in his hometown of Hyogo Prefecture for four years, but he left his hometown again with the desire to "delve deeper into football" and put on the Antlers emblem.

In 2000, watching the Deep Red Eleven sweep up domestic titles, he was shocked, saying, "Is there such a strong team in Japan... It is like another world." All the more so, he says, "I am still surprised that I was able to come here," and while feeling the history and tradition of that emblem, he devotes himself wholeheartedly to his daily activities, saying, "I want to produce as many players as possible who can become the pride of this town."

Chief Coach Nishihata, who once also served as a coach for the Meiji Gakuin University Soccer Club alongside Academy Manager Suzuki

 

It was in this town of Hitachi that Coach Ayata Kawakami was born and raised. He grew up at Antlers Norte with his younger brother and devoted himself to football at the Meishuu Gakuen Hitachi High School Soccer Club, which is known for winning the Inter-High School Championship this past summer. Looking back on his own footsteps, he fondly recalls his high school days, saying, "I had many injuries, but I learned the challenger spirit and was able to become independent as a person," and childhood memories shine brilliantly beyond that. "The Antlers School coaches were especially cool. When I was in elementary school, rather than thinking 'I want to be a football player,' I thought 'I want to be an Antlers coach.' They were incredibly good at football, interesting, and looked sparkling." He looked at them with admiration.

Now that he is an adult, he is in the position to receive that gaze. "For children, the memories of when they started football are very important. In order to let them feel the joy of playing football, I want those memories that serve as the starting point to be wonderful. So, I want to give such memories to the children I interact with." He approaches the children while looking back at his own origins.

Coach Kawakami, who loves Antlers and even went to support the top team's away games

Coach Maya Komuro was also born and raised in Kitaibaraki City in the northern region of Ibaraki Prefecture, and in her childhood, she devoted herself to football at the Antlers School. In high school, saying "I wanted to experience a national tournament," she attended Kashima Gakuen High School, one of the strong girls' soccer schools in the prefecture, and after graduating, she attended a vocational school to obtain a nursery school teacher qualification. When she opened a time capsule at age 20, there was a message saying, "I hope you will work in a job related to football in the future." While reflecting on the message from her past self, she happened to reunite with Academy Sub-Director Manabu Sasame, who was her coach during her time at the Antlers School, and was selected as a Norte School coach.

Now, she spends fulfilling days saying, "I can teach the football I love to the children I love, so I think this job suits me." "For children, I am happy to be able to feel that Antlers has become a part of their lives. I myself still lack ability. As long as I work as a football coach, I want to continue learning at Antlers as much as possible." She aspires to further growth as a coach.

Coach Komuro, who interacts with the girls attending the girls' school with a smile and also aims to promote girls' soccer

 

Former goalkeeper Coach Masaru Nemoto also continues to learn football every day. "Being able to participate in coaching practice with Soga-san (Jun-Youth GK Coach), Aki-san (Junior Youth GK Coach Akio Sato), and Satoshi Sugiyama (Tsukuba Area School Coach) is the most joyful thing." He feels the happiness of working with the guardians who guarded the top team's goal.

Born and raised in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, he was selected for the National Sports Festival selection during his high school years. There, he fought alongside Antlers youth players and realized the high level of their ability. Touching upon past experiences and current activities, he clarifies the image of the goalkeeper he should develop, saying, "Mental strength is required of Antlers goalkeepers. Take leadership and tighten the team. That is the DNA of Antlers goalkeepers." "There are children in the Hitachi School who attend the GK course as second graders in elementary school. I am very happy that children come to the GK course from a young age. I want to cherish their desire to 'protect the goal.' Today, various things are required of goalkeepers, but after all, the most important job is to protect the goal. In the future, I want to develop as many players as possible who can explore ways to excel as goalkeepers of their own will." He works every day to develop the next generation.

Coach Nemoto, who has served as a coach since he was a student at Tokyo Gakugei University

On the other hand, Coach Teppei Kawashima has faced football from the front line. Born in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. While his friends around him supported other clubs, "influenced by his father who loved Antlers," he naturally came to admire the Deep Red Eleven. His childhood idol was Shinzo Okuno, who played the same position (now Urawa). "I imitated his hairstyle, wore the same cleats, and asked the manager at the time to 'let me wear number 13,'" he became a striker who supported Antlers' three consecutive titles.

