Conversation

Sogebata Jun U-18 GK Coach × Sato Akio U-15 GK Coach

The Japan Club Youth Soccer Championship is one of the major tournaments leading to national championships for both the U-18 and U-15 age groups. Reflecting on the tournament, what are the most important things for goalkeepers at the junior high and high school levels? Two goalkeepers who played for top teams reflect on the key points of player development this summer and how to cultivate them. We spoke with them about their playing days as well.

What Sato Akio learned from Jun Sogebata during his playing days

Both Coach Sogebata and Coach Sato retired from playing in 2020 and became coaches. Do you find coaching to be more difficult than playing?

Sato　It’s overwhelmingly more difficult than when I was playing. I really feel that playing for myself is much easier...

Sogebata　That’s true. There are so many things that don’t go as planned. It’s difficult to help players develop a consistent growth curve, and it’s also difficult when the team can’t win.

Sato　I really feel that I never used to think so carefully about a single play. Even when I was playing, I would watch back scenes where I conceded goals, but since becoming a coach, I watch and think about each and every play the players make, not just the ones where we concede. I have to think about why they made a certain play, what they were lacking, and then decide how to convey that to the players—or whether not to say anything at all. The difficulty of that is completely different from when I was playing.

Coach Sogebata has been coaching at Antlers Youth since last year, and Coach Sato has been coaching goalkeepers at the U-15 level since 2021.

Sato　Over the past three years, I’ve been coaching junior high school players, and I feel a great deal of enjoyment along with the challenges. Players are at an age when they grow tremendously both physically and mentally, so to be honest, I’m constantly amazed by those changes myself.

Sogebata　In the U-18 level, compared to the U-15 level, there are many players with similar abilities, so I think it’s easier to work with them. While they may perform well in training but fail to express it in matches, sometimes a little spark can reveal surprising growth. Through repeated trial and error, I feel the difficulty of discerning the challenges and the growth.

This summer, both the U-15 and U-18 teams competed in the Japan Club Youth Championship. The U-15 team was eliminated in the round of 16, and the U-18 team was eliminated in the group stage, but how did you feel about the tournament after reflecting on it?

Sato　Last year, with many second-year players, including outfield players, playing in matches, we advanced to the semifinals. That’s why I went into this year aiming for the championship, and to be honest, I really wanted to contribute more to the team’s victory from the goalkeeper position. Technically, the challenges were balls behind the defensive line, dealing with crosses, and playing in space. I reflect on the fact that there may have been more I could have conveyed as a goalkeeper coach, including the decision of whether to come out or not.

Sogebata　The Club Youth Championship (U-18) had a different tournament format this year, and only the first-place team in each group could advance to the knockout stage. We won the first and second matches without conceding, but we couldn’t overcome our toughest rivals in the group, Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Youth (0-1). I really felt that in these kinds of close matches, a decisive performance from the goalkeeper is necessary. Against an opponent with no difference in ability, the goalkeeper is required to make plays that bring the momentum to the team. On the other hand, a single small mistake in play or judgment can give the momentum to the opponent. Unfortunately, it was a tournament that left us feeling unsatisfied, but how the players feel about this frustrating experience and how they will approach training is what matters. I think the coaching staff, including myself, needs to help them through that.

 

Both of you had the ideal of being a “goalkeeper who wins games for the team” during your playing days. What kind of play does a goalkeeper make to bring the momentum of the match to the team?

Sogebata　When you become a professional player, it’s important to make good plays yourself, but first you have to produce results to survive. So, how can you get closest to the team’s victory? It’s by preventing the ball from coming to the goalkeeper—our own goal. As long as you don’t concede, you won’t lose. To achieve this, there are things that can be solved with your voice before the goalkeeper even makes a play. As I continued my playing career as a professional, my thinking gradually changed in that direction.

