Diversification of club activities progress What will happen to the improvement of competitiveness?
Jan 23 11:26
Club activities in Japan have served as the "entrance" for children to come into contact with sports and at the same time have played a role in improving their competitiveness.
Against the background of the declining birthrate and work style reforms of teachers, the form is about to change dramatically.
It is predicted that the number of junior high school students participating in team sports such as ball games will be halved in the 30 years to 2048.
Where will club activities head as a result of reforms that will have a major impact not only on schools but also on the sports world in Japan?
(Sports News Department Reporter Yoshio Homma / Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter Ken Fukuhara)
To the national tournament without even one match?
High school rugby where high school rugby players compete with each other aiming for the stage of "Hanazono".
Last year, something unexpected happened at the preliminary round.
In the Tottori preliminaries, where three schools had entered, two schools were short of the required number of players, and Kurayoshi Higashi High School, which has 19 members, won a ticket to Hanazono without playing a single match.
Rugby, which is played by 15 players per team, is one of the sports that is greatly affected by the declining birthrate.
The number of high school rugby club members in Tottori Prefecture has been declining since peaking at 103 in 2016, and as of May last year, two of the six schools with rugby clubs had zero members. I am falling into
In response to this situation, the Japan Rugby Union stated, ``It is desirable to guarantee a certain number of games in each region, and maintaining and securing the number of players and teams, and the accompanying development of coaches, is also important from the perspective of improving competitiveness. It is necessary to flexibly consider the actual conditions of each region while keeping up with the changing times.”
Away from athletic clubs Halved in 30 years?
!
Situations that threaten the survival of sports clubs and the holding of competitions began to occur at the junior high school stage.
When NHK compared the number of students participating in major junior high school sports clubs such as baseball and soccer with the total number of students and calculated the "entrance rate", it found that in 37 prefectures, which is about 80% of the whole country. This year it was the lowest ever.
According to a survey by the Japan Sports Agency, the number of junior high school students who play team sports such as ball games will halve in the next 30 years until 2048.
Professor Ryo Uchida of Nagoya University Graduate School, who is familiar with club activities, says that students are starting to distance themselves from overheated athletic clubs in addition to the declining birthrate.
Professor Ryo Uchida, Graduate School of Nagoya University
, "There is a movement to review the way things should be, such as reviewing the compulsory participation of students in club activities. We are beginning to see a need for
A new way of “Yuru club activities”
There is also a movement to explore the way of club activities that is different from overheating.
It is a "training sports club" founded six years ago at a junior high school in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.
When I visited for coverage, the students were working on handball.
But an hour later...
I was playing table tennis.
This club activity is held twice a week, and it is a “Yuru club activity” in which the competition that the students participate in changes every week.
Principal Masahiro Shibuya talks about the background of this “Yuru Club” as follows.
Suginami Ward Fujimigaoka Junior High School Principal Masahiro Shibuya
“The number of children has decreased due to the declining birthrate, and club activities such as baseball clubs, soccer clubs, and volleyball clubs have been abolished one after another. I wanted to create a club activity that would allow people to exercise freely and enjoyably.”
Attractiveness of “no match” looseness
A major feature of this “training sports club”, which now has about 20 members, is that there are no “matches” or “competitions”.
Traditional athletic clubs aim to "improve competitiveness" in order to "win" is not emphasized, there is no strict training, and hierarchical relationships are "loose".
In addition, since it is held twice a week, it is attractive that it is possible to balance cram school and play.
Student
: “Because it’s two days a week, I can balance cram school and exercise.
Changing club activities Where is the improvement in competitiveness?
In addition to the declining birthrate, club activities are diversifying to meet the needs of children.
Furthermore, at junior high schools, a full-fledged movement to move to the community is about to begin, in which local sports clubs are responsible for extracurricular activities on holidays.
The big turning point here is the aspect of improving competitiveness, which has been the responsibility of club activities.
The club team is responsible for training
In Japan, soccer has been the first to separate the role of improving competitiveness and developing top players from club activities.
With the opening of the J-League in 1993, each team was obliged to establish a youth team.
The focus of training top players shifted from extracurricular activities to club teams, thanks to a training system that allowed players to improve their skills under professional facilities and coaches, which could lead directly to professional contracts.
Since the 2000s, the Japanese national team has gradually increased the number of youth players.
Furthermore, in 2011, the Prince Takamado Trophy Premier League was established, in which the top 24 teams from youth teams and high school club activities across the country are divided into two leagues and compete in a home-and-away format.
By experiencing top-level games throughout the year, the aim is to eliminate the barriers between youth and club activities, and to improve competitiveness through the unity of the youth generation.
League game to "improve competitiveness"!
