INTERVIEW

Kashima Youth 2024 REVIEW
Kashima Antlers Youth Manager Atsushi Yanagisawa

I have been working toward “developing players who will become the main protagonists of the top team” for six seasons, serving as a youth coach from 2019 and as the youth manager from 2021. In 2019, I experienced the Premier League as a coach. Although the team was relegated that year, I returned to the Emperor’s Cup Premier League as a manager last year. In my first year, we fought for the championship until the final match. Here is how Youth Manager Atsushi Yanagisawa reflects on the 2024 season.

The feeling of the entire academy fighting together

――After the final match, we narrowly missed the championship by two goals. Looking back, how do you feel?

“The turning point was the match against Yokohama FC in Matchday 21. It was a direct showdown where we were fighting for the championship with one match to go, so it came down to whether we could win it there. I think our failure to do so made a big difference. Overall, the league wasn’t separated by such a large margin, and I felt that any team could have won the championship. In that sense, I think it was a great experience for the players to be able to play thrilling matches fighting for the championship. There are no “ifs” in soccer, but looking back on this season, there were certainly many of them.”

――We only lost one home match. Seeing the junior and junior youth players singing chants to support the youth players made me feel the unity of the academy as a whole.

“We really felt the home advantage. In that environment, I think it became a valuable lesson in how to fight away from home. Seeing the junior and junior youth players supporting the youth players by calling out their names, regardless of their category, really made me feel that the entire academy was fighting together. I wanted us to express what everyone had built together in a good way. It is also extremely important for the youth players to become role models. It is disappointing that we didn’t win the championship, but everyone in the youth team expressed themselves in a great way.”

――This season, we fielded junior high school students in the Premier League. The B team also won the IFA League Division 1 (Ibaraki Prefecture League) and decided to enter the Emperor’s Cup JFA U-18 Soccer Prince League 2024 Kanto Division 2 as the Ibaraki Prefecture representative.

“The players who had felt a great deal of frustration in the match that decided our entry into the Prince League were incredibly reliable as they played with great energy. I felt that Mitsuru (Technical Advisor Okusawa) did a great job bringing that out of them as the B team manager. There is an atmosphere of even greater competition ahead, and I have high expectations for the future. First, having “players who can fight” as a foundation, and then having highly skilled individual players become even tougher, means that the level is rising in that sense.”

――Second and third-year junior high school students also played in the Prince League entry matches. What do you think about the coordination and interaction between categories, such as junior youth and youth, and youth and the top team?

“Because we have an environment where many junior youth players get to play matches, we are always coordinating with each other. We also have exchange matches between the youth and junior youth teams while listening to the youth staff talk about which players are doing well in their daily lives. I have always believed that good players should play in the higher category, so being able to do that—and continuing to do so—is a strength unique to J clubs.”

――You have created a great system that prioritizes player development regardless of category.

“Because the staff at the academy are all aligned in their thinking, it made things very easy for me as well. If one person is thinking something different or wants to do a different kind of soccer, it is difficult to convey that well to the children, and it won’t lead anywhere in the long run. The entire academy is consistent in its fundamental mentality, as well as its values regarding physical and technical development for each age group. In that sense, I was able to approach coaching without hesitation, so it was very easy. However, we are getting more and more high-quality players. How to continue increasing that number and how to develop them to lead them to the top team—that is the area we need to build upon even further in the future.”

――I heard that you also let a junior youth player who had been training on their own join the youth team practice.

“That was one of the opportunities. They came to train on their own, and if they were working hard, that kind of thing could happen. It was a good timing back then.”

――Is it something you are conscious of, showing them that you will give them a chance even if it is just a little?

“Yes, everyone in the academy age group needs to be given a chance. However, a chance is something you have to seize yourself, and you never know where it might be lying around. Whether it is in a match, that day’s practice, or independent training. Because you never know when a chance will come, I am always telling the players that they need to be constantly prepared. Some children seize a chance, while others struggle even when a chance is right there. Everyone is struggling in their own different situation. My only wish is for everyone to move in a better direction.”

――You yourself have experienced 19 years as a professional. Can’t you say that mentality is one of the important things for continuing as a professional for a long time?