Sato　In that regard, I learned from Sogebata. The reason he has played in over 500 matches for Antlers, the club that has won the most matches and titles in the league, is precisely because of his influence on the team. I felt that depending on the situation of the game, how to convey what to tell those around you so that the team can win, and how to express it, is extremely important. Even in the final match of the J1 League in 2009 against Urawa Reds, he was skillfully negotiating with the referee to end the match 1-0.

Sogebata　It’s also a form of pressure (laughs).

Sato　It’s difficult to decide how much to expect junior high and high school players to use tactics to bring victory, but I really felt it when we went on a tour to Brazil. Brazilian goalkeepers showed a strong desire to “win” from the junior high and high school levels. At their core, I think they have developed the awareness that “a goalkeeper who wins games for the team is a good goalkeeper.”

Sogebata　I also think it’s important to be able to read the game. For example, in a U-18 practice or match, when the ball is about to cross the touchline or goal line. A goalkeeper who can read the momentum will judge that a chance will come if they keep the ball, and will sprint to pass it to a defender. Conversely, a player who cannot read the momentum may hold onto the ball unnecessarily for too long, or they may not see that they can smoothly defend it by simply giving a word of instruction to those around them. It’s quite difficult to coach this change in awareness.

Sato　Even if players understand it in their heads, how to express it and convey it to their teammates, and how to get those around them to react to it are also extremely important elements. Without the goalkeeper’s daily attitude and a sense of trust, it’s difficult for all 11 players to align their focus there. At Antlers during our playing days, the team was united because of the influence of Sogebata and (Mitsuo) Kasasawara. That’s why I myself also placed great importance on the everyday aspects. Not only on the pitch, but also off the pitch, I thought that the way you interact with your teammates every day is extremely important to earn trust when you stand in goal.

What techniques are required of junior high and high school goalkeepers

From here, please talk about the abilities required of junior high and high school goalkeepers by element. First, about saving techniques.

Sogebata　Regarding saving, I think fundamentally it hasn’t changed much from the past to now. Although the names of the plays have changed, and new methods have emerged.

Sato　Repositioning may have changed. Since goalkeepers use their feet more, they have come to be involved at higher positions behind the defensive line. That’s why I have the impression that repositioning while moving back has increased significantly. Since you have to check the position of the goal or penalty spot while moving back, the work to take the correct positioning may have become more difficult than during our playing days. Regarding saving techniques, I feel that they have been verbalized and subdivided. “No step,” “diving,” “one step,” “inner dive,” “collapsing,” and so on. There are many names, and while we have theories about what is effective in what situation, players who actually stand in goal don’t have the luxury of thinking that much.

Sogebata　Because they move by instinct.

Sato　That’s right. That’s why I think our role is to organize training well so that players can unconsciously perform theoretical plays.

Sogebata　Because in an actual match, a decision made in a fraction of a second makes the difference. It’s quite difficult to react while thinking. That’s why we make it a habit through repetitive training so that it can come out unconsciously from everyday practice. When I was playing, I also focused on acquiring new techniques by repeating catches and steps over and over.

What about footwork? Nowadays, it has become a given that goalkeepers participate in build-up.

Sogebata　Of course, what is required has increased. However, I think that first and foremost, the basis for a goalkeeper is “protecting the goal.” If we only demand footwork techniques, it would mean that an outfield player should play as a goalkeeper.

Sato　As a coach, I want to develop that player’s strengths. Some players have footwork techniques as their strength, while others do not. However, even if they are not good at playing with their feet, they should acquire the minimum techniques and then be absolutely unbeatable at shot-stopping. I think it’s good to do it while making use of that player’s color and characteristics.

Next, what about coaching?

Sogebata　When you become a professional, it becomes difficult for your voice to reach the players because of the noise in the stadium. That’s why what I was conscious of during my playing days was to convey things concisely and briefly. It’s also about calling their names and making them realize “something might happen,” and especially in front of the goal, I conveyed it clearly with “Forward!” and “Back!”