The quest to improve competitiveness in this way has begun in other sports as well.
This year, basketball has created a new "top league" in which top-class high school schools in Japan participate.
In high school basketball, all three major national tournaments have been held in a tournament format.
▽National High School Athletics = “Inter-High”
▽National Athletic Meet = “National Athletic Meet”
▽High School Championship = “Winter Cup”
The newly established Top League will feature eight top-class men's and women's schools in Japan, and the aim is to develop top players by playing matches against opponents of equal skill levels.
Yasuo Hamatake, Secretary General of the Japan Basketball Association:
“At present, large tournaments have shifted from regional qualifiers to tournaments, and teams with evenly matched strength only have one or two matches. Since it is a one-shot game, it is not possible to try out various tactics and players.On the other hand, in the league, you can guarantee the number of games and you can play in a variety of ways depending on the opponent, which leads to the development of not only players but also coaches. We can raise the top layer of the growing generation even further.”
Japanese traditional "tournament system"
In 1915, a tournament-style tournament was held, and the first national tournament for club activities was the All-Japan Junior High School Championship Baseball Tournament.
Since this tournament, which later became Koshien, tournament-style tournaments where you lose is the end of the game have become the mainstream of club activities in junior and senior high schools in Japan.
The tournament system has produced many great matches and thrills, and has continued to be irreplaceable for the children who work hard towards it.
Exploring how the tournament should be
However, due to the decrease in the number of club members, there are cases such as rugby, where even one game cannot be played at the prefectural tournament. Change is starting to happen.
Hiroki Wakabayashi, who teaches ice hockey as a professional coach in the United States and continues to research the efficient structure and management of competitions, points out the following.
Hiroki Wakabayashi:
“If a team aiming to win the national championship and a team with many players who have just started competing meet in the first round, it will be a meaningless match for each other. The cost performance is also very poor in terms of fun.If the first round of the competition is lost every time, there are children who only participate in the competition a few times a year, so it is inevitable that the number of children who continue to play will decrease. I think"
The high schools that participated in the new league
The men's team of Tokai University Suwa High School in Nagano Prefecture, one of eight schools participating in the top basketball league.
In November, when the league games were going on, when I visited the practice, I saw Manager Takayuki Irino exclaiming to the players, "Remember Fukuoka's best defense!"
Fukuoka Daiichi High School is a high school basketball powerhouse that won last year's Inter-High.
In the previous week's league match against Fukuoka Daiichi, their offense did not work in front of their opponent's solid defense and they lost.
Tokai University Suwa High School Coach Irino Takayuki
“We have created a good cycle of playing games on weekends, learning from those lessons, practicing on weekdays, and testing them out in games on weekends. The next stage is also decided, so the quality of practice has improved."
I asked the players about the merits of the league match.
Captain Ishiguchi Naoshi
: “By playing matches against strong teams, we have been able to identify our challenges and know where we are. I gained a lot of experience.”
Until now, Tokai University Suwa High School, which often played against teams that were favorites for the championship in the early stages of major tournaments and lost, did not have such a high reputation in the league match this time, but in the end they won 4 wins and 3. We ended up in 4th place with a loss, proving that we have the power to compete with the strong teams in Japan.
Experts point out that it is necessary to change not only club activities but also tournaments.
Hironori Wakabayashi:
“Not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Asia, there are many countries in which leagues are the main players in the training age group. The important thing is that the number of games is guaranteed, and you can repeatedly win and lose against opponents of the same level. It is important to create an environment where children can naturally play games, and I think it would be difficult to suddenly say that the tournament should be a league system all over the country. I want more schools to come together and start a league.”
Where are club activities headed?
“I want to continue my loose club activities while exercising in a healthy way.”
“ I want
to improve my competitiveness and win the national tournament.”
If it can be arranged, it will be a welcome change.
However, it is difficult to say that it can be done in the same way everywhere in the country, and there are many voices of concern about the regional transition, especially from local governments.
Due to the declining birthrate, it is inevitable that the number of athletes in each sport will decrease further, and there is no guarantee that the national competition will be held in the same way as before.
Unlike other countries, Japan did not have a system for discovering and cultivating talent while enjoying multiple sports at local sports clubs.
Now that we have reached the limit and club activities are about to change drastically, I felt that it would be an opportunity to fundamentally reconsider how children interact with sports and how to strengthen athletes.
Reporter
Yoshio Homma
Joined in 2015
After working at the Mito and Niigata stations,
he devoted himself to basketball when he was a student at his current position.
Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter
Ken Fukuhara
Joined the station in 2018
After working as a police officer and in charge of sports
, I eat more than I do even if I exercise in
charge of prefectural government .