After a month break following the conclusion of module 3, the second half of this year’s coaching course has started. At the Intensive Course (9), German Football Association instructor Mr. Ralf PETER was invited to conduct coaching sessions that emphasised on four themes.

Module 3 Intensive Course 8

Duration: Mon. 21 - Thu. 24 October

Module 3 Intensive Course 9

Duration: Mon. 28 - Thu. 31 October

Participant’s Comment

Mr. USUI Hirotaka
The coaching course resumed after a month break, as module 4 has kicked-off. Module 4 will take place for four weeks, and here I will report on the first two weeks.

The first week started with a lecture on media theory conducted by football journalist, Mr. OSUMI Yoshiyuki, followed by lectures given by coach MORIYASU Hajime of Japan National Team, Mr. SUZUKI Jun, who is JFA’s Class-S Chief Instructor and former coach of Omiya Ardija, Mr. FUJITA Toshiya, who has coached in the Netherlands and England, Mr. OKUNO Ryosuke, former coach of Montedio Yamagata, and Mr. HIROSE Norikazu, who gave us a lecture on physical conditioning theory.

Mr. Osumi gave us a lecture on “the relationship between professional coaches and the media.” Through the stories from his own experiences, he shared us with his strong conviction that “the media is an ally to spread the popularity of football,” and his lecture gave us the opportunity to gain new perspectives.

Through his lecture on professional coaching theory, coach Moriyasu shared us with his managerial approach and what he values at the national team level, as well as his fundamental coaching philosophy. Out of the many stories he shared with us, I was especially moved by his words, “you must pay attention to the players and respect their individuality.” It made me realise the most important quality of a coach and it also gave me the opportunity to rethink about my approach as a coach.

Mr. Suzuki lectured us on “team management,” as he shared us with episodes from his own coaching career. While he stressed the importance of building positive relationships with everyone involved with the team, he mentioned that “there are no such thing as a miracle recipe.” His words made me reinforce my belief that making continuous efforts is the only way to success.

During our lecture with Mr. FUKUTOMI Shinya, we learned about team bonding and conducted an experiment using a long jump rope. While the participants struggled to jump the rope at first, we got together to find out ways to successfully jump the rope and managed to accomplish our goal of jumping the rope as a team. This experiment gave us a real life experience to manage and guide a team towards a mutual goal.

Mr. Fujita lectured us on the topic “the value of Japanese coaches in Europe,” and his passion to elevate the status of Japanese coaches was very inspiring. His lecture really made us think that we must work together to raise the value of Japanese coaches overseas. The final words of this lecture left a strong impression, as Mr. Fujita mentioned, “the most essential qualities for a coach is, LOVE, HEART, and PASSION!” This statement meant a lot especially coming from a person who had showcased a cool and slick playing style throughout his playing career.

The lecture of Mr. Okuno made us rethink about our philosophy, style, and the goals we aim to achieve as a coach. He shared us with his own experience on how he carried out his own philosophy and how he managed to balance himself between ideal and reality. His lecture gave us a precious opportunity to polish up on our own philosophies.

Mr. Hirose lectured us with the theme, “reconditioning in football,” as he shared us with detailed methods and statistical data to learn different types of injuries, factors to be aware of during reconditioning, and how to hedge the risks of recurring injuries.

In our second week, we were given the pleasure to work with Mr. Ralf Peter, an instructor from the German Football Association, for four days, as he started by explaining the youth development system and organisational structure in Germany.

We then made our ways to Edogawa University to conduct a coaching session. At the session, we were divided into groups, where each group was assigned to work on a specific theme. This coaching session was conducted at a different location and under a different circumstance, and it gave us a valuable learning experience. Mr. Ralf Peter observed our session in great detail and allowed us to realise the importance of “logical and precise coaching based on rules and principles.” We sincerely thank Mr. Ralf Peter for taking time out of his busy schedule to travel all the way to Japan. We would also like to thank the Edogawa University football team for sharing their players and training ground.

The third week of module 4 will start next week, where we will start with the debate session. I am very much looking forward for the new challenge.

Next time, we will share the report from Mr. UCHIYAMA Toshihiko (Vissel Kobe).