The reason for this is the parent’s opinion that “I don’t want to let him play baseball.” The reason why the youth baseball coach founded the gymnastics club | Full-Count

Coordination training and life kinetics to support the growth of children in the “golden age”

The leaders of a youth baseball team have begun a new attempt, wishing for the growth of local children. The director and coach of the softball “BLOSSOM BASEBALL CLUB” for elementary school students active in Kita Ward, Tokyo, offers kids coordination training aimed at moving the body as imagined in the brain, and a life that fuses brain science and kinesiology. A gymnastics club incorporating kinetics was opened in April. I have introduced it in my team, but I want to convey it even if it goes beyond the framework of youth baseball.

one friday night. Children’s voices were bouncing in the gymnasium of an elementary school in Tokyo. Parents who are watching by the side are naturally full of smiles. The “World Sports Club” also includes the much-talked-about rhythm training on the menu, so music with a good tempo flows. Using vaulting boxes, throwing balls while doing sidesteps, tug-of-war on tires, and parkour (exercises that train the mind and body by running, jumping, climbing, etc.) … Develop children’s abilities through play. Menus are prepared one after another, and time passes quickly. Movements that you couldn’t do at first become possible as you repeat them. The children’s eyes lit up.

The two coaches were the director and coach of a youth baseball team. Mr. Junichi Katayama, who also participated in Koshien and played as a strong member of society, and Mr. Shohei Ishii, who played in a softball team, faced children without using gloves and bats. Two people who continued to play baseball until working adults and were immersed in the world of competition. While he has a deep love for baseball, he hopes that the children he coaches will acquire the athletic ability to handle any sport in the future.

Each of them has acquired qualifications such as Kids Coordination and Life Kinetic, and incorporates them into the youth baseball team’s warm-up and practice menu. What made me want to teach children in areas other than baseball was a comment from a parent who came to see a youth baseball game. Her mother was interested in coordination training. However, things were a little different. Mr. Katayama recalls.

“The child said, ‘I don’t want him to play baseball.’ His child was playing another sport. But I heard that he was interested in this kind of activity. Movement is useful in any sport, I wanted it to become more popular in Japan, so I wanted to teach it to children other than baseball.”