LIFESTYLE ~Aiming for the Top Team~

5th Edition: Kashima Antlers Youth 1st-Year Players
Takahiro Yonekawa, Kanta Hayashi, Rui Onuki, Daigo Hirajima, Genma Oeda, Ryogetsu Miyoshi, Ryusei Fukuda

The academy players push themselves every day to become key players for the top team.
What kind of football life do they lead?
And what do they keep in mind in their daily lives?
In this 5th edition, we explore the lifestyles of seven 1st-year players who were promoted from Kashima Junior Youth to Youth.

The Seven Who Brought Glory to Kashima JY

Several months have passed since that glorious moment.

"We didn't have any players with outstanding individual ability, so we came together as a team and gave 120 percent in training, with everyone working their hardest," said Daigo Hirajima, who captained Kashima Junior Youth last season.

Their strong unity and relentless efforts bore fruit when they won the 35th Emperor's Cup JFA All Japan U-15 Football Championship. Seven players selected from that squad now spend their days pushing themselves as members of the Youth team this season, carrying their dazzling achievements with them.

Among the seven promoted from Kashima Junior Youth, the three oldest members are Daigo Hirajima, Rui Onuki, and Ryogetsu Miyuji, who joined the Antlers Soccer School when they were in the lower grades of elementary school.

Miyuji, who lived near the Academy House, joined the school when he was in 2nd grade. He met Hirajima, who commuted from Kamisu City, and Onuki, who came from Hokota City to train, and the three have been competing against each other ever since. All three play as midfielders. "Seeing Daigo excel makes me feel like I have to work hard too, and since Onuki is playing in the Premier League, I want to be able to break into the A team as well," he says, inspired by two who are both great teammates and great rivals.

Miyuji, who is working on building strength using a bike machine, is a "local boy" who grew up in Kashima City.

Takahiro Yonekawa has also been playing for the Antlers since his junior youth days, along with the other three. Influenced by his two older brothers, he started playing football and initially played for a local youth team in Hokota City, but his father, an Antlers supporter, encouraged him to try out for the junior youth team. "I didn't think my dad would make it either," he says, but he passed the tryout to everyone's surprise and put on the deep red uniform for the first time in 5th grade.

Yonekawa, who is busy doing laundry using a laundry net, looks up to Ikuma Sekikawa and Sergio Ramos.

When the four of them moved up to the junior youth team, Kanta Hayashi and Ryusei Fukuda and Genma Oeda joined after trying out. Hayashi and Fukuda both come from Higashiso Town in Chiba Prefecture. Fukuda, whose weapon is speed, looks up to teammate Yuuma Suzuki, who also plays as a forward, saying, "He's from Choshi City, which is next to my hometown of Higashiso, so I look up to him as my goal."

Hayashi played as a defensive midfielder in elementary school, but he tried out as a defender, saying, "I'll try out after changing positions," and won a spot. When he first joined Kashima Junior Youth, he was confused, saying, "I was nervous, and I was doing my best just to keep up with the very intense training. Honestly, it was tough." However, he deepened his bonds with his teammates, saying, "All my teammates were kind and actively talked to me off the pitch. That's how we became close."

Hayashi, who can easily lift dumbbells and is known for his physical strength, has played as a right-back since 2nd year of junior high school.

Supported by family and coaches

Meeting many coaches at the Antlers has also become an invaluable asset. Hayashi is filled with gratitude, saying, "I'm grateful to all the staff who have helped me."

"In 1st year of junior high, Coach Minorobu Kotani taught me basic techniques, and in 2nd year, Coach Osamu Morishima (now a Kashima Junior Coach) converted me to right-back. In 3rd year, Coach Yoshitaka Shinohara encouraged me to play with confidence. I tend to get nervous, and I often froze in the first match of tournaments, but after he told me, "You can play with confidence and be yourself," I was able to play freely."

Fukuda is also one of those who felt that coaches during his junior high years helped him grow. "At my previous club before joining Kashima Junior Youth, we didn't do much basic training, and I was far behind the other players in my basic skills, so the Antlers coaching staff gave me guidance," he recalls. That is precisely why he is proud to say he did an enormous amount of basic training.

"It's the result of honing your basic techniques thoroughly in 1st and 2nd year."

The words Coach Shinohara said to him when his promotion to the Youth team was decided are still deeply ingrained in his heart.

Fukuda, who can run 50 meters in 6 seconds, is very satisfied with the food at the Academy House, saying, "Everything is delicious!"

