- How has the area near Ozu High School been affected by the earthquake?

HIRAOKA:  Mashiki-machi, Nishihara-mura, and Aso are located in the middle of the most affected areas. Luckily, if I may say, the ground in Ozu is more stable, preventing this area from sustaining much damage.

Having said that, we all lost our homes. Approximately 100 pupils are not able to come to school due to the collapse of Aso Bridge. After Golden Week, our school finally managed to reopen with substitute buses coming from Aso direction.

- Has the football club started its activities as well?

HIRAOKA:  We started on 10 May. As we heard schools in other areas had already restarted their practice sessions, I bet pupils around here must have been under pressure not being able to hold training sessions. It’s only natural that the reconstruction work takes priority, though. 

Even if we find some time to do jogging in a park or kick a ball, someone might say: "what do you think you’re doing under these circumstances?" I believe it must have been very stressful for the students. So we were so pleased that we could start playing football again on 10 May. The match in the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League was held on 14 May against Higashi Fukuoka High School. The players, who had only just started practicing again four days before, played really hard.

- There was also the Kumamoto qualifier for the Inter-High School Championships

HIRAOKA:  We had to play four consecutive games before playing the final. The players were clearly exposed in that condition. It was frankly a lack of training and the player’s stamina didn’t last until the final whistle. As a result, we lost the semi-final. However, I saw the result in a different way. If we had won the championship in this condition, it would have meant the level of Kumamoto was really low. I know, of course, the players were really gutted. Now that we have an environment to focus on playing football again, we’d like to play well. 

We, the instructors, as well as the players, made an effort as much as possible under tough circumstances. What football requires, however, is simply stamina and training. I believe the players appreciated that they could focus on playing again. This experience will be our advantage going into the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League and the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in winter.

I told the players: "what we experienced means a lot to us. Let people say – this team has become greater thanks to that experience or the players improved excellently through tough times." I kept telling the pupils, not only the ones in the football team: "I know it’s hard. It’s tough. However, it’s our opportunity to create something new."

- You always mention that setbacks are opportunities to improve yourself

HIRAOKA:  I have been instructing the children, with a real understanding of the possible influence I could have on their future. Losing a game shouldn't make them feel weak. The players must learn from it to improve even more. Ozu’s loss draws so much attention, and may break the players’ hearts. 

Every successful person has experienced failure. Ozu aims to nurture the kind of a player, who ‘never gives up.’ It’s vital how much the players can build their foundation under this tough circumstance. It’s our duty, as instructors, to encourage and support them. Even if we cannot always be winners, we can always stay brave. 

- Football Families across the country are supporting you all.

HIRAOKA:  It was really encouraging to have support both mentally and physically from all over the country. I was moved by the support of the wonderful football family. As a representative of the team, I do appreciate all the support we’ve had. I believe what we can do to show our appreciation is to improve ourselves, remembering our gratitude and thinking about each other. We’ll try hard with ‘determination for football’, so that we can show the new Kumamoto to everyone across the country.

Premier League EAST Match Day 6

6/25
15:00　Albirex Niigata U-18 vs Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Denka Big Swan Stadium)
6/26
11:00　Aomori Yamada High School vs F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Aomori Yamada High School)
11:00　Kashima Antlers Youth vs Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Kashima Stadium)
11:00　Shimizu S-pulse Youth vs Ichiritsu Funabashi High School（Shimizu National Training Centre/J-STEP）
15:00　Omiya Ardija Youth vs Yokohama F・Marinos Youth (NACK 5 Stadium Omiya)

Premier League WEST Match Day 6

6/25
11:00　Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth vs Gamba Osaka Youth (Yoshida Soccer Park)
14:00　Vissel Kobe U-18 vs Oita Trinita U-18 (Ibukinomori Stadium)
6/26
11:00　Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 U-18 vs Higashi Fukuoka High School (Kyoto Sanga F.C. Higashijoyo Ground)
11:00　Nagoya Grampus U18 vs Ozu High School (Nagoya City Minato Soccer Stadium)
15:00　Cerezo Osaka U-18 vs Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School (Cerezo Osaka Maishima Ground)