In high school, he attended a technical high school and considered employment after graduation, but "I want to work in football," he went to a vocational school in Tokyo. After learning football coaching, he seized the opportunity to work at the Kashima School as a trainee, and then was assigned to the Norte School. With the emblem he had admired since childhood on his chest, he faces the children every day, and his expression softens, saying, "Seeing them feel the joy of football, take it seriously, and grow is my motivation." "I am conscious of letting them play while feeling the joy of football, but for example, I think the way a 3-year-old and a sixth grader feel joy is completely different, so I try to provide age-appropriate guidance. I want to be conscious of making comments and creating an atmosphere that makes the children take it seriously." He continues to interact with the children without losing his smile.

Coach Kawashima, who in his childhood diligently recorded the contents of his activities in a soccer notebook

 

It is the same for Coach Yu Kurihara, who faces football with a brighter and more energetic attitude than anyone else. His motto is "Passionately, enjoyably, energetically!". While spending his junior high school years in Tokyo, he went to Otsu High School in Kumamoto Prefecture, admiring Naoto Ueda, who is currently active in the top team. "Naoto Ueda, who is fighting while bleeding, is so cool..." He was captivated by that manly playing style, and with a body trained through his hobby of muscle training and a sharply styled hairstyle as his trademark, he guides the children with an attitude of "always doing your best, always running, always fighting with your voice."

However, his high school years, where he went abroad to follow the same route as Ueda, were a series of ups and downs. Although he could not excel at Otsu High School, he learned the importance of striving for "thoroughness in ordinary things" from Mr. Kazunori Hiraoka, who coached Ueda. After graduating from Otsu High School, he attended a vocational school in Kanagawa Prefecture, and even after going through the Yokohama FM School Coach, he realizes every day at the Antlers School that "the spirit and way of thinking are very similar." With the teachings of his mentor and admiration for his seniors in his heart, he reflects on his growth as a person, saying, "I want to acquire a personality that makes people think 'Antlers' just by looking at them, like Atsushi Yanagisawa (Kashima Youth Manager), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Academy Technical Advisor), Soga-san, and Ueda-senshu."

Coach Kurihara, who cheers up the children with a unique method using traffic cones

 

Coach Kazuki Murai, who came from the Kashima Area School to the Norte Area School, also faces daily guidance while being conscious of the Antlers atmosphere. Originally, he served as a coach for a town club in Nara Prefecture, close to Awaji Island, his hometown, but "As a coach, I want to challenge how much what I did at a town club will work," he left the familiar Kansai and became an Antlers School Coach.

"Even when I came to Kashima from Kansai, I immediately felt that the temperament was a little different," he feels the uniqueness of the atmosphere surrounding Antlers to that extent, so even after moving to the Norte Area, he strives, saying, "It is not easy, but I want to create that atmosphere here as well." For that, he is fully aware that daily accumulation is important. "If everyone cannot embody the Gijko Spirit of dedication, sincerity, and respect every day, it cannot be created. It is difficult to continue, but if we adults cannot do it first, the children cannot do it either. In order to create that atmosphere, we have to continue to make efforts every time." He embodies the reason for being a member of Antlers.

Coach Murai, who interacts with the children with a bright and cheerful atmosphere like a Kansai native

 

Even in the northern region of Ibaraki Prefecture, far away from Kashima City where the tradition and culture of Antlers live, the pride and responsibility for that emblem are unwavering.

"The Norte Area School is full of uniquely individual coaches! I work with the strong desire to let the children feel joy, and then have them become better at football." (Chief Coach Nishihata)

The "Norte" area, meaning "North" in Portuguese. To give joy to the children who are crazy about football in that land, and to develop players who will follow Ueda and Shuhei Mizoguchi――. Seven coaches who are thorough in ordinary things are still passionately expressing the charm of Antlers and football in northern Ibaraki Prefecture today.

The Hitachi Manufacturing Ground, which is also the activity base of the Norte Area School