春のセンバツ高校野球の出場校が28日発表され、困難な状況を克服した学校などが対象となる「21世紀枠」で3校が春夏通じて初めての甲子園への切符をつかみました。
このうち福島の只見高校のある福島県只見町は、新潟県との県境の険しい山岳地帯に囲まれた日本有数の豪雪地帯で唯一の高校。冬の間は工夫をこらした練習で力をつけてきました。
只見高校は、日本有数の豪雪地帯にある全校生徒86人の小規模な学校です。このうち野球部員は選手13人、マネージャー2人の合わせて15人です。
地元で生まれ育った選手と、町の山村留学制度を利用して町外から入学した選手が力を合わせて、去年秋の県大会で春夏秋通じて初めてベスト8に進みました。
過疎化が進む地域で若い活力となっていることが評価され、21世紀枠に選ばれました。
積雪は多いときには3メートルにもなり、毎年11月上旬から3月末までの5か月間は、グラウンドが使えないため、雪の上を走り込んで足腰を鍛えてきました。
県立高校のため、私立の強豪校のような室内練習場はありません。
守備練習は、他の部活が使っていない時に体育館の一部を借りて、打撃練習は、冬の間使われない校舎の1階にある駐輪場で行っています。
ボールの代わりにバドミントンのシャトルを打つ練習や、ティーバッティングをしたり、ピッチングマシーンから放たれる変化球を見てのイメージトレーニングしたりするなど、工夫をこらしてきました。
Director Kiyoyuki Hasegawa has been leading the team for 22 years.
"There are no special star players, so if a runner comes out, I will send it firmly and take a chance, so I have created a team that can form a basic form, and I have been aiming to build a team from defense. It is difficult to train with a solid goal because it is a heavy snowfall area and it is difficult to practice for a long time, but I feel that the color of the eyes of the members has changed recently. ”
Captain Yoshitsu base (second grader) )
"It's a modest practice because I think it will lead to results when I go out to the ground, but I'm working hard and intensively as a team. It's not just our own strength that has come so far. With the support of various people such as the townspeople, I try to unite the team's consciousness. ”After
3:00 pm on the 28th, the selection committee called Katsuhiro Ito, the principal of the school. A report of the participation decision was brought.
When the principal told the players who were waiting in line at the gymnasium that they would participate, the players who could not raise their voices due to corona measures were quietly cheering on their eyes by facing down and holding their eyes. rice field.
Captain Yoshitsu "I'm
honestly
happy. I want to improve my play by practicing as usual without doing anything special, and at Koshien I want to play baseball that wins the defense by creating a rhythm with defense and taking one chance.
" I am full of gratitude for choosing. I will do my best to practice until the school that was not chosen, and at Koshien I would like to give back to the people in the town who are always supporting me in the game with a single rhythm. "