The “Samurai Japan Baseball Instructor Skills Workshop”, providing elementary and middle school baseball coaches with proper knowledge and instruction technique. Following seminars in Kobe and Sapporo, the 3rd seminar was held Saturday, February 7th at Niigata’s Hard Off Eco Stadium, drawing many coaches from far and wide.
In the morning talks, member of NPB Medical Board and team doctor for the Japanese representatives during the 2006, 2009 and 2013 WBC tournaments, Dr. Mikihiko Watanabe explained the importance of maintaining facilities in order to prevent injuries, as well as risks and countermeasures for serious accidents, using real-world examples.
In order to clarify the points of caution and characteristics of young players’ bodies, Dr. Watanabe offered “rather than performing drills some random number of times, quality practice will help prevent injury.”
Furthermore, Urara Shibata, who is a nutritionist for Meiji Corp. (official dietary support partner for Samurai Japan) and provided dietary instruction for Samurai Japan 18U in 2014, explained the 5 main nutrients and meals necessary for players, as well as touching on the importance of replenishing water.
“Meals are the foundation of performance. Consciously including the 5 major nutrients in a nutritious full course as a matter of habit is important for strengthening organs, so meals should be thought of as a part of training. Also, gradually replenishing water lost during practice is important.”
After a brief lunch break, a skills seminar began in the afternoon.
Base-running coach Toshihisa Nishi (Samurai Japan infield coach/base-running coach and 12U Manager) took the microphone to talk about base-running and leads to take for each base. He offered opinions such as “Either foot they use to tag on first is okay. After a hit, if the player looks down where they should be placing their foot (on first), their legs (stroke and steps) will fall into place.” Also, he concisely explained taking leads, rounding bases and points of caution for sliding. As for instruction on playing catch, Mr. Nishi provided commentary on how to make a catch while Mr. Yoshitaka Katori (Samurai Japan Technical Director / Samurai Japan top team pitching coach / 15U Manager) provided the physical demonstration. Afterwards, a number of participants were allowed to play catch with Mr. Katori.
“Don’t catch with your hands, use footwork to make the catch with your feet. A smooth step out and make the catch about a step out,” giving some advice to participants.
After the base-running and catching seminar finished, the participants were separated into four groups for defense seminars individualized for each position. The pitching instructor Mr. Katori explained ways to the grip the ball, as well as proper form. Dividing the talk into topics such as form, drawback, top, release, etc., Mr. Katori guided the participants with statements like “It should feel like you are bringing the lifted leg closer to the plant leg and moving your hips.” The participants continued with more and more questions, to which Mr. Katori offered sound advice.
Japanese representative in the 2006 WBCs, Mr. Tomoya Satozaki (formerly with Chiba Lotte) provided instruction for catchers. He explained the importance of flexibility for preventing injuries as well as the essence of catching, “rather than moving the mitt after making the catch, move the mitt around to make the catch from the outside.” Interspersed with thoughts from his own experience, Mr. Satozaki gave an easy-to-understand lecture on the essence of catching, including stances and throwing during base stealing.
Mr. Nishi, said to be a first-rate fielder in his playing days, took the lead on infield instruction, saying “The important thing for defense is moving smoothly through the series of start, chase, catch throw.” However, he also proposed a method of instruction based on kids thinking for themselves. “Rather than telling the kids ‘do it this way’, if you tell them that ‘it’s kinda like this’, they won’t waste their energy trying to be perfect. They’ll be able to find the possible ways they can do it and come to find the way that works for them. That’s what’s important.” The participants gathered were all impressed with the sentiment.
Outfield instruction was provided by Yoshihiko Kajiyama, who played for former Mitsubishi Fuso Kawasaki and has experience as a Japanese representative in the Sydney Olympics. Explaining the importance of preparation, he offered “The tense stance that infielders have isn’t really necessary. The body should be slightly leaned in and loose, a little like a player receiving a tennis serve.” Additionally, Mr. Kajiyama conveyed the way to catch flies and grounders, how to throw, and even explained the techniques he developed as an amateur player on his way to becoming a representative of Japan.
All participants were called together again for the batting seminar, run by Mr. Nishi and Mr. Satozaki. Mr. Nishi cautioned about “not spreading the toes in the batter’s box” which is so common for younger players. Also, the two instructors had participants hit some toss-ups to provide more points of advice. They finished the talk with how to bunt and points of caution.
At the closing ceremony, all four instructors offered a word of closing. Mr. Nishi said, “Coaches must have three things: knowledge, experience and communication skills. Don’t feel you’ve completely understood something just by reading a book. Go out and try what you’ve learned and then tell the kids what you learned as experience.”
"And with this, the “Baseball Instructor Skills Workshop” came to close.
This event is regularly scheduled for next year and onward in the hopes of bolstering Japanese baseball through support of well-informed instructor development.
