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Football from the grassroots up
Viewing the world of football from the very start 3

Grass Rootsから視えるサッカーの世界 3

Ryota Yoshikawa,Instructor for Junior football club

From youth football to society

Football from the grassroots up
Viewing the world of football from the very start

Be it Japanese national team players, world famous players, J League stars, or Sunday pub league players. Whatever player you're talking about, and whichever league they've made it into, they've all bound to have come from some form of youth football. The enjoyment of playing football that young, the pure joy that comes from simply kicking a ball around, is without a doubt, the ‘grassroots’ of football.

As anyone that is a coach working within the field of youth football has most likely to have felt at some point during their career, you cannot help but dream that one of the players that you coach will make it as a professional player within the top flight of the football world. But of course, this is not the only dream that we possess and work to fulfil.

The real dream is that our players will learn through the beautiful game the knowledge and humanity to become a fine member of society. That is the real goal of the game we are in. Furthermore, if we can inspire someone through football and create a love for the game like we have, through possessing this passion they may then inspire their children to play football, and when their children become parents they then inspire their children to play football. To create a community that is centred around football is truly a marvellous thing to accomplish. It is this thought deeply embedded in my mind, that drives me towards my own personal goal, that through football I can help to foster a link between the world of youth football to the ever changing world around us, and my players.

The big thrill and privilege for me as a youth football coach, is that whenever the team experiences victory or claims a goal, I too can join them in what they are feeling. That feeling of pure intense joy, the sense of unity that arises within the team, and the connection between these individuals that is strengthened. I know the feeling myself from my days in my high school’s football club as a player. Whilst there is a difference overall between the large and smaller scales of football clubs and leagues, this feeling of jubilation and togetherness, is pretty much the same for those top-flight players who go out onto the pitch in the FIFA World Cup or the Champions League matched as heroes. Surely they all recognise this feeling too.

It is not only experiencing this feeling that links youth football to the likes of national team heroes, providing a point in common between these two worlds. If you take a look at any tournament, there are numerous other trends of world-class level football that are clearly reflected, and evident to see in the world of youth football.
Through sharing the things that I feel on a daily basis as a youth football team coach, and the insights that I gain with much appreciation, I hope that you are able to discover and enjoy a different viewpoint of this truly remarkable game.

少年サッカーチーム指導者・吉川亮太

視点3「少年サッカーから世界へ」
 少年サッカーの指導者なら誰もが、指導している選手が世界的なトッププレイヤーに育ってほしいという夢を描くものだと思いますが、それが全てではありません。指導した選手がサッカーを通して学んだ能力や人間性を活かして立派な社会人になることも素晴らしいことではないでしょうか。

また、自分の指導を通してサッカーが大好きになった選手が親となり、その子どもがサッカーをする、またその子が親となり…というように、サッカーを中心としたコミュニティが生まれることはとても素敵なことです。このように、選手がサッカーを通して培ったものにより新たな世界とのつながりを生むことが私の目標です。
 私の少年サッカーの指導者としての醍醐味は、チームの勝利や得点の際に、選手と共に味わう歓喜と一体感、連帯感にあります。この感覚は、私がプレイヤーとして高校のサッカー部などで感じたものと同じ感動です。そして、きっと大小の規模の違いはあれ、W杯や欧州CLで世界のトッププレイヤーたちが味わっている感動とも通ずるものなのではないでしょうか。

 この感動だけでなく、少年サッカーの現場で起こっていることと、世界のサッカー界で起こっていることにはたくさんの共通点があります。一度大会などを見ていただければ、世界のサッカーのトレンドが少年サッカーの現場にも色濃く反映されていることを感じていただけるはずです。

 私は、日々感じている少年サッカー(ローカル)と世界のつながりをお伝えすることで、皆さんのサッカーの楽しみ方に一つ新たな視点が加わればと思います。

京都らくほくF.C.
http://kyoto-rakuhoku-fc1969.jimdo.com

Kyoto Rakuhoku F.C.
http://kyoto-rakuhoku-fc1969.jimdo.com

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July 17, 2014

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