At the opening ceremony of Senbatsu High School baseball, Takamatsu Commercial captain Ryota Yokoi took the oath of office. What I was particular about was the word "monolith," which is also the team's slogan. What are the thoughts put into it?
(Senbatsu Interview Team, Tsukasa Yamauchi)
First time in the third entrance procession "3 lap in the hall"
Yokoi is in his third Koshien at Senbatsu.
The tournament continued under the influence of the new coronavirus, and the entrance procession for the opening ceremony was changed to a format in which the first-year student walked only from the outfield to the infield, and in the summer of the second year, only the captain marched at the last minute, and it was not possible to participate.
And this was his third time participating and going around the venue for the first time.
Seeing many spectators waving and cheering renewed my feelings.
(Captain Ryota Yokoi)
"I was impressed to be able to go around the Koshien ground for the first time, and I was able to feel that many people were cheering for us, so I was reminded that we have to respond to that."
With gratitude to our colleagues
In addition, he was supposed to play the important role of taking the oath of the players.
At the rehearsal the day before, I was so nervous that I forgot to comment halfway through.
After returning to the dormitory, the club members held bats that resembled flags and surrounded them, and practiced repeatedly as if they were in the real world.
In addition, we received a reassuring message.
The person who sent me was the previous captain, Shogo Asano, who joined the professional baseball giants.
The seniors I admired who played with me in Koshien encouraged me to "do our best for each other" because they had already been selected to start the official match of the two teams on the opening day of the Senbatsu season.
We practiced many times until the morning of the day.
Thoughts on "Monolith"
The players were sworn in.
"Believing in our teammates, playing with all our heart and soul as a monolith, and delivering courage and inspiration..." The "monolith"
of this day was filled with special feelings based on the events that are happening in society right now.
(Captain Ryota Yokoi)
"Although life with restrictions is returning to normal, there is still a lot of dark news such as the war in Ukraine, so we want to deliver more courage and excitement by making our high school baseball players play as a monolith and enliven Senbatsu. Now that the players' oath is over, I want to switch to baseball and encourage various people," said
Takamatsu Commercial on the seventh day of the tournament against Toho High School in Aichi.
We are preparing to show how to fight in a monolith on the stage of our dreams.
【Full text of the players' oath】
Oath. From the time we high school baseball players started chasing a single white ball to the time we stood on this stage that we longed for, there was a lot of support and cheering. Despite the restrictions, many people worked hard to create an environment where we could play baseball with all our might.
And this spring, vocal cheering will return to Koshien. Being able to play baseball and being supported is not a matter of course, and I feel very grateful for that. Life with various restrictions is gradually coming to an end.
On the one hand, wars, conflicts and disasters. Just as we have devoted ourselves to baseball, we cannot help but hope for a peaceful world where all young people can have hope and chase their dreams.
And we, the high school baseball players, believe in our teammates, play with all our hearts and souls as a monolith, and deliver courage and inspiration to repay everyone who supports us. In this sacred place, Koshien, all high school baseball players put their souls into one ball and pledge to fight through it fairly.