Shinsuke Masu, the School Director, Coach Kotani, Coach Morishima, Coach Akio Sato, and Coach Shinohara. The seven players who made it to the Youth team with the support of many coaches during their elementary and junior high years now live together at the Academy House with other 1st-year players and upperclassmen. While they all say it's fun, the players are also realizing the difficulty of living away from home for the first time.

"It's tough that there are so many rules for living together. Things like not forgetting to turn off the lights and air conditioner when leaving the room, and using laundry nets when doing laundry. It wasn't that strict when I was at home." (Yonekawa)

"At home, my parents did the laundry, so I just left it all to them, and now I have to be careful about managing money myself, so there are a lot of difficult things." (Miyuji)

Fukuda also says, "What I value is not forgetting to be grateful to my parents," and although he is living away from home, he is always working hard at football with his family in his heart. The players' gratitude toward their parents and families only grows as they spend more time living at the Academy House.

Onuki, whose family runs a farm, now has almost no difficulty with dormitory life. While he has been working hard at football with his family's support, such as being driven to the training ground, he has made washing his training clothes and other chores part of his daily routine instead of leaving everything to his parents and grandparents, who start working early in the morning.

"After moving up to the junior youth team, I came home late, so I was taught how to do laundry. My parents told me, "You have to be able to do your own laundry." Thanks to that, I don't have many difficulties at the Academy House, so I'm grateful to my parents. There are plenty of washing machines, and the environment at the Academy House is great!"

Onuki, who was born and raised in a melon farm in Hokota City, works hard at football while following in the footsteps of his older brother, who is a university student.

A New Challenge Amidst Tension

The pitch at the clubhouse where they sweat every day is also special. Even the players who came up from Kashima Junior Youth say they are not yet used to training right next to the top team.

"The top team coaches and Yuuma Suzuki sometimes come to watch. We're so close, and we can't slack off in training because we have to be ready to be called at any time. Because we're next door, I really feel like we're being watched." (Hirajima)

They are training every day amidst an immeasurable sense of tension.

Hirajima, who united the team as captain in his 3rd year of Kashima Junior Youth, comes from Kamisu City.

And when they go there, they receive guidance from coaching staff who have top-class achievements as players in Japan, such as Manager Atsushi Yanagisawa, Technical Advisor Mitsuo Okusawara, and GK Coach Junko Sokeguchi.

"The staff are all people who have competed worldwide. Everything they teach me is for my own good. I'm learning kicking techniques from Technical Advisor Okusawara. I'm grateful to be able to play football in such a great environment." (Oeda)

Oeda, who came to Kashima from Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, during his junior high years, also has sparkling eyes.

Oeda is confident in his ball skills, which he has been honing since his elementary school days in his hometown of Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture.

Starting with Hirajima, who said, "At first, I really felt the physical difference," the players who had just been promoted hit a wall at the Youth level. Oeda also candidly admits the intensity of the training, saying, "Honestly, the training is incredibly tough." However, they spend such hard days to reach the professional world.

"By training while talking with Physical Advisor Satomi Sato, I can feel that I'm steadily growing, as I've gained 5 to 6 kilograms." (Hirajima)

"It's tough, but I feel fulfilled because I have a sense that if I overcome that training, I can perform well in matches." (Oeda)

"Until Junior Youth, I often played by instinct, but at Youth, I'm told that it's necessary to see my surroundings better and always prepare for the next play, so I'm working on that." (Yonekawa)

"When I joined Youth, I couldn't compete with the older students physically at all, but since I started strength training, I feel like I'm gradually starting to be able to compete." (Fukuda)

While steadily feeling their own definite growth, the players continue to challenge themselves on a new stage.

"I can do strength training whenever I want, and I can go to the clubhouse right away, so I make sure to go to training early and come back early after training to do strength training. I want to work hard to be involved with the Japan age-group national team and make it to the top team as soon as possible." (Onuki)

"I'm not really involved with the A team right now, but I think I'll regret it if I give up here, so I want to work hard every day and ultimately be able to graduate with a smile." (Hayashi)

"I'm very grateful that the coaches speak to us honestly and firmly. I trust them because they are the people who have built the club's history, and I make sure to take what they say seriously. I'm in a dream-like environment right now. I want to make the most of this environment and make it to the top team as soon as possible." (Hirajima)

What they will earn here――. It's the "second Japan championship" and the "dream ticket to promotion to the top team."

The elite players who won the Japan championship in the Emperor's Cup with Kashima Junior Youth. From left in the front row: Miyuji, Oeda, Fukuda; from left in the back row: Hirajima, Hayashi, Onuki, Yonekawa