INTERVIEW
Challenging the Prince Takamado Premier League
Kashima Antlers Youth Third-Year Students
In 2024, Kashima Antlers Youth will take on the Prince Takamodo Premier League EAST. We spoke with the 11 third-year students who lead the team about their hopes for the new season and their determination for the Prince Takamodo Premier League EAST campaign (interview conducted before the start of the league).
The battlefield they have long aspired to compete on
In their final year, the highest stage in high school football will be their battlefield.
After standing atop the fierce Prince Takamodo Prince League Kanto competition and earning their place in the Prince Takamodo Premier League EAST by fighting through the Prince League playoffs against the strongest teams from across the regions, the new team has begun its journey. Carrying with them gratitude for the third-year students who led the team last season, they embark on a new chapter.
“The Prince Takamodo Premier League is a league where you can aim to be the best in Japan. I have nothing but gratitude for the seniors who left that stage for us in our final year.” (Dobashi)
“We cannot show a lackluster performance on the Prince Takamodo Premier League stage that our seniors left behind. We feel we must show something more than the hard work they put in this year.” (Sato)
“The Prince Takamodo Premier League is a stage that not everyone can play on, so it holds a very special meaning for us. We are able to compete because of the opportunities our seniors created, but they can no longer play on that stage. We must carry their hopes with us and deliver good results.” (Shiba)
Each player has reflected on their feelings toward that stage, from which they had been distanced since 2019. Watching his older brother, Reito, excel as a third-year youth player in 2019, Yamato Tamaki developed a strong desire to compete in the Prince Takamodo Premier League.
“I used to go and watch quite a few of my brother’s matches. I remember going to away games against Omiya in addition to home matches. There were always so many spectators, and I thought it was amazing. My brother’s team was relegated from the Prince Takamodo Premier League, so I want to achieve good results in our time.” (Tamaki)
Tamaki, who was prone to injury at Antlers Youth, aims for the stage his brother once competed on
For Yuma Misen and Victor Shimada, who both played for local clubs during their junior high school years, the Prince Takamodo Premier League has always been a place they aspired to reach. No player from Misen’s junior high school team, Atretico Kunitachi, has yet experienced the highest level of high school league football. That makes them even more determined to face the Prince Takamodo Premier League with gratitude toward the local club that helped them grow.
“Since junior high school, I have always wanted to play in the Prince Takamodo Premier League. I am grateful to the coaches who created an environment where I could take football seriously when I was a junior high student. I would be happy to show how much I have grown, and I want to make this a year that shows my junior high school teammates at Atretico Kunitachi that they can play in the Prince Takamodo Premier League if they work hard.” (Misen)
Misen also aims to compete in the Prince Takamodo Premier League as a player from Atretico Kunitachi
Reunions with former teammates
Shimada describes his impression of the Prince Takamodo Premier League as “a competition where strong teams gather and many famous high school players compete.” He is also eagerly anticipating reunions with friends who play for prestigious schools that reached the top four in the 2023 All Japan High School Soccer Championship.
“I have known the twin brothers, Nicholas and Gabriel Guimarães, from Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba Prefecture), for a long time. I became friends with Nicholas after playing together on a select team, and I often played against Gabriel in practice matches during junior high school. They are both defenders, so I want to score and win every time we face each other.” (Shimada)
Shimada eagerly anticipates facing the defense of Funabashi Municipal High School
In addition to Shimada, almost all the members of Antlers Youth are eagerly anticipating a match against Funabashi Municipal High School. In particular, players such as Yuto Tokuda, who played for Tsukuba Junior Youth during junior high school, are burning with fighting spirit for a match against their former teammates.
“I am looking forward to facing them because my former teammates at Tsukuba Junior Youth, Shunmoto Date and Yuto Kato, went on to Funabashi Municipal High School and are doing well. I am also close with Yuto Kato, as our families live near each other, so we always played football together and were good friends. Even now, when players like them excel at Academy House, it becomes a topic of conversation, so they are people I am very aware of.” (Tokuda)
Tokuda has been keeping an eye on his former teammates from Tsukuba Junior Youth
For Kaito Sato, who came from Kashima Junior Youth, his former teammates are also people he keeps in mind. He lists Funabashi Municipal High School, along with Shoji High School and Aomori Yamada High School, and says with excitement, “I am looking forward to facing the players I competed with during our junior youth days.”
“There are Kashima Junior Youth alumni Ryunosuke Arakawa at Shoji High School and Kota Tsuda at Aomori Yamada High School. If we can meet again in a match after all this time, they will be our opponents, but I am looking forward to seeing how they play. I am sure they also have a strong desire not to lose to us, but we must go beyond that and win. I want to make this a match where we can show them how much we have grown here at Antlers Youth.” (Sato)
Sato, who was promoted from Kashima Junior Youth to Youth, is determined to show how much he has grown
Aomori Yamada High School, which Sato mentioned, is well known as one of the top teams in high school football. In 2023, they won the Prince Takamodo Premier League Championship and also stood atop the winter All Japan High School Soccer Championship. They are also the “champions” that all third-year students at Antlers Youth say they want to face and beat.
“Aomori Yamada High School is the representative of high school football and one of the best teams. Of course, I respect them, but I believe that Antlers should be the best in Japan, so I think Kashima Antlers should originally hold the throne over Aomori Yamada High School. This year, we have the opportunity to challenge that, so we will absolutely win and aim to be the best in Japan.” (Shiba)
Aoto Shiba expresses his feelings about the match against Aomori Yamada High School in powerful words.
