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| The dirt Hard, cold, and unyielding; just as life can be. |
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| .The blocking sled ( Edo period 徳川時代 circa 1603-1868) It was more dangerous than useful, but it's all we had. We broke it in 2009. . . .
As you can see, the facilities weren't exactly the University of Nebraska. This "no budget" football experience taught me a few things about what is and isn't necessary. We had a small prehistoric weight room with mis-matched weights. The weights were of various manufacturers and rattled on the rusty bars; yet they were round and heavy all the same. We didn't have anywhere near the variety of equipment available to a typical 1960's era American high school football program. To improve our strength and speed we had to be creative and efficient.
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No locker room, no showers, and we trained outdoors all year round. We practiced on a hard dirt field through spring monsoon, summer's heat, and winter's ice. I remember the facilities we had at our disposal both in high school and college in America; now I realize we weren't fully utilizing all that we had. There seems to be a tendency in athletics to emulate and aspire to what the most bloated institutions are doing.
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At Johoku we used harsh weather conditions as an added element to our physical and mental conditioning. I wanted the young players to think of adversity as the norm. There's always the possibility that those very same conditions may exist on game day. Whenever the players complained about the heat I told them it was hot everywhere else too. It's just a different way of thinking for some. Life works the same way.
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| .The dreaded mountain.
This is where we trained our legs for power and stamina.
The stairway ran 150 yards up this mountain,
continuing another sixty or so yards beyond the silver pole in the center of this picture. .
To get here we ran from the school which is located
a half mile downhill the other direction. We'd run up and down this hill doing plyometric exercises during the intervals. .
*There is a cemetery conveniently located at the base of the stairs.
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| .Everyday rituals All finished and ready to go home? Not so fast! In Japan after practice when you're all tired from training you have to smooth the surface of the field. . . .<HOME> . . . .  The students clean their own schools everyday, no exceptions. |
.Equipment problem?
Fix it yourself.
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| .Time - out |
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| .Injured? Just lie there in the dirt and your teammates will fetch you. |
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| .The office |
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.Office / locker room / storage container
We kept spare shoes, helmets and shoulder pads here for visitors.
Forgot your cleats? No problem. High tops or low?
.The opportunity to get dirty is a gift from God
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| "you're OK, just run on the other ankle" |
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