“MTX ACADEMY” is located in Kojimachi, in the middle of Tokyo. Mr. Masahiro Kimura, who is the chief trainer here, teaches players of a wide range of ages, from active major leaguers to elementary school students. In March of this year, Mr. Kimura launched the rubber-ball junior high school baseball club “KOJIMACHI HEROES BASEBALL CLUB” (hereafter, “Heroes”) and serves as the manager. What kind of team does a top trainer supervise?
[Benefits of rubber-ball baseball considered by trainers]
——Why did you decide to start a junior high school rubber baseball team, Mr. Kimura, who is a trainer?
It was triggered by the father of an academy member. He had led a team called the Kojimachi Baseball Club for many years. Year by year, the number of junior high school students who play baseball is decreasing, and it is difficult for the team to survive. I’m going to let you do it.
——Since you launched in March of this year, the number of members has increased from one to 14 in half a year. How did it grow?
At the MTX Academy, there are people who are looking for a better environment to play baseball when they become junior high school students. After that, the members of the Chiyoda-ku school children’s baseball team also chose Kojimachi HEROES and entered.
——Heroes is a softball club team, but what do you think are the advantages of softball that hardball does not have?
The first is the environment. As for softball, there are grounds where you can play softball relatively even in the suburbs of Tokyo, so you can play baseball safely. The second is the tool side. Junior high school students are in the middle of their growth period, and the bat is lightweight, and the impact of hitting the ball is easier than that of hardball, so it is a place that does not put a strain on the body. On the other hand, the standard of the ball is M ball, and the size is almost the same as the hardball, and it doesn’t bounce that much, so I feel that even if I switch to a hardball from high school, there won’t be as much difference as before. . Finally, there is the qualitative aspect of baseball.I realized this for the first time when I actually saw it for the first time, but because the development of the game in rubber-ball baseball progresses compactly, children and coaches learn through experience the sport of baseball, such as defense and baserunning.
I came to feel that it is very suitable for
[The important thing is to understand and visualize]
——Are there any aspects of teaching children of this age that you find difficult?
Everything (laughs). Junior high school students are living in a very important period called puberty, and they are still in the process of growth. In terms of brain function, the suppression function is still in the development stage, so there is a wide range of fluctuations in terms of feelings. HEROES is in a state where there is no good role model for seniors in the team from this year, so for example, it is not yet possible for seniors to naturally inherit the good figure of seniors in team activities, such as in a strong school. So, we need to be conscious of building everything together from scratch.
——Junior high school is a time when your body grows and changes tremendously, but is there any difficulty in training during that time?
Of course there is. However, MTX Academy has been used by many people, from major players to active professional baseball players, working adults, university students, high school students, junior high school students, and elementary school students, and data has been accumulated. is.
Therefore, although we are a team, we also value the approach to each individual’s individuality. As a result, each member became proactively involved in team activities. HEROES practice time is about 4 hours, but we value doing numbers and quantity. For example, when I practice to improve my throwing skills, I break down the necessary elements into drills, and while doing repeated practice, I also try to improve my skills step by step. Another thing is that it is important for the staff and players to understand what they are going to do today.
——What exactly do you mean by understanding?
First of all, I’m going to align the image of what I’m going to do. The reason is that we need to understand what we are going to do in the frontal lobe of the brain and drop it into the body from the state where we have an image. I am conscious of creating this flow. I believe that the most important thing in teaching junior high school students is to change the situation from “I don’t know what to do” to “I know what to do”.
