Kindai Football: Coach Hiramoto’s Winning Spring Strategy (Part 1)

In 2024, the Kinki University American Football Club achieved 4 wins and 3 losses in the Kansai Student League Division 1, with fourth place. It was expected that they would advance to the top by gaining momentum from the start of the season, defeating Kansai University, but they lost momentum towards the end. I just had one step away from competing in the All Japan University Championship.

Hiramoto Keiya, who played for the top team with Nihon University Phoenix and Fujitsu Frontiers, became Kindai University offensive coach last year. This year, he is in charge of the offense along with coach Narita Ryoma, who is three years younger than Nihon University and Fujitsu. This year, his second year, coach Hiramoto is particular about “football where you can concentrate on the match in front of you.” We asked about the new ideas that emerged from the reflections of last season, and the possibilities of Kindai offense that emerged from the response to the spring season.

Last fall, he lost track of his arrogance and advancement, and learned from that.

The tournament format for the All Japan University Championships has been changed since last year, and three teams have to advance from Kansai. Three schools that were considered to be the most promising were Kwansei Gakuin University, Ritsumeikan University, and Kansai University, known as the “Top 3”. Kindai University defeated Kwansei University, a corner, 35-31, and the early stages of the league were turbulent. However, Kindai University continued to slow down and dropped out of the race for third place in the 7th round match against Kobe University.

“After betting Kansai University, which was a huge climax, I thought, ‘I can go now.’ I was thinking about the national tournaments, and I couldn’t concentrate on each match in front of me. I was completely knocked over during the Kobe University game.”

Coach Hiramoto recalls that he had a “compulsion” and “advanced” throughout last year’s season. He soared after his victory in the Kansai University War and came to terms with the attitude that “the match against Kobe is supposed to win.” “To be honest, I was sure I could win after watching the footage of the spring match at Kansai University. But after that it didn’t work. I looked too far and ended up spilling it.”

He also found problems with the design of the play. With an eye on the national tournament, he saved many of his plays.

“Last year, I only used a very limited number of plays. But I have to win every game and get on with a guaranteed win. It was a season that made me realize that it’s important to prepare properly for each game in front of me.”

It is said that there was an atmosphere of “watching too much tournament” among the players. He floated amidst momentum and lost sight of his true fighting style. That’s why this year, we value our attitude from the start of the year to “certainly win each race” above all else.

Aiming for “simple but highly complete offense”

With the graduation of ace QB Katsumi Tomosuke (now Orbic), who grew rapidly last year, the new team is being rebuilt with Kobayashi Hiroya (3rd year, Daisan University affiliation) as the commander. He also won the Nihon University Volunteers Association, which was highly rated in the spring interleague games, and won all games (matches that featured their main players).

“This spring is completely different than last spring. I have significantly improved my understanding of the system. QB is taking the same lead as me, and WR is able to share the same image.”

This growth is laying the foundation for Coach Hiramoto’s “simple yet highly complete offense.”

“Every time, they understand the details without having to explain things from scratch, ‘This is what this is, this is,’ so we can now make corrections ourselves. That’s what’s so much different from last year.”

The situation with the offensive team this year has also changed dramatically. There are few office ladies who have missed the team, and about half of the players who participated last year remain in WR. Rather, the thickness of the layers is increasing. “As for skill positions, we have everyone do all positions this year. If the group is not thick, we can’t substitute players, and we’ll also accumulate fatigue. Since it’s a match every other week, we have to make sure we can get the next player as soon as the game is decided.”

This strategy has also intensified competition across the team.

“This year’s third year students have started to realize that they are ‘seniors’. That might be the biggest change. I feel that there are many players who have a sense of ownership. Last year, Onishi (former captain Yuki) and others were saying, ‘This is how I’m going to do it,’ and everyone was like, ‘I’ll try hard,’ but now there are quite a lot of players who have the feeling that they have to do it.’

One major change since last year is to “clear the hierarchy.” Since this policy has been adopted, more players have become more aware of not only their own plays, but also the movements of their units and peers. “What we didn’t change is the basic system. It’s becoming more and more prevalent.” There is a solid sense of accomplishment in many ways.

Growth shown in a match against the Nihon University Volunteers Association

The match against the Nihon University Volunteers Association, which attracted attention, was a moment when they allowed the lead to finish, and they realized how the team was growing.

“In spring, I hardly did any measures based on scouting. I didn’t know what the other person would do, but the theme was how much I could coordinate. I wanted to see how much I could respond to it at the first time.”

Coach Hiramoto calmly analyzes the developments that had been struggling in the early stages.

“The first half was a bit too stiff. There were some frightening points for the players. When we finished the first half with a behind-the-scenes, I think we would have been unable to hold on if it was last spring. But this year we were able to turn the game around and win. After experiencing a lot of tough games in last year’s league games, I felt that our competitiveness had been incredible.”

What was particularly memorable was the scene where QB Kobayashi resolved the tension that occurred within the team during the match.

“I asked Kobayashi during the match, ‘How are you doing?’ and he answered the exact opposite of his playing style and said, ‘That’s amazing.’ When I asked him, he was in a bit of a rough mood between the office lady and the WR. For the office lady, it was like, ‘WR lost the pass,’ and for the WR, it was like, ‘The pass pro was leaking and the pass wasn’t coming.’

The leadership that Kobayashi showed in this situation was a great achievement for the team.

“How do you put together a team in such a situation? That’s the most important part of QB. Kobayashi went to the office lady on the bench and said, “I’m sorry,” and on the 2 Minute Drive, he made positive comments saying, “Let’s do our best.” Until last year, he might have retorted, “You’re the fault of the moment.” This one game has grown up, and he’s become able to act like a QB.”

More often than last year, the picture is “what you think”

Coach Hiramoto’s tactics and ideas can be expressed in one word. “An incredibly cut knife is stronger than 100 indestructible knives.” In the spring, he only used about 10 plays and won all of his wins. This extremely simple approach has a clear intention.

“Kindai players have a fear of not having enough plays. They tend to want the amount of information, like, ‘Isn’t this better?’ and ‘I guess there’s something like this about defense.’ But the first thing that matters is how well you can do simple things.”

This idea is based on the experiences of Fujitsu days and is intended to be a new culture at Kindai University. In fact, he seems to be satisfied with the outskirts. “When I see the play alone, it often turns out to be the picture I think it’s like last year. I played almost the same game this spring and last fall, but I feel like I’ve been able to achieve the shape I’m aiming for.”

In the medium to long term, power football is also on the lookout

Speed is the biggest weapon for Kindai offense this season. “WR’s Murai (Sungo, 2nd year, Daisan University attached), Ono (Masa, 2nd year, Daisan University attached), and Yoshida (Ryoto, 3rd year, Kinsan University attached) run 40 yards in around 4.6 seconds using phototube measurements, and all RBs deliver 7 units in 4.7 seconds. I think this speed will become one of Kinsan University’s unique characteristics.”

However, it’s not simply about aiming for speed offense.

“It would be great if you could play with power like Ritsumei, but Kindai University players are a little small in the Kansai region, so it takes time to make it happen. First of all, I want to avoid losing with speed. I think it’s important to take steps and strengthen my skills.”

Kindai’s current location is that while taking advantage of its strength in speed in the short term, it is still looking at power football in the medium to long term.

＊＊＊
The second part, which explores Coach Hiramoto’s teaching philosophy, will be released on the 29th.