Promotion to the Top Team Confirmed!

The Resume of Youth Player Kairo Sato

On June 21, youth player Kairo Sato’s promotion to the top team was confirmed. What kind of football journey has he walked to reach the professional level? The moment he first started playing football, the obstacles he overcame, and the words of the coaches that remain etched in his heart. We look back at the life of youth player Kairo Sato, who will join the top team starting in the 2025 season.

The Notice the Day Before the Training Match

“I can’t just be a ‘trainee’ anymore; I have to perform as ‘a member of the team.’”

On June 5, Kairo Sato, preparing for the top team’s training match against Juntendo University, experienced a change in mindset.

At first, he was called up for the Juntendo University match and was determined, thinking, “This is my chance.” He had anticipated it would be his “final test,” following in the footsteps of Taku Tokuda and Haruto Matsumoto, who had been confirmed for top team promotion earlier in the season. However, he was surprised when Manager Atsushi Yanagisawa called him in the day before the match.

“I thought he would say, ‘Good luck in tomorrow’s match.’ Instead, he told me that my top team promotion had been ‘confirmed.’ The top team was my goal and my dream, so I was incredibly happy when I heard it. That’s why I actually went into that training match knowing my top team promotion had already been confirmed. I hadn’t fully realized it yet, but I had the resolve to become a professional.”

During the training match, he came on as a left-back midway through the final third of the game. He also showed bold attacking involvement through link-ups with Tokuda, and felt he had made a good impression, saying, “I wanted to keep pushing forward after coming on as a substitute and help give the team momentum.” It wasn’t until two weeks later, on June 21, after the official release was issued, that he finally “realized” his top team promotion had been confirmed.

“As I received congratulatory messages from so many people, it gradually started to sink in. I told my family before the release was issued; my mother was a little worried, but my father, older sister, and younger sister were happy for me.”

The Parents’ Wishes and the Start of His Football Journey

Both of his parents aspired to be ‘goalkeepers who win games for the team’ during their playing days. What kind of goalkeeping is it that influences the flow of a match?

Ono Shisosai Hamanasu Park in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture, was young Kairo Sato’s playground. His family home overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The name his parents gave him carries their wish for him to “have a heart as wide as the sea.”

His parents also wished for him to devote himself to sports that would help him develop both physically and mentally. First, his father tried to get him to start baseball. This was because his father had also devoted himself to baseball. However, his wishes were not met.

“I went to watch a youth baseball team, but I didn’t want to play baseball. I think I was simply afraid of baseballs.”

For Kairo Sato as a preschooler, he had no interest in chasing a white ball that rolled along the ground. Next, his parents took him to a trial session at the Antlers Soccer School. There, he experienced the joy of handling the ball with his feet and told his parents of his own accord, “It’s fun, so I want to play soccer!” That was the beginning of his football journey.

Devoted to the sport of football, Kairo Sato not only participated in local team activities held at the Fudengokyo Sports Park in addition to the Antlers Soccer School, but also joined a youth club when he was in third grade, spending more than half of his week on football. Then, when he joined Kashima Junior in fourth grade, he continued to wear the deep red uniform from then on.

However, it was around the fall of his fourth grade year, when he had just started playing for Kashima Junior, that Kairo faced a hardship that could affect the rest of his life.

“I don’t want to play football anymore.”

A Junior-Era Mentor Who Supported Him Through Hardship

The passion for football that had been burning in young Kairo Sato’s heart began to fade. The cause lay off the pitch.

“I have a small appetite, and during away games after joining the junior team and in other team activities, I couldn’t eat much. As a result, I didn’t grow physically and couldn’t play in matches. That’s why I even thought about quitting the junior team.”

After agonizing over it, he took about two weeks off from training. Even though he was one of the elite players selected for Kashima Junior, at heart, he was still just a fourth grader. Just like with football, there were things he was good at and things he wasn’t.

“I still struggle to eat a lot, but I really want to play football again.”

After taking two weeks away from football and facing himself, his passion for the sport was reignited. When he returned to Kashima Junior, he was welcomed back by the team and worked with then-Manager Minoru Kotani to face his struggles.

“Manager Kotani taught me the importance of eating. Once I understood how important it was, I began to feel on my own that ‘I need to eat more.’ I was never forced; he supported me gently and stood by my side, so I was gradually able to overcome it by sixth grade. I am very grateful to Manager Kotani for helping me through it.”

Try Changing Something to Change Yourself

The experience of overcoming hardship made him stronger. As his diet improved, his body grew larger and larger, and now he is confident enough to say, “I have confidence in my physical strength.” He also became mentally tougher and remained undaunted by the two cases of lumbar spondylolysis he suffered during junior high school and the fracture he sustained in the winter of his first year in high school.

“Even though I was injured, there were things I could do, so I simply worked as hard as I could on what I had to do. Compared to the hardships I faced in elementary school, it didn’t feel that difficult. Originally, I wasn’t the type to take the first step or try many different things. But it was precisely because I had that experience that I became able to work hard with a positive attitude. I decided to try changing something to change myself. My parents often tell me, ‘The experience of overcoming that hardship is connected to who you are today.’”

Having grown both physically and mentally, Kairo Sato’s next challenge is the professional world. However, before that, there is something he must do as the youth team captain.

“We are still in a position where we can aim to win the Premier League, so first I want to aim for that. Many fans and supporters, as well as players from the academy’s younger age groups, come to watch our matches and support us, so I want to show them a figure worthy of being their captain and a figure worthy of promotion to the top team. I want to be conscious of proving it through my play.”

With the words “Persistence is power,” which he received from his junior-era mentor, held in his heart, he will continue to run straight toward greater heights in his football journey.