With the support of the Kids committees of each prefectural football association (FA), JFA has been holding “Traveling guidance” courses throughout the nation. The courses are held by the “Traveling guidance staffs” of each prefectural FA, where the staffs attend kindergartens, nurseries, and primary schools to provide various programmes for children to enjoy football. Joined by guidance staffs who specialise in coaching football, teachers who may not have the experience or knowledge to instruct football, are enabled to hold sessions to allow the children to exercise using the ball. Here we will introduce the Traveling Guidance activities that were recently conducted.

Friday 1 November, Kitahama Minami Kindergarten (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)

A total of 20 kids took part. In order to allow the kids to get used to the ball, the course started with simple drills before playing a scrimmage. Throughout the course, the kids showed great energy to chase the ball around.

Comment

MATSUMOTO Kazuya, Staff (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
We were able to hold the course under warm weather and the kids showed great energy to run around the field. The kids of Kitahama Minami Kindergarten were so vibrant, and the girls were more eager to participate in our drills. During the scrimmage, the girls showed their competitiveness to win the ball from the boys and everyone ran hard until the very end.

Teacher/Staff in charge (Kindergarten Principal, Nursery Teacher)
The kids were allowed to play around with the ball before getting into the actual football drills, which helped them relaxed throughout the course. The guidance staffs were very attentive towards the kids while they also conducted the course in a timely fashion, and it allowed us to enjoy the entire course.

Monday 18 November, Taga Kindergarten (Atami, Shizuoka)

A total of 36 kids participated. The course was held at a gymnasium, but the kids showed great energy to run around the space. The participating kids were very polite and worked hard for the entire course.

Comment

KIMURA Yuki, Staff (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
Every kindergarten pupil welcomed us with great energy. They kept the promises with the coaches and showed great eagerness to challenge difficult drills. I feel like these kids were able to learn the joy of accomplishing something and the fun of playing football.

Thursday 21 November, Kakegawa Chuo Nursery School (Kakegawa, Shizuoka)

A total of 86 kids participated. Each of the three classes conducted a separate course and each class was able to spend a fantastic time.

Comment

MOCHIZUKI Kengo, Staff (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
As the kids got used to the atmosphere, they started to enjoy themselves and showed their eagerness to challenge difficult drills. The more they worked on the drills, the more they got better, and they were able to utilise their new techniques during the final scrimmage session.

Teacher/Staff in charge (Kindergarten Principal, Nursery Teacher)
Everyone was given with their own ball during the warmup session, and it allowed them to get used to the ball. This course has definitely got these kids interested in football, as the kids were seen playing football even after the course had ended. Through this traveling guidance, the teachers of the nursery were able to learn how to teach football, so we hope to implement the course into our daily activities.