Takasaki Health and Welfare University Takasaki High School (hereafter, Kendai Takasaki) decided to participate in the Senbatsu Koshien for the first time in two years. The first match of the tournament is a match against Hotoku Gakuen, the runner-up of the Kinki Tournament, which has professional catcher Hiiragina (3rd year), and is attracting attention as “one of the best cards”.
Speaking of Kendai Takasaki, he has joined the ranks of the national district with a style that makes use of mobility under the slogan of “mobility destruction”. However, they now have a new pillar called “Spectacle Baseball,” with the meaning of “attracting high school baseball fans with spectacular baseball.” Coach Hirofumi Aoyagi said, “In the past, there were many short-footed players with quick legs, and the pitchers were surpassed by repeat pitchers. But now, sluggers with strong swings are coming, and pitchers with fast pitches are also coming. With his dynamic baseball, which he is proud of, he made it to the final four of the Kanto tournament last autumn and won the finals.
Recruiting junior high school students is what supports the “spectacle baseball”.
Coach Aoyagi, who has led the team for more than 20 years, says, “We don’t have any special achievements.” In the summer of 2011, he participated in Koshien for the first time, and since then he has accumulated experience six times in the spring and three times in the summer, but his best result is the top four in the spring of 2012. It is on its way to becoming the third school in Gunma Prefecture to win the national championship following Kiryu Daiichi and Maebashi Ikuei. There are currently six OBs in NPB, but the “draft first place” has not yet appeared.
However, when I cover junior high school hardball baseball in recent years, the main players of each strong club all go on to Kendai Takasaki, and in the Kanto region, it is said that it is one of the five fingers of “teams where human resources are gathered”. okay Furthermore, Ryuga Sato of the Tokyo Jonan Boys, who was the ace of last year’s Samurai Japan U-15 National Team, decided to go on to Kendai Takasaki this spring after a big competition with many strong schools. ing. Even if you look at the junior high schools where the bench members of this tournament came from, there are names of influential players from 9 prefectures nationwide.
Why are human resources gathering at Kendai Takasaki?
“It would not be possible without the support and passion of the school.”
First and foremost, it must be environmentally friendly.
“Without the support of the school’s chairman, vice-chairman, and other members of the school, we wouldn’t have achieved this far. High school baseball wouldn’t be possible without the support and passion of the school, no matter how hard I try.”
Yes, just as Director Aoyagi appreciates the school’s support, Kendai Takasaki not only has a dormitory dedicated to the baseball club and a dedicated field, but also a subground, an indoor practice field, and a training room. This is the best.
Furthermore, the number of staff involved in the baseball club is the highest in the country. It has a staff of 11 people, including the director (6 of whom are school staff including teachers), and has made it possible to form 3 teams that can gain experience in more than 300 games a year. What is noteworthy is that Aoyagi, who has led the team for more than 20 years, manages the large number of staff in a division of labor system.
