Keiji Ohiki Reflects on Playing Hardball from Junior High: Making Baseball a Sport Children Want to Play

Keiji Ohiki, who played for Orix and others, himself played hardball from junior high school

Keiji Ohiki, who was mainly active as a shortstop for Orix, Nippon-Ham, and Yakult, played for the hardball “Sumiyoshi Yamatogawa Senior” in junior high school. While he feels that he has the advantage of getting used to hardballs early, he also thinks that “I don’t need to rush to touch hardballs” now that he is involved in teaching boys and girls. What made you think so?

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Mr. Ohbiki played in the softball “Osaka Golden Fire” in elementary school. He was a shortstop and a pitcher at the time. And when he went to junior high school, he chose to hold a hardball at “Sumiyoshi Yamatogawa Senior”. It was an era that laid the groundwork for a total of 1,288 professional games played and 1,004 hits. “I think he was good for me. It is said that the days when he was running until he was exhausted in particular laid the rails for becoming a professional baseball player.

“You can’t finish until you beat the time, but I think I’ve acquired the habit of taking responsibility and pushing myself to the limit every day.

On the other hand, when I teach boys and girls, I have a different thought. “I don’t think there’s any need to rush. There’s no need to be in a hurry to play hardball. If you tell your body to stop something hard and painful, I think some kids won’t like baseball.” He also understands the benefits of softball. “If you stop the bounce unique to softball softly, the movement won’t be stiff.”

Making baseball a sport that children want to play

Most importantly, don’t hate baseball. Mr. Ohbiki remembers the words of Mr. Hironori Ishige, a former member of Seibu. “I want my children to say, ‘Thank you for choosing baseball.’ I really think that’s true. I want them to feel glad that they did it so that they don’t hate baseball. Isn’t that all there is to it?” do.

Now that the baseball population is declining, I think that the cause was several generations ago. “As parents of our generation, I think baseball has a bad image. People get yelled at on the field, or get yelled at. Ohiki is currently 39 years old. He understands the feelings of the parents of the children he teaches.

“I want to go back to the starting point that baseball is fun,” he says. If the child himself likes baseball and has the ambition to become good at it, he will grow naturally. “It has to be a sport that kids want to play, and want to let them play,” she insisted.

(Keita Hatori / Keita Hatori)

2023-08-04 04:52:06
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