Gloves donated by Shohei Otani to elementary schools across the country (Photo: Kyodo News)
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- Children’s interest in baseball continues.According to the All Japan Softball Baseball Federation, the population of elementary school students playing baseball in 2023(Number of registered softball baseball players)There were 162,380 people, a decrease of 40,197 from 2017. The same goes for junior high school students, with a decrease of 29,473 students over five years.
- Mitsuru Tanaka, an associate professor at Shobi Gakuen University who is an expert on children’s sports, analyzes the current state of children’s abandonment of baseball as “Reiwa parenting styles and coaching methods no longer match.”
- Tanaka points out that if the number of baseball players continues to decline, baseball in Japan, like in other countries, may become “a sport that only a few people can enjoy.”
(Daiki Yuasa: Freelance journalist)
Teaching methods that rely on yelling and scolding are not suitable for Reiwa Kids.
──The phrase “Giant, Taiho, and Tamagoyaki” is already a dead phrase, but with Shohei Otani’s success in modern times, there are certainly factors that will increase the popularity of baseball. Despite this, why are children becoming less interested in baseball?
Mitsuru Tanaka, Associate Professor, Shobi Gakuen University (Titles omitted below):The phenomenon of children falling away from baseball is largely due to changes in child-rearing styles.
Mitsuru Tanaka (Associate Professor, Faculty of Sports Management, Shobi University)
Born in Kyoto in 1978. He completed the master’s program at Waseda University Graduate School of Sport Science. He assumed his current position after working for the Sankei Shimbun Company. His specialty is sports media theory. He covers professional baseball, Major League Baseball, figure skating, and more, and his life’s work is reporting on the sports environment for children. His books include “Portrait of Yuzuru Hanyu” (Yama-to-Keikokusha) and co-authored “Children Who Don’t Play Sports” (Fusosha Shinsho).
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There are three reasons why modern parents are avoiding baseball as a “lesson”. One is the heavy labor burden. Youth baseball, synonymous with the popular sports of the Showa era, has a deep-rooted culture in which parents need to come together as one to support their children.
I have to be on the field on Saturdays and Sundays, and I also have to pick up balls. Although things have changed quite a bit recently, there is also a custom of asking the mother to “make tea” with the director. Until a few years ago, it was necessary to know the taste of coffee, such as “This coach’s coffee has too much sugar” and “This coach’s coffee is black.”
It is common for parents today to both work and have limited time resources. An increasing number of parents are thinking about taking care of their children’s hobbies. I’m starting to feel like I can’t/don’t want to spend my weekends just focusing on my child’s baseball.
2024-04-11 21:02:34
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