Sato　Coaching is the area where I feel the biggest gap between the past and now. During my playing days, I never thought coaching was difficult. As Sogebata said, I thought that concise coaching words like “Close them down!” or “Keeper, clear!” were things that would come out naturally without being taught.

Sogebata　Today’s kids can’t say it easily.

Sato　Yes. When I first became a goalkeeper coach, I was confused about whether I had to deliberately teach coaching like “Close them down!” or “Keeper!” However, many of today’s youth goalkeepers cannot see their surroundings and cannot judge the situation. Because they do not understand what is dangerous right now, they do not know what to tell those around them. That’s why, while teaching coaching, I also convey the importance of seeing their surroundings.

Sogebata　For example, even in the decision of whether a goalkeeper should come out into space or not, if you can see the movements of the passer and the receiver, you can make a move with prediction, and you can give instructions to those around you like “I’m running” or “I’m coming in.” But if you cannot see that, you cannot make a decision. To give accurate coaching, it is probably important to make it a habit to “see” those around you.

Sato　“How you convey it” is also important. If you convey it in a panicked voice when you want to calm the game, it doesn’t mean much, and conversely, if you coach in a relaxed tone during a crisis in front of the goal, your teammates won’t move.

Sogebata　The relationship of trust between the goalkeeper who coaches and the outfield players who receive it is also extremely important. Even if a goalkeeper who is usually fooling around says “Go!”, it makes you think, “I don’t want to be told by you.” That’s why I am telling the youth players now. Even if a player who doesn’t do their part properly in everyday practice or doesn’t run says “Run!”, no one will follow. First, you have to do what you should do, and then you can coach.

A goalkeeper is in a position where a mistake immediately leads to a goal. That’s why their mental state becomes important. How do you train your mentality at the junior high and high school levels?

Sogebata　When you become a professional, there is an environment where you can focus on soccer, but at the junior high and high school levels, there are school events and studies, and whether you have a girlfriend or not can also affect your play. Since it’s an age where you are influenced by many things, it’s difficult.

Sato　Especially the junior high school level is adolescence, and there are players who are rebellious. I think it’s also an age where you tend to build walls against adults, so I am conscious of skillfully opening that up. Even if things don’t go well on the pitch, while acknowledging their efforts to try, I want them to reveal their inability to do it as well.

Sogebata　Even when I go to watch junior high school practices, I feel that Aki is skillfully taking distance from the players, getting close to them, and making adjustments.

Sato　When a new first-year junior high school student enters the junior high school team, I always ask them about their goals and future dreams first, and make them write it down. Then everyone writes things like “I want to succeed at Antlers” or “I want to become a member of the Japanese national team in the future.” But when I look at their actual efforts, honestly, there are players that make me wonder if they are seriously trying to make their dreams come true. I think mentality is not something you force, but something that must come from within yourself. Unless you sincerely and strongly want to become a professional in the future or become a member of the Japanese national team, it won’t connect. That’s why, for players who are distracted or whose passion cannot be felt, I try to ask them again, “What is your goal?”

Sogebata　Without a serious passion, it won’t last.

Sato　I think the most important thing for junior high and high school students to polish their mentality is an attitude of not giving up. After all, the goalkeeper at the very back of the team must not give up on victory at the last moment, and must continue to play without giving up on a single ball. I think this is important not only as a soccer player, but also in life. Whether you come out for a cross or a through pass, if it’s not a play you decided yourself, you won’t grow, and your range of defense won’t expand.

There are 3 months left this year as well. What do you expect from the current players on the team?

Sogebata　I want them to grow every day, and that is also my own challenge. I want them to have a desire for growth, and I want to be a coach who can awaken that desire in them. I want to stimulate their motivation while making adjustments to the training content.

Sato　In the youth levels, “winning” and “growing” are often talked about as separate things. But I feel that is a little different. Soccer is interesting precisely when victory and growth coincide. That’s why I want them to become players who can win while growing. I want to develop a “goalkeeper who wins games for the team” while scaling up in mind, technique, and body.