There are concerns about the continuous management of sports clubs and the training of athletes

Suspension of sports clubs Concerns over successive management and player development April 19 19:59

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, sports competitions such as high school nationwide have been canceled one after another.
There are places where children's sports clubs are in a difficult business situation due to suspension of activities.
With the disappearance of clubs that have existed as familiar sports areas, there is a concern that the community will lose the place of training that leads to the Olympics.

The swimming club "Tokyo Dolphin Club" in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, has about 2000 members, mainly children in the area from kindergarten to elementary school.

Some junior high school and high school students are engaged in the competition in earnest, and Rikako Ikie, who participated in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, once attended, and we have also trained top class players.

However, due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the company closed from the 8th of this month and stopped collecting monthly membership fees.

Even though it is 25 meters long, the indoor pool with 6 courses is filled with water to keep the water temperature constant. Once the water is drained, it takes time and money to store the water again to raise the water temperature and prevent the equipment from rusting, but it is also very expensive to maintain.

Manager Katsura Shimizu said, "Fixed maintenance costs about 10 million yen per year, and considering that we will pay the salaries of 60 employees, management will be difficult if the leave period exceeds 3 months. I think every situation in a swimming club is just as difficult. "

Unlike schools with many outdoor pools, these swimming clubs have an indoor pool so you can practice all year round.

At many swimming clubs, athletes meet with coaches every day from an early age, and coaches play a role not only in school club activities but also in developing Japan's top athletes by keeping an eye on their growth for many years. I came. Ikee also jumped out of the club to the world.

At the Tokyo Dolphin Club, we are now telling the athletes who are engaged in the competition about the practice menu that they can do at home, but Mr. Shimizu says, "The feeling of swimming can only be cultivated in the pool."

Mr. Shimizu said, "I want to do my best to train athletes who can go out to the world from local swimming clubs, and many children are aiming for it. I do not think that such a place will be lost, and children will resume. I tell them to do what they can at home with the hope that they can do it. "

Online sports clubs

Some sports clubs for children who do not have activities such as games and general practice are beginning to try various things online. Some leaders are reminded that the club has a role as a community of children.

The soccer club “FC Legau” in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, has about 100 children from kindergarten to 1st grade, and 7 coaches.

However, since the beginning of this month, activities such as games and general practice have been suspended, and membership fees have not been collected. Reo Aoki, who is the representative, expressed concern about the management aspects such as payment to coaches, and said about the children, "In addition to lack of exercise, there were no scheduled competitions. What kind of motivation did you have in the future? I am wondering if I should practice. "I was worried about the current situation.

Under these circumstances, Mr. Aoki started to work online. In order to get children to play soccer at home, we introduce videos of professional athletes and practice menus that can be done indoors.

In addition, we are proposing a method to have each coach take a video of each practice and send it to the coach, and the coach who sees the video gives individual advice.

We also had an online meeting on the 12th of this month to provide an opportunity for children to get together. Around 40 people participated, but Aoki says that he then realized the role of the club, which he did not see when he practiced soccer.

“Since there weren't a lot of kids talking to each other for a while, the kids were very excited and I was able to see a different side of what they were doing. I was talking about things that I didn't usually talk about, and it was interesting. I thought I was hungry for communication. "

The children have a good reputation, and they hold meetings once a week thereafter, and the participation rate is close to 90%.

Approximately 40 people participated in the meeting of the upper grades of elementary school, which was interviewed on 22nd of this month. Here, too, the children reported to each other about their daily lives and actively exchanged opinions on how to improve soccer.

One of the boys who participated said, "It makes me feel nostalgic and makes my heart clear. It's fun to be able to talk."

Mr. Aoki said, “When I talked about lifting at the last meeting, I got excited and children started to actively practice independently.” After explaining the effect of the meeting, “Everyone smiles. I think that I would like to do it again when I was told that it was fun.

Mr. Aoki, based on his experience of studying soccer in Brazil as a teenager, said, “I have the experience of making friends through soccer even if the country is different, so I want to make friends even if the age and school are different. It's a time when I can't move now, but I think that when I can resume, I can better understand the fun of soccer, and I feel that I can really feel how I'm interacting with friends and the sense of fellowship. '' It was

Expert “Worried if the organization can withstand”

Professor Hisashi Naito of Juntendo University, who is familiar with the management of children's sports clubs, said about the impact of the suspension of activities on the management of clubs. If it's expensive to maintain or if you don't have the money to maintain it, you may be in a difficult situation and the club will resume activity as it will first affect those who are coaches or instructors on time contracts instead of regular employment. There is concern about whether these people will be able to come back when they do, "he said.

Regarding the impact on the training aspect that the sports club has taken, "I think that children can grow significantly, so I can recover after some months without sufficient training, but I had a leader. I'm afraid that the club organization can survive the break. "

On the other hand, after the activities of the sports club were resumed, Professor Naito said, "When the children can gather and practice together, I think that they can enjoy the sport and appreciate the things they usually do. "I hoped that children would become more interested in sports.

In addition, the teacher said, "I think if you ask about the importance and value of sports again, it may be possible to teach children from a different perspective. It's good if you can realize that it is an important value to get together and do something together, '' he said, looking at the suspension of activities positively and including the implications as a place for the community. He told me that he wanted me to think about the management policy of the club.