As they entered the gymnasium, the children greeted them with a big round of applause. Everyone was very curious about the greeting from Fabricio, who was participating in a school visit for the first time. With advice from interpreter Rando Takai beside him, he said in Japanese, "Fabricio desu. Kyou wa ganbarimashou!" (I'm Fabricio. Let's do our best today!), which was met with surprised shouts of "Ooh!"
First, during the demonstration, Fabricio performed a playful trick where he pretended to juggle the ball but then hid it in his stomach. The audience applauded enthusiastically as he effortlessly controlled the ball as if it were stuck to him, even against five or six children. Furthermore, in a penalty shootout against Hasaki Nishi Elementary, Kawamata stood in front of the small goal and easily parried shots, which made the children burst into laughter.
During the interaction session, they played "tail-catching tag" and mini-games.
In tail-catching tag, Kawamata skillfully dodged the children's attacks to prevent them from grabbing his plastic string, enjoying the game with them. In the mini-game, after Fabricio scored a goal, he immediately ran to the children who were cheering for him, high-fiving them from one end to the other, showing great joy. It was impressive to see both players and interpreter Takai talking and smiling with so many children.
Finally, after taking commemorative photos with each grade, the exchange meeting concluded as the players walked out of the gymnasium with smiles, high-fiving the children who had lined up on both sides to see them off.
Both players commented, "The boys at Hasaki Nishi Elementary were really energetic!" (Kawamata) and "The children in Japan were very energetic and polite. I had a lot of fun!" (Fabricio). The support from Hasaki Nishi Elementary seems to have given them a great boost of energy for the last few matches of the league season.
In fact, just before leaving for the school, Fabricio was teased by Kanasaki, who was heading to another elementary school on the same day, with "Don't make the kids cry, you look scary! (laughs)". But it goes without saying that Fabricio was the most popular person that day, interacting with the children with a perfect smile from beginning to end.
