With the support of the Kids' Committees of each prefectural football association (FA), JFA has been organising “Traveling guidance” courses around the country. In the "travelling guidance" course, travelling guidance staffs from each prefectural FA go to kindergartens, nursery schools, and primary schools to offer a variety of programmes for children to enjoy football. This is an initiative to give nursery staff and teachers, who may not have much experience or knowledge of football, the opportunity to join a team of experienced football coaches and give the children time to exercise with the ball. Here we will introduce the traveling guidance activities that were recently conducted.

Tuesday 31 January, Mikasa Kodomo-En (Chuo, Yamanashi)

This year, we were once again able to hold the football class at YSKe-com Silk Park ground in Chuo City, Yamanashi. The children seemed very happy to run around on the beautiful artificial turf. They also listened carefully to the coaches, allowing for a smooth start to the football class, and did their best to tackle on difficult drills. Even when things didn't go well, they kept trying and supported each other, which strengthened their bond and made it a very meaningful time for everyone. The coaches will be happy if they continue to have fun and play football.

Comment

TANAKA Yusuke (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
The children were willing to try difficult drills and I felt they improved with each try. They also listened very carefully to the coaches. I hope they will continue to be nice kids as they get older.

SUZUKI Kaito (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
This time, I had the opportunity to interact with the children in a support role, and I notice a sparkle in their eyes and felt that they were really looking forward to these football classes. Some of the children were playing football for the first time, but it was great to see them chasing the ball and trying different things. I hope that the children will continue to challenge themselves and find things they are passionate about.

Nursery Teacher of Mikasa Kodomo-En
The guidance was easy to understand for children and enjoyable for girls as well as boys. Also, the fact that one of the coaches was a female coach made it more relatable. After returning to the nursery, ｍany of the kids were telling us that they wanted to played more football.

Nursery Teacher of Mikasa Kodomo-En
Thank you for all your efforts to make it a fun experience for the children. They seemed to have a great time from start to finish.

Thursday 27 April, Kahoru Children Garden (Kofu, Yamanashi)

48 children participated in the Kids Traveling Guidance organised by the Yamanashi Football Association. Under pleasant weather conditions, the children ran around and worked on each drill with great energy and enthusiasm from start to finish. All the participating children worked on a menu of activities that started with simple body movements and ball games that were “entertaining, friendly, and achievable,” and progressed to higher levels, as the coaches guided them with the magic word “never give up.”

Comment

KUREBAYASHI Hidetoshi (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
The friends at Kahoru Children Garden were full of energy as they engaged in the football activities. They tried different tricks, and even if they couldn’t do them at first, they eventually managed to succeed after many attempts.

YAMANE Yudai (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
I remember how everyone was enjoying themselves during the last game we played together. They cheered on as they score number of goals, which made me very happy, too.

Nursery Teacher of Kahoru Children Garden
Thank you very much for holding this football class. The children looked happy from start to finish. Some of the children had never played football before, but with the guidance of the coaches, they were able to have fun and develop an interest in the game.

Wednesday 10 May, Nursery COCO (Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi)

Under a great weather, 17 children from the five-year-old class took part in the football class. We worked to teach the children the joy and pleasure of playing football with the slogan of “never give up.” We were very impressed by the radiant smiles and positive attitudes displayed by the children and hope to carry on these activities in the future.

Comment

MOCHIZUKI Shota (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
I had a lot of fun playing football with the children. I was very impressed by how hard everyone worked on each drill. It was the first time for this nursery to host this football class, but everyone seemed to enjoy the activities. We look forward to playing football together again.

YAMANAKA Ryoji (FA Traveling Guidance Staff)
The children were really looking forward to this football class and were energetic from start to finish. I am glad they were able to experience the fun of football.

Nursery Teacher of Nursery COCO
Thank you for organising this football class. From the introduction, the class was easy to understand for the children, and even those who were new to football could easily take part in the activities and seemed to enjoy touching the ball. I was amazed at how much more focused and engaged they were than usual. The 40-minute class was very enriching, as the coaches showed us what football is all about, and at the end of the class, they even showed us some of their juggling skills. We would very much like to see it held in the coming year and beyond. It would also be nice if they were held several times during the year.