Unnoticed events have gradually helped these boys grow.
A player whose life was changed by a single save.
A player who kept losing to rivals.
A player whose spirit nearly broke due to injury.
A player who turned gratitude toward their parents into strength.
13 first-year students at the Kashima Antlers Youth Academy.
Aiming for the top team and the world, what experiences have they accumulated, and what have they valued?
The answer lies in each individual's "origins". (Part 1 / 3 Parts)

 

Kentaro Shultz

"When in doubt, I try to go for it."
Decision-making skills nurtured by repeated challenges
[GK Kentaro Shultz's Origins]

　When in doubt, first try taking a step forward.
　Kentaro Shultz's journey to becoming a goalkeeper also began with an unexpected invitation.

　He started playing soccer in his final year of kindergarten. Encouraged by a friend, he began kicking a ball at Higashi-Kobaidai FC in Tsukuba City. He also joined the Kashima Antlers school that friend attended, gradually becoming more and more absorbed in soccer.

　In his fourth year of elementary school, he tried out for the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba Junior team. At the time, he was an outfield player, but he failed the second round of tryouts.
　After that, he received a phone call from a coach at the school.
"I was asked if I wanted to try being a goalkeeper. I had almost never done it before, so I was surprised."
　Putting on gloves and receiving the ball were both almost entirely new to him. He couldn't catch the ball as he wanted to. Even so, he advanced to the third and fourth rounds of tryouts as a goalkeeper and earned a spot.
"When I found out I had passed, I was more surprised than happy."

　His initial struggles were with positioning and decision-making. Skills could be acquired through repeated practice. However, deciding whether to come forward or stay in goal required experience.

　That is precisely why he challenged himself without fear of failure.

"My coach told me not to be afraid of making mistakes and to keep challenging myself. When in doubt, I try to go for it."
　If he made a run and failed, he would think about why he hadn't reached the ball. Was his positioning wrong? Had he started moving too late? Or would it have been better not to come out at all? He would reflect on it and test it again in the next play.
　That accumulation of experience led to his strengths: making runs behind the defense, dealing with crosses, and launching quick counterattacks from those situations.

　In his fifth year of elementary school, he saved a shot in the final of a national tournament and received loud cheers from his teammates. On the other hand, in the winter national tournament of his sixth year, his own kicking error led to the winning goal for the opposing team, and they lost in the round of 16.
"It was a huge shock. But I didn't end up hating soccer."
　Both success and failure became experiences that supported his next decisions.

　Through his activities with the age-group national team, he also encountered the speed and power of overseas players. In his most recent activity, he was able to make a run for a ball played deep behind the defense without hesitation and reach it before the opponent.
"It's not just about being selected for the national team; what matters is what you can do there. I believe that if you can do it in practice but not in a match, it means nothing."

　His goal is to be involved in the Premier League and to give his all every single day. And to be promoted to the top team.

"I want to enjoy playing soccer. The most fun part is when I can do something I couldn't do before, or make a great save."

　He has turned the path to becoming a goalkeeper, which began by chance, into the right choice through his own challenges. Kentaro Shultz continues to take those steps today.

 

Yuta Fudai

"Once I went beyond my limits, I was able to run."
The limits he placed on himself, changed by playing three consecutive matches
[MF Yuta Fudai's Origins]

　The more difficult the time was, the more strangely it remained in his memory.

　It happened when he was in his fifth year of elementary school. During a training match, Yuta Fudai, who had been playing in shifts until then, was suddenly sent onto the pitch for three consecutive matches.
"It was really tough. I was running with only one thing on my mind: 'Once this match is over, it's over.' But strangely, around the end of the third match, I suddenly became able to run. From then on, I thought to myself, 'I can run now.'"

　Beyond his limits, there was a new version of himself. That day's experience is still Fudai's origin today.

　He started playing soccer in kindergarten after being invited by a friend. His father had also played soccer, and they would kick a ball together when he returned from work. He would have his father lift crosses and repeat headers. Those casual moments have also led to his current strengths.
"I've loved heading since I was little. My father would lift crosses for me almost every day so I could practice. That has become one of my strengths even now."

　When he first joined the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba Junior team, he said, "I was the worst on the team."

