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Women’s high school soccer team wins Mie Prefecture championship with only 70 percent of a team

Master Blaster Feb 28, 2019
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You’d probably have expected their 8-on-11 matches to be bloodbaths, and they were…

In 2017, Kamimura Gakuen Iga School was established in Iga City, Mie Prefecture. The high school is a branch of the Kamimura Gakuen corporation of educational facilities including correspondence courses. However, even for such a large company, setting up a new school is a big challenge in a country with a steadily declining birthrate.

Initial enrollment was lackluster, so in 2018 Vice Principal Teruhiko Yoshinaga thought setting up and coaching a women’s soccer team would be a good way to raise awareness and attract applicants. Since another Kamimura Gakuen school in Kagoshima Prefecture was well-known for its women’s soccer program, perhaps the Iga School could do the same.

The only problem was that a soccer team needs people, something which Kamimura Gakuen Iga School lacked. The best Yoshinaga could muster, even after importing six players from the Kagoshima sister school, was eight – three shy of a proper soccer team.

女子サッカー、8人で県タイトル　神村学園伊賀分校　三重｜伊勢新聞 https://t.co/tG7C0qmWLt pic.twitter.com/LRhBLFj09u

— B級サッカー情報局 (@bqsoccercom) February 26, 2019

Still, since the main idea was getting the school’s name out there, it was enough to get the job done. The team made the best of what they had and trained for an hour each day, focusing heavily on stealing the ball and playing multiple positions to compensate for their lack of people.

The players also lived together in a dormitory, creating a family atmosphere which Yoshinaga attributes much of the team’s strength too. This continued until January and February of this year, when the 18th Mie Prefecture High School Women’s Soccer Rookie Championship was held. This would become the eight-woman team’s debut tournament.

平成30年度　第18回　三重県高校　女子サッカー新人大会

優勝　神村学園伊賀分校
準優勝　高田高校

神村学園伊賀分校は初優勝！！
応援アカウント者として嬉しい限りです。
本当におめでとうございます。 pic.twitter.com/Iy0bQQqyOa

— 神村学園伊賀分校女子サッカー部応援垢⚽ (@403fK6YOU2Iv4rH) February 3, 2019

If being down three players wasn’t enough, Kamimura Gakuen also had to face the tournament’s reigning champs for ten years in a row in their first-ever match (Japanese high school teams often only play in tournaments, not in local league games). Using their aggressive strategy of constantly applying pressure and stripping the opponents of the ball, Kamimura not only fared well, they won their opening match.

The thrill of that win seemed to power the team’s momentum as they plowed through the other eight competing schools to reach the final round.

In the final game, Kamimura player Ayaka Yokomichi drew first blood with a goal, but the team ultimately gave up a point, ending regulation with the score tied and forcing a penalty kick shootout. Still, the underwomaned Kamimura Gakuen persevered, winning the shootout 4-3 and earning the school its first-ever championship, on its first-ever attempt.

[毎日]神村学園伊賀分校の女子サッカー部創部１年で新人大会優勝　三重 https://t.co/Yv1jdkd2tc 三重県伊賀市北山の神村学園伊賀分校女子サッカー部が、創部1年目で県の高校女子サッカー新人大会で優勝した。全部員は1年生8人だけ。試合に出場できる11人より人数が少ないが、分校副校長の吉永輝彦… pic.twitter.com/5GIGