On 8 and 9 December, the coaching seminar was held in Vientiane, Laos as the inaugural project of the trilateral partnership agreed in September this year between JICA, the Japan Football Association and J.League. This seminar also served as the 60th anniversary memorial project of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Laos as well as the 50th anniversary memorial project of the JICA’s volunteer program in Laos. 

30 coaches participated in the seminar as training centre coach YAMAZAKI Shigeo shared various coaching methods both in the classroom and on the field over two days. As part of the JFA’s social responsibility program in Asia, T shirts and polo shirts were provided as gifts to the participating coaches and players.

Comments from JICA Laos Office

KIMURA Hironori, Deputy-Chief Representative of the JICA Laos Office
This seminar was made possible by the planning work by the Laos Football Federation and JICA Volunteer ENDO Ryusuke. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Japan Football Association for greatly helping the seminar be successful.  

The two-day lecture and coaching by coach YAMAZAKI Shigeo were full of his passion to teach Japanese style of football in many aspects. At the beginning he said “Not being limited to my role as an instructor, I would like to maintain my attitude that I want both of us to learn from each other. I believe this experience will bring growth to our end as well.” It turned out to be just that, and the seminar saw many opinions actively shared and was very productive. 

I have no doubt that this seminar greatly inspired coaches and national team players of Laos, who will be the keys for our future development, as well as gave them practical knowledge. As part of our support program in the field of sports, JICA, together with  Japan Football Association, would like to push forward human resource developments and international cooperation through football, which is a very popular sport in Laos. 

Comment from Instructor

YAMAZAKI Shigeo, National Training Centre coach of JFA
The purpose of this lecture was to have “Japan’s Way”, which is Japan’s player development concept, understood by AFC Class B and C coaches belonging to the Laos Premier League and other regional leagues. Specifically speaking, based on the curriculum the JFA does to coaches aiming for the JFA Class B, the lecture consisted of 3 points - 1. Technical and strategical obstacles Japan currently face, 2. The development plan for Japan National Team and 3. Analysis and coaching.  We also conducted practical training sessions consisting of 1. Possessions, 2 Defence and 3. Finishes.

In the analysis and coaching part particularly, we tried to analyse causes for certain problems and shared our perspectives by using videos, and in the afternoon we had them try to coach in a way that they try to lead players to find solutions. The Laos Premier League Club Academy players, who are 11 to 14 years old and joined our session as players, were very skilled in controling the ball and seemed to have potential including their mental strength. In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Laos Football Federation and JICA Laos Office for all the supports in organising this seminar. 

Comments from Participants

Mr. Kanlaya Sysomvang, Assistant coach for Laos National Team / Coach for U-14 Laos National Team
I would like to thank JICA and JFA very much for this seminar. It was such a short period as two days, but it helped me to gain a lot of knowledge. If there is a next chance, I strongly hope to have a longer period of seminar for the development of football in Laos. 

Mr. Vartsana Sisoulath, Assistant coach for Police FC in the Laos Premier League
I learned new training methods to improve skills such as how to take the ball, where to position the players for supporting each other, and quicker transitions between plays. I was also very impressed that the instructor taught us so passionately to make sure that we were able to learn new things. He was very friendly like our family member and the way he taught was very easy for us to understand. The atmosphere of the seminar was very good, too.

Mr. Chanthalome Phoudsadavong, U-12 coach for Army FC in the Laos Premier League
By acquiring new knowledge, we participants were also helping each other to improve ourselves. The instructor highlighted us to “think by yourself”, and we will take advantage of that teaching to become better coaches. I am so thankful for the JFA to give us a great opportunity like this.