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A fitting end
Fend for yourself 101
yet another lesson
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After five years my tenure as Johoku's coach officially ended about two months before the spring match-up with rival Sotoku. As is often in Japan the news was sudden and abrupt. After having a coach present everyday of their football lives sweating them over details the kids were forced to soldier on alone. That's the way it goes in Japan as staffing changes typically align with the academic year which ends in in mid March and begins in April. All the players had moving forward was their memories and the dozen or so practice menus I'd left them. You can't make this stuff up.
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subplot
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Johoku's new administrative regime had decided that me being a volunteer (unheard of in Japan) as well as an "outsider" unaffiliated with the school was too much of a risk to continue. After having worked in local school systems for a number of years I was well aware of the potential for someone far removed from the situation to make a sudden change. It happens all the time.
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The school's powers that be seemed unconcerned about the necessity of having an experienced coach. Football isn't a major sport here. On a scale of one to ten, baseball ranks number one followed by soccer. Football comes in at a distant twelve somewhere after badminton, handball and archery. Their solution, let a P.E. teacher take care of the kids. Fair enough. Some folks are just content with getting through their own day.
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Personally, I'd preferred to keep my jobs (contracted part-time teacher) and the coaching separate. This was a result of my having seen how coaches (in locally popular sports like baseball, soccer, etc.) in Japan typically double as teachers at the same schools and are usually overloaded with academic duties; they spend little time actually kicking pants.
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subplot
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Johoku's new administrative regime had decided that me being a volunteer (unheard of in Japan) as well as an "outsider" unaffiliated with the school was too much of a risk to continue. After having worked in local school systems for a number of years I was well aware of the potential for someone far removed from the situation to make a sudden change. It happens all the time.
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The school's powers that be seemed unconcerned about the necessity of having an experienced coach. Football isn't a major sport here. On a scale of one to ten, baseball ranks number one followed by soccer. Football comes in at a distant twelve somewhere after badminton, handball and archery. Their solution, let a P.E. teacher take care of the kids. Fair enough. Some folks are just content with getting through their own day.
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Personally, I'd preferred to keep my jobs (contracted part-time teacher) and the coaching separate. This was a result of my having seen how coaches (in locally popular sports like baseball, soccer, etc.) in Japan typically double as teachers at the same schools and are usually overloaded with academic duties; they spend little time actually kicking pants.
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For Johoku this game would be a rematch against the same Sotoku team that had physically traumatized them six months prior. It was a result of that beating that the guys had rededicated themselves to training. Since that loss the Johoku team had gone on to knock-off bigger and better teams and had raised their game to a different level; although, I'm not sure the players knew it.
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| .Johoku vs Sotoku - Fall Koiki Koen - Hiroshima, Japan (2009) |
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My efforts since then had been geared towards toughening them up and lessening their apprehension toward engaging bigger opponents. I'd replaced two weekdays of practice with weight training sessions and forced them to scrimmage in close quarters on an intentionally narrow field in an effort to desensitize them to rough play.
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.Scrimmaging in close quarters
Johoku field - Hiroshima, Japan (2010)
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By the middle of the second quarter the Johoku players had dug themselves into a twenty-one point hole. It was difficult to watch. I was compelled to help but was hesitant because I'd always thought of Japan as the land of social precision and subtleties. Ultimately, pondering the two years of sweat equity I had invested in those boys pushed me to assist.
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I pulled out my play sheet and walked down to the base of the stands behind the Johoku bench. I then apologized to the school representative (he's not a coach) for what I was about to do. Then I proceeded to run the show from the stands (I'm wearing a red shirt in the video). It was like old times, charging back from a deficit while racing the clock.
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I pulled out my play sheet and walked down to the base of the stands behind the Johoku bench. I then apologized to the school representative (he's not a coach) for what I was about to do. Then I proceeded to run the show from the stands (I'm wearing a red shirt in the video). It was like old times, charging back from a deficit while racing the clock.
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.Johoku vs Sotoku - Spring
Koiki Koen - Hiroshima, Japan (2010)
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