"I was doing my best just to keep up with practice. But Mr. Nakano (the current youth academy director and former Tsukuba Junior director) kept telling me, 'Do it to the very end,' and I gradually began to change."
　He has gradually built up his dribbling, running ability, and vision one by one. In his junior high school years, he also experienced national tournaments. On the other hand, there is a regret he cannot forget.
"I lost a match because I missed a penalty kick in the club youth academy qualifiers. I felt I could have done better. From then on, instead of blaming others, I decided to turn the arrow toward myself."
　It is still a phrase he holds dear.

　The first thing he felt when he was promoted to the youth academy was the difference in level.
"The physical difference was completely different. I felt I still had a long way to go. But I want to grow even more this summer."

　Having confidence. And continuing to turn the arrow toward himself. That accumulation will build Fudai's future.
"I want to play matches for the top team. To do that, I believe I need to grow not only as a soccer player but also as a person."
　The "other side of limits" he learned beyond the difficulty. Fudai continues to run toward that beyond even now.

 

Shoryu Nakajima

"How much I can do when I'm not in good shape."
The self he faced during a year-long injury
[DF Shoryu Nakajima's Origins]

　The time he couldn't play as he wanted became the opportunity to face himself.

　By the end of his first year of junior high school, he played in the third-year Takayashiro Cup. He also played as a starter in the early part of his second year of junior high school, feeling that he could keep going like this.
　However, injury stopped everything. He injured his anterior cruciate ligament, and it was compounded by lumbar spondylolysis. For about a year, he couldn't play soccer as he wanted.
"It was the most frustrating. Because the time when I couldn't play soccer continued, I also had more time to face myself during the injury period. I also thought more about what I should do."

　He started playing soccer at age three.
　The catalyst was his uncle, who had played as a professional soccer player in China. He admired him after watching videos on his father's smartphone and began kicking a ball with his father.

"I remember telling my father that I wanted to play soccer too. I was already filled with the desire to play soccer."

　After joining the Saitama Prefecture Regista FC, he joined the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba school in his third year of elementary school. What he began to value there was "winning individually."
"We fight as a team, but first, we have to win individually. I have always valued that."

　From a young age, he had confidence in one-on-one situations and ball duels. He would collide with his body, shout, and not lose to the opponent in front of him. Even now, he continues to work on strength training and refine that strength.

　That is precisely why the time he spent away from the pitch for so long was difficult.
　Even so, precisely because he couldn't play soccer, he began to think about what he could do. Care to prevent injuries as much as possible. Playing after returning. And how to interact with people. He began to look beyond the pitch as well.
"I don't think you're in good shape every day. That is why, when you're not in good shape, how much you can do. Also, I want to value having confidence over these three years."

　If he were to describe his playing style in one word, there would be no hesitation.
"If you say 'the grinder,' that's me."
　He fights one-on-one. He dives into ball duels. He does not lose to the opponent in front of him. At its root, it hasn't changed since he was young.

　His goal is to become a professional soccer player at Kashima Antlers.
"For that, I want to look for what I can do from daily practice."
　The year he couldn't play soccer became a time to look at himself. On good days and bad days. Shoryu Nakajima continues to look for what he can do every day.

 

Reon Kakinuma

"If I can't do it, I'll do it until I can."
Days of continuing to learn from skilled players
[MF Reon Kakinuma's Origins]

　If I can't do it, I'll do it until I can. That was Reon Kakinuma.

　He started playing soccer in kindergarten, and when he became an elementary school student, he joined his hometown Abiko Soccer Club. He wanted to play at a higher level. With that desire, in his third year of elementary school, he challenged the tryouts of a J-League club.
　However, the result was failure.
"I applied to Raysol, Antlers, and Gef, but I failed all of them."
　Even so, he didn't give up.

　In his fourth year of elementary school, he joined the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba Junior team. Looking back at that time.
"At first, I really couldn't do anything. Everyone was skilled."
　He didn't end with just being frustrated. Even on days off, he went to the school and continued to watch the players in higher grades play.

"I kept watching how skilled people played. The way they oriented their bodies when receiving the ball at their feet, the speed of their decisions, and so on. I imitated those things."

