The Class S Coach Training Course 2019 Module 3/Intensive Course (7) took place from Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19 September. The first debate session took place during this intensive course, as the debate sessions are one of the main focuses of the coaching course each year. Here we will share the report of Mr. LEE Song Jun (Meiji Gakuin University).

Following the conclusion of Module 3, which lasted for three weeks, the course will enter a month-long study period. The participants will regather on 21 October to start the second half of the coaching course.

Participant’s Comment

Mr. LEE Song Jun (Meiji Gakuin University)
The final week of Module 3 started with a debate session on Tuesday. The second day featured a coaching session, presentations, and match observation between Kashima Antlers and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao at the ACL Quarterfinals. On the final day, we had another coaching session, presentations, analysis and group review of the ACL match from the day before, and concluded the course by summarising the three-day course at the end.

The debate session held on Tuesday was very interesting. The words of Mr. Kitaoka gave us a great opportunity to rethink the way we study, as he mentioned, “you must construct your own principle as a coach. A leader must be a master of words. You must think logically and adapt the ability to express your thought process in a logical way.”

At the debate session, the participants were given two topics to discuss as a group; “Can Japan win a medal in football at the Tokyo Olympics?” and “Can Japan win over 30 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics?” The participants were divided into four groups, affirmative and denial groups for each topics, and held a debate based on their researches. It was very difficult to express my thoughts in a logical way, but at the same time, it was very entertaining to construct a logical debate. As a coach, it is very important that we stay logical and keep a resolute attitude at all times. The next debate session will be held in November, so I will continue to work on my debate skills for the time being.

The presentations have been held each day from the start of Module 3, and each presentation has given us great insights on each of the topics. The presenters have shown great intention to convey their studies to the listeners, and it has given us new findings each time. We have seen a slight theme change in the coaching sessions, as we are now required to give more detailed coaching, while making sure the entire strategy is understood by the players. It is very difficult to organise a session that covers both aspects, but as we conduct more sessions, we have been able to share each other’s opinions to improve on our sessions each time. We will enter a month break from this course, but we will continue to work together as a group to spend a productive time.