“That is absolutely true. Basically, if you aren’t someone who wants to get better, wants to aim higher, and would say ‘what the hell’ if you lost, you simply won’t make it to the top. You must always hold onto that feeling of frustration. However, I am also the type of person who gets depressed when things don’t go well in soccer, so I was helped by listening to various people and talking with seniors over meals to figure out how to pull myself together. That is also extremely important even in the developmental age group, and that is what it means to “help.” Giving a chance is one way, and sometimes I call them in individually to talk, but that is all we staff can do to help. The player is the one who plays, and of course, no one wants to be forced to do something. It is when you are working at it yourself that it becomes most effective. It comes down to whether that switch turns on or not. I also had times when it wouldn’t turn on when I was in junior high school, but strangely enough, I think it is only when you make a mistake or lose something that you finally notice it yourself and the switch turns on. It is too late after you have lost something. I want to give them a catalyst in a good way.”

 

We were able to build a good team thanks to everyone’s support

――Former Antlers players who once fought on the pitch are now supporting the academy as alumni coaching staff. How does Youth Manager Yanagisawa view this environment?

“I have the feeling that I have been working with the children together with all the staff. There were so many things I couldn’t do alone, so I really relied on everyone’s support. We were able to somehow make it through this year’s results as a team thanks to everyone’s help.”

――I saw that we were building a very good team as an organization.

“Wow, it really was a great team. Sato-san has a passionate presence, and while saying, ‘They’re about the same age as my grandchild,’ he communicates tremendously with the players. He talks to them about all sorts of things, like where they are from and what they like, and of course, he also gives them opportunities to grow greatly as people, from conditioning on the pitch to the necessary mindset as professional players. Mitsuru was Mitsuru, and he did it with incredible passion. Rather than talking to one person, I was conscious of addressing everyone as a whole. This is one of the things I worry about, wondering if it is unnecessary, but Mitsuru was talking to the children individually about all sorts of things. In that sense, because I was looking at everyone flatly, I think Mitsuru was the one who directly supported the players.”

“Soga (GK coach Sokegaki) also seemed like a scary character from his first year last year, but strangely enough, he has a gentle side that gets teased by the players, and the players have said, ‘He’s like a father figure and watches over us gently,’ so I think he is a really great presence. Ichisan (Coach Ichikawa) taught me all sorts of things. Because he has a long experience as an academy coach, when I ask him when I am worried, he always gives me his opinion straight. How things were in the past, or how to do this in this kind of situation. Of course, there were times when I did exactly as he said, and times when I decided based on my own thinking, but he always gave me accurate criteria for judgment and helped me establish standards. It made it much easier for me to decide based on his opinions. He was a huge help. From the perspective of looking at the team, he also knows when to tighten things up, so I relied on him a lot. Coach Okamoto also looked after the children’s private lives off the pitch, including the dormitory and their duties, so he listened to a lot of what the players were thinking and what they were going through. Coach Ookui and Coach Fukuhara also communicated a lot with the players and did all sorts of things. It was a really good team, and I really had nothing to do. It would be rude to say we had a good division of roles. I am truly glad I could work with them.”

――There was a scene where the players poured water on Coach Sokegaki for his birthday to celebrate. It was a teasing scene that you couldn’t imagine at the top team, and I felt that we had a very good relationship as a team.

“It really was (laughs). During last year’s trip to Indonesia, we had free time at the pool in the middle of the day. At that time, Soga was watching over us with gentle eyes, and the players teased him, calling him Dad or Big Brother. Well, a part of it is because Mitsuru is there. I sometimes tease him in front of the players too, so maybe they are imitating that (laughs). From the players’ perspective, it’s like, ‘Soga-san is actually gentle.’”

――For Youth Manager Yanagisawa, this was his first Premier League as a manager. What did you feel over this past year?

“I was also working desperately. Like the players, it was my first Premier League as a manager. While being grateful to be allowed to serve in a position of responsibility, I think I was able to struggle, suffer, and grow together with the players. However, when I remember the details, there are many things where I failed or wish I had done things differently. Even so, we were able to move forward. I think I was always able to work with the feeling in my heart that I wanted to make it even better and that I wanted to lead them in a good direction. Whether I succeeded or not is another story. There were many things I couldn’t do. However, even in that situation, I want to thank everyone who fought together with me.”

――The 2025 season marks your appointment as a top team coach. Was this season a year in the youth team that will lead to the future?

“It was my first year after moving up to the Premier League. From the goal of staying up, everyone fought with the feeling of wanting to seize something, and looking back, I think we achieved a good result thanks to the hard work of the players. However, I think we need to carry forward what one more thing we lacked was. Next season, I will become a coach for the top team, but I will continue to coordinate with the top team and the academy as before. Toward winning a title, I hope to firmly support the new manager, Mr. Oniki. I will work with all my might for Antlers next season as well, so I would be happy if you could support not only the youth team but also the top team.”