　The accumulation gradually turned into confidence.

　By the end of his first year of junior high school, he was able to show his own play even in third-year matches, and in his second year of junior high school, he stood on the pitch as a regular. He also experienced national tournaments and age-group national teams. Even so, he was not satisfied.

"When you enter a higher grade, you really can't do anything. But even if you are depressed that day, the next day you would switch and say, 'Let's try again.'"
　What he had written down was his soccer notebook.
"I've been writing it since elementary school. I write what I felt that day, what I couldn't do, and think about what to do next."

　Even now that he has been promoted to the youth academy, his weapon is his left-foot kick. But there is something more he wants to refine.
"It's running ability. I think I need to develop that more."
　His goal is the top team. However, there is no need to rush for that.
"I believe that if you grow every day, the results will be there in the end."

　He watches skilled players, imitates them, writes in his notebook, and then heads to the next day's practice. Reon Kakinuma is trying to slightly overtake yesterday's self today as well.

Sora Doi

"The day I can beat myself is still ahead."
A strong mentality supported by gratitude
[FW Sora Doi's Origins]

　I want to be strong. That was not about beating the opponent, but about beating myself.

　He started playing soccer at age five. Following the backs of his two older brothers, he joined GosoSSS in Ibaraki Prefecture. Blessed with physical ability from a young age, he played in fourth-year matches in his first year of elementary school, and sixth-year matches in his third year of elementary school.

"At that time, I could manage with my physical ability."

　In his fourth year of elementary school, he joined the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba Junior team. There, too, he had many opportunities to play in higher grades.
　However, when he went to junior high school, he hit a wall for the first time.
"When you enter a higher grade, your bodies become about the same size, and at first, I couldn't do it at all."
　He couldn't play as he wanted. He lost confidence. Every time, he continued to face himself.

"I am easily influenced by my mentality."
　That is why, before a match, he thinks of his parents.
"They drove me to and from, and raised me this far. When I think about those things, I feel that I have to pay them back in my play."

　Gratitude makes him move forward. He picks up trash. He doesn't leave food behind.
　He cannot explain the reason.
　Even so, he feels that such accumulation helps to settle his heart.
"Sometimes I think something good might happen."
　His weapons are his runs behind the defense and his versatility. His goal is to be active in the top team.
"I want to make my mentality stronger and become a player who can score points and lead the team."

　The opponent he is fighting more than anyone else might be himself. Even so, Sora Doi continues to move forward one step at a time today, turning gratitude into strength.

 

Shota Sugiyama

"It was fun playing in a higher grade."
Days of continuing to enjoy challenges
[MF Shota Sugiyama's Origins]

　Playing in a higher grade was normal for him.

　When he started playing soccer in his first year of elementary school, he immediately played in second-year matches.
"I was just receiving the ball and dribbling. It was normally fun even in a higher grade."
　He wasn't afraid. Rather, that environment was comfortable.

　His father, Shin Sugiyama, is a former professional soccer player. He played with his father with a ball from a young age, and also played at the school his father opened.
　When he became a fifth-year elementary school student, he joined the Kashima Antlers Tsukuba school. He aimed for the J-League club junior team, but he didn't make it.
　Even so, he looked forward.

"When I joined the Kashima school, I thought the level was really high."
　Even when he went to the junior academy, there were many opportunities to play in higher grades. At first, he couldn't do anything. Even so, little by little, he became able to show his own play.
"I had more fun playing with older people."

　The Korea expedition became a turning point. An unfamiliar left sideback. Even so, he played with all his heart.
　Then, he was able to do it to a surprising extent.
"At that expedition, I felt that I could do quite a bit."
　His weapon is his abundant work rate. He repeatedly moves up and down, running for the team. That attitude remains unchanged even now.
"I want to make my body bigger. I think that is my current challenge."

　His goal is promotion to the top team. For that, first, he wants to show his presence in the youth academy.
"I want to get involved in matches quickly like (Sora) Doi and (Yuta) Fudai, and try to get closer to the players who are already playing matches."

　He has never thought it was scary to jump into a higher level. Shota Sugiyama continues to chase a view one step higher today.