Shiba lists Aomori Yamada High School as the opponent he wants to face and vows to win
Matsumoto Haruto, who was in the JFA Academy U-15 WEST during his junior high school years, has had many connections with Aomori Yamada High School, so he is particularly aware of that match among the Prince Takamodo Premier League EAST league matches.
“When I was in elementary school, I often played against a team called Aomori FC. I have heard that many players from that team went on to Aomori Yamada High School. Also, several people from my hometown of Kurumai City in Saitama Prefecture enrolled at Aomori Yamada High School, and I have acquaintances among them. It is also a high school where I participated in practice during my junior high school years, so while I am looking forward to reuniting with the players I know, I want to beat them whether we are at home or away.”
Matsumoto Haruto, who also experienced participating in Aomori Yamada High School practice during junior high school
A stage to show how much they have grown
On the other hand, looking at the Prince Takamodo Premier League opponents, Ryunosuke Dobashi recalls a match from his Tsukuba Junior Youth days. The memory that came back to him was the FC Lavida match in the semifinals of the 33rd All Japan U-15 Soccer Championship during his third year of junior high school.
“In the Prince Takamodo semifinals during my third year of junior high school, we were crushed 1-4 by FC Lavida. Playing as a center back, I was outplayed by a player one year younger than me, Gota Yamaguchi, who scored an amazing goal. I was frustrated, and he was really good. Most of the FC Lavida players at that time were playing at Shohei High School, so I, along with the other players from Tsukuba Junior Youth, have a strong desire to beat Shohei High School as well.” (Dobashi)
Dobashi looks ahead to the Shohei High School match with the frustration he felt during junior high school in his heart
For Norte Junior Youth alumni like Seima Okusawara and Yasuo Matsumoto, a chance for revenge to clear the frustration they felt during junior high school is approaching. One of Japan’s leading J clubs, which has produced many age-group national team players, has always stood as a wall.
“I have lost quite a few times to Kawasaki Frontale since I played at Norte Junior Youth, so I want to beat them. I have been matched up against Shotaro Shibata since junior high school, and he is also a player who has been selected for the national team, so I do not want to lose.” (Okusawara)
Okusawara wants to make his presence felt in matchups against age-group national team players
And Eita Kishino will face the Prince Takamodo Premier League opener in his hometown of Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. Along with a new start in the familiar land, he is also excited about facing a friend who was his teammate when they were in elementary school.
“Since my hometown is Kashiwa, I am fired up for the opener against Kashiwa Reysol U-18. When I was in my first year of junior high school, I went to Hitachi Dai Stadium to watch the Prince Takamodo Premier League match between Antlers Youth and Kashiwa Reysol U-18, and I thought this was the place I should aim for. I was a teammate with Reysol’s Kensei Kobayashi during our junior youth days, so I am looking forward to facing him. I hope we can show how much we have grown on the pitch.” (Kishino)
Kishino holds special feelings about the opener in his hometown of Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture
The final year at the Antlers Academy
The stage where they will challenge the new season with their respective hopes is also a place to show their “culmination” at the academy for the third-year students of Antlers Youth. It is their final year with the teammates they have fought alongside.
“I feel that I am here today thanks to our seniors. Since it has been five years since we last played in the Prince Takamodo Premier League, we cannot afford to fall back to the Prince League in one year. First of all, I have a strong feeling that we absolutely must retain our place in the Prince Takamodo Premier League.” (Okusawara)
“I was injured all the time during my first and second years, and I was anxious because I could not play in matches. Now that my injury has finally healed, I want my family to see me play with everything I have, and I hope to leave something behind for Kashima Antlers, which has taken care of me since my junior youth days.” (Tamaki)
“It is thanks to the staff at Tsukuba that I was able to join Antlers. I want to show the people who took care of me in Tsukuba how much I have grown.” (Dobashi)
Yasushi Matsumoto, who has been with Antlers Youth since his third year of junior high school, is now in his fourth season. He is entering the final year of his high school life after honing his skills with Kishino and others who are competing for the same goalkeeper position. Guarding the goal on the Prince Takamodo Premier League stage is his immediate goal.
“Until now, I have not been able to get involved in A-team matches very often, so this year I have a strong desire to surpass Kishino and play in matches. Almost all the youth members are teammates who came up from junior youth, junior youth, and youth. This will also be our final year playing football together as a team, so there is also a sense of sadness. I want to spend this year without any regrets, including in my daily life.”
Matsumoto Yasushi (center) aims to play in A-team matches, including the Club Youth Championship
Even though two of them have already been registered as second-string players for the top team and have been confirmed to be promoted to the top team in the 2025 season after the Prince Takamodo Premier League campaign ends, they have strong feelings about their final season at Antlers Youth.
“I want to win as many matches as possible and aim for the championship. However, it is also important to build a foundation so that we can continue to compete in the Prince Takamodo Premier League next year, the year after, and beyond. While aiming for the top, I want to show our juniors with our backs the attitude needed to keep competing on this stage, so we will work hard.” (Matsumoto)
“Since it is my first challenge, to be honest, I also have some anxiety about whether it will go well. On the other hand, I think there is a chance to grow even further by playing against strong opponents. While enjoying such an environment, I want to work hard for one year, aim for the top, win as many matches as possible, and end with a smile.” (Tokuda)
With their various feelings in their hearts, the third-year students take on the new season for the battle on the “place where Antlers Youth belong,” which they have returned to.