Japan Hones Skills In Sport, Life

Overseas Training Camp To Japan

Overseas exposure is crucial in the sport development of athletes. The experience gained from sparring with and training alongside international players exposes athletes to different styles of play and strategy, and increases their ability to adapt to different scenarios during competitions. Singapore Sports School student-athletes have the opportunity to travel for overseas training camps and competitions to learn from their foreign counterparts and up their game. During the year-end holidays, student-athletes from the Football and Swimming academies not only benefited sport-wise, but also from the positive work ethic and attitude displayed by the Japanese.

The Football Academy’s exchange with Omiya Ardija FC is a result of a partnership, first sealed in 2015, which allows footballers from both academies opportunities for sparring and mutual learning.

Football: Omiya Ardija Training Camp

By Muhammad Hilman Norhisam

Football, Secondary 3

Singapore Sports School sent 16 football players to train with our partner club Omiya Ardija FC in Saitama, Japan, from 1 to 7 December 2019. It was the first time training in a cold climate for many of us, as it was transitioning into winter in Saitama. However, the warm welcome from a Japanese coach upon our arrival at our hotel late on the evening of 1 December broke the cold in the foreign land we were in. Not forgetting the parkas lent to us by the Omiya team to keep our bodies warm in as the temperatures dipped to as low as 5 degrees Celsius during our stay in Japan.

Training in the cold was a unique experience. Although our arms and legs were stiff from the cold, we tried to focus on training. As the days passed, we slowly learnt tricks to keep our muscles supple and ready for the next drill.

I found the environment very conducive for learning. Coaches and players from Japanese Under 13 and 14 teams we were training with were very approachable, giving us tips and advice to help us execute a move and how to do it better.

The Japanese players’ respect towards their peers and coaches was also noticeable and something we can learn. Not only were they kind and friendly towards my teammates and I, they showed full attentiveness when speaking to their coaches, maintaining eye contact and standing with their hands behind their backs.

Towards the end of our one-week stint, we played two matches against Omiya’s U14 and Fukaya FC’s U15 teams. Both provided us good exposure in playing at a much higher intensity than our usual and taught us many lessons. In our game against Omiya, we struggled with the cold and was unable to gain much possession of the ball for most of the match. However, we persevered, stepped up our game and played our hearts out to win the game 3-2. Our next game against Fukaya was also a tough one that ended in a 0-2 loss, but we gained much more in experience.