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Team Report

Amateur National Team First Training Camp in Japan Has Started!

8/3/2014Amateur

The Samurai Japan Amateur National Team has started training camp in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture to get ready for the Asian games which will begin on September 21.

Training camp report

On August 2 the elite group of players gathered at Tsuruoka Dream Stadium(Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture). There the first Samurai Japan Amateur National Team training camp in Japan was held.

When asked about the aim of this training camp, Manager Hirotami Kojima said,
"The aim of the first training camp is confirmation. That is, we want to make sure that what we, the staff, are thinking can be conveyed to the players so we can have a common purpose. Although the tournament games are league games, we will not play each opponent several times, so each game is a make or break situation. One play can make the difference between winning and losing so our goal is to make sure each and every play counts."
Because Manager Kojima has been in many international tournaments both the coaching staff and players are very particular about having a common purpose.

At 9:30 the players entered the stadium and warmed up. After that, during the morning, they practiced things like connecting throws, developing close coordination, positioning in the field and sign play. All these were done to confirm immediately the team's common purpose. The players showed a lot of energy and carried out Coach Horii's(Manager JR East Japan) exacting demands with firmness and also understanding their purpose.

Manager Kojima appraised the players by saying, "There might be rivalries between cities, they might be tired, but they are able to hustle just as I had hoped they would."

In the afternoon the team carried out batting practice with fielders in position and, starting at 6pm, they had a chance to use what they'd practiced in their opening game against Yamagata Kirayaka Bank. During the game, they were down because of 3 runs at the top of the 4th inning. However, in the bottom of the 7th there was a walk with bases loaded, a timely hit by No. 2 Issei Endo(Tokyo Gas)and a score on a broken double play by No. 3 Masataka Iryou(JX-ENEOS). The Samurai Japan Amateurs ended their first game with a 3-3 tie. The batters rallied successfully in the second half so catching up to tie was a good indication of the team's ability. As key players Manager Kojima named Iryou, Matsumoto and Toshiyuki Hayashi (Fuji Heavy Industries) and has high hopes for his batting squad.


No. 3 Iryou(ENEOS)


No. 4 Matsumoto(JR East Japan)


Pinch hitter/Hayashi(Fuji Heavy Industries)

As for the pitching squad, Tetsu Yokota(Sega Sammy) may have given up 3 runs in the 4th inning but was able to pitch well until the 5th inning. The player who took the mound in the 6th inning, Tsukasa Komatsu(JFE East Japan) threw well and was able to hold off any runs until the count was 2 outs in the eighth inning. After the second out of the 8th, Koshiro Imamura(Saibu Gas) struck out a batter. Finally, in the 9th, Reo Moriyasu (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe) did not allowed any hits. The pitchers showed how to finish a job in fine form.

The team has to seize on this training camp as a period of adjustment. Three games will be held before the last day of training camp, the 6th. From now through practice and games, the team has to develop a common purpose. They have to improve both the pitching and the batting and come together as a team.

The Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea starting September 21. Since the 1994 games in Hiroshima there have been four more but Japan's team has strayed far from victory.

Let's take the Asian crown back! The Samurai Japan Amateur National Team is in action.

Amateur National Team

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