LIFESTYLE ~Aiming for the Top Team~
Part 1: Kashima Antlers Youth Third-Year Students
The academy players push themselves every day to become key players for the top team.
What kind of football lives do they lead?
And what do they keep in mind in their daily lives?
Part 1 explores the lifestyle of Kashima Antlers Youth third-year students.
"An Unbeatable Environment for Aspiring Professionals"
Rain or shine—
It is about a 50-minute one-way bicycle ride for the Kashima Youth players to reach Kashima Gakuen High School. Even a 10-kilometer commute has become second nature now.
"To be honest, there are times when commuting by bicycle in strong winds or rain is really tough (laughs)."
GK Masaki Shimada, who spent his junior high school years in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, an area with a well-developed transportation network, admits this candidly, but adds with conviction, "But it is all for my own sake." When he was a third-year student at Saitama Municipal Minami-Urawa Junior High School, he received offers from other powerhouse J-League clubs, but he chose to join the Antlers Youth without hesitation.
"I was looking for an environment where I could grow more. The environment and staff were so impressive that I felt there was no other choice but to join the Antlers Youth." (Shimada)
Now, he feels every day that his decision was the right one: "I want to keep working hard at practice without forgetting how grateful I am to be able to dedicate myself to football in such a wonderful environment every day. Kashima is first-class when it comes to an environment where you can focus on football."
It was FW Hayato Mae, originally from Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, who was amazed when he first came to Kashima: "There are so many grass pitches. We didn't have that many back home, and it was mostly dirt pitches." He played for Norte Junior Youth during junior high school and started his life in Kashima when he moved up to the youth team. He has settled into his living environment, saying, "The climate and the size of the town are similar to Iwaki City, so it is easy to live here," and is enjoying a fulfilling football life in what he calls "an unbeatable environment for aspiring professionals."
Currently, there are 10 third-year high school students in the Antlers Youth. For them, the Antlers' training environment is ideal.
In particular, as MF Takeshi Ikeda says, "After practice, we can watch the top team train before returning to the locker room, and we often pass by the top team players, which is really exciting," being close to the top team is something special. DF Shota Sakamoto, who primarily plays center back, says, "The players I look up to are on the pitch next door. Being able to watch Naoto Ueda and Masako Minamoto up close is especially educational. I am impressed by the positive words they say to the players around them." MF Kento Ichiki also says, "Even watching the plays of Ryotaro Araki and Seima Doi on video is very helpful, but seeing their movements up close allows me to learn even more," feeling the formidable presence of professional footballers in ways that are difficult to convey on video.
In addition, youth players often have opportunities to participate in top team training as part of their regular training. MF Yukinari Ogura, originally from Tsukuba Junior Youth, looks back on his first two years here: "When I was in Tsukuba, the top team players were not around me, so there were many surprises when I was promoted to the youth team and came to Kashima." Mae, who participated in the top team's Miyazaki camp along with Ogura and Tokuya Tokuda (second-year), received valuable advice: "Yuma Suzuki treated the youth players just like the top team players and gave us some straight talk."
"I feel the joy of being able to train next to the top team's training ground. It is a great motivation," says MF Yamato Misawa, originally from Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. He always has his hometown senior, Seima Doi, in his sights and says, "I want to create chances by using dribbling and other skills like Doi, and play in a way that entertains the people watching," comparing his ideal image to Doi's.
Ooyama enjoys playing Tech Ball in the courtyard of the Academy House. Dormitory residents can kick a ball freely.
Nagayama has loved the Antlers since childhood. The environment where he can practice next to the top team is ideal.
Watching football at the "Relaxing Place" lounge
The Academy House where the players live is located just one kilometer from the clubhouse, so as Sakamoto says, "There is a fulfilling environment where you can play football anytime," the players can kick a ball at any time they like, such as before school in the morning or after training. And when they return to the Academy House, it is filled with facilities to care for their tired bodies. Ogura likes the large public bath, saying, "I like relaxing in the bath. I end up staying in for quite a long time," and the spacious lounge, where he says, "It is relaxing when we all play games on our smartphones together," has become the players' relaxing place.
Watching matches such as those of the Antlers on the large-screen TV installed in the lounge has become part of their daily routine. In particular, MF Shoma Nagayama, who says, "I am always watching football to the point that everyone calls me a 'DAZN fan.' I am confident that no one has more football knowledge than me," lives a life that is truly "immersed in football" every day. While spending more time than anyone else on independent practice, saying, "I make a conscious effort to do a lot of independent practice," he also says, "I like watching not only the tactics of Europe's powerhouse clubs but also mid-table clubs," showing that he is inputting top-level play and tactics into his mind.
The "DAZN fan" Nagayama and Shimada watching football on the lounge's large-screen TV
The courtyard covered with artificial turf is open and airy, and has also become a relaxing place for the players.
Ogura says his favorite time is relaxing in the bathroom with a spacious bathtub.
Stoic players who love strength training
For the players who are always stoic, the training room is also very popular. Every player uses it frequently and spends time on strength training. As Ikeda says, "I like strength training. The training room is my favorite," it is equipped with various training equipment, allowing each player to strengthen the areas they want to develop. For Mae, pull-ups and handstands are also second nature. Practicing "eating well, training, and sleeping well," he has been working hard to build the body needed to become a professional.
In the training room, even without using equipment, core training can be done by laying mats in the spacious room. DF Koji Ooyama, who says, "To become a professional, I want to make physical contact and aerial strength my weapons," says, "That is why I do core training every day. I arrange the training methods I learned from the trainer during my injury period and complete a menu I came up with myself," training his body with a training menu he devised himself.
Currently, Shimada, who has an injured right arm, says, "I am preparing to return to the pitch sooner by using electrical therapy and icing, while also doing lower body strength training properly. I am grateful that the dedicated trainer is also supporting me," and continues treatment with the goal of standing on the pitch again. In this way, the training room is used in various ways according to each player's purpose.
Ikeda, who loves strength training, lifts the barbell with ease
Although Sakamoto suffered from injuries last year, he worked up a sweat in the training room even when he could not be on the pitch.
Mae shows off his handstand in the training room. He is also honing his sense of balance.
Teamwork in academics as well
However, while they are Antlers Youth players, they are also each a high school student. Therefore, instead of being absorbed only in football training, it is also important not to neglect their studies. As Ogura says, "I started studying after entering high school. I am happy if I can get good grades, and since everyone around me is studying, I can work hard because I feel I have to do it too," the players' lives switch more into "study mode" before exam periods. It is natural that each player has subjects they are good at and subjects they are not good at, but as Nagayama reveals, "Sometimes it is easier to understand when someone in the same grade teaches me, so before exams, we all work together and study intensely," they show teamwork in academics just like in football matches. Nagayama teaches his teammates mathematics, a subject he is good at, in his own room, and also says, "By teaching, it also becomes a review for me," creating a synergistic effect. Everyone is working hard at their studies, and Shimada proudly says, "No player is inferior in academics."
MF Kyogo Hirayama, who has the dream of "not only becoming a professional, but also becoming a player who performs on the world stage," is working on his English studies every day, saying, "Because I have my own room, I can concentrate on studying." As he says, "To perform on the world stage, I study English for at least 30 minutes every night," the daily accumulation is important in English study just like in football. When he went on a tour to Australia in March, he communicated with native English speakers and says, "I felt that I have to study English more," and is striving to further improve his language skills.
Before exams, Nagayama teaches Ogura mathematics, and each player works together to improve their academic ability
Hirayama, who aims to perform overseas, does not miss a day of English study
The indispensable "support of family"
All these players left their parents' homes and moved into the Academy House at the same time they graduated from junior high school. Ooyama reminisces about himself when he first moved in, saying, "I love my family, so at first, I felt a little homesick," and looks back on his own growth, saying, "I am fine now (laughs). Here, I have to do things for myself. There is an environment where I can become independent." Ogura also reveals that he was very dependent on his parents back home, saying, "When I was in elementary and junior high school, my parents did almost all the preparations for football," and feels, "Because my parents are not here, I feel the importance of doing things myself. It was hard at first, but I am used to it now. It is leading to independence and growth."
Misawa came to the Antlers Academy from Yamagata Prefecture during junior high school, and at first, he moved to Kashima with his mother and spent three years in the Antlers Junior Youth. When he was promoted to the youth team and moved into the dormitory, his mother returned to Yamagata, and now he says, "Because my parents are not here, I have to do everything myself, so I feel grateful for them." Ikeda, who frequently talks to his parents on the phone and is healed by checking on the status of his six dogs, also seems to enjoy family time on his days off, saying, "If I call my parents, they come to Kashima from their hometown in Chiba Prefecture. We spend time together doing things like shopping."
Promotion to the Premier League, winning the Club Youth Championship, and promotion to the top team—the 10 third-year students of the Antlers Youth each have many reasons for spending their high school years in this place, but one of them is the words "gratitude" and "repaying kindness."
"I want to repay my parents and the people who have supported me so far with results." (Ichiki)
"My parents specially moved to Kashima and I put a burden on them, so I definitely want to be promoted to the top team." (Misawa)
With various thoughts in their hearts, to make their respective dreams and goals come true—rain or shine, the third-year students of the Antlers Youth pour their full strength into their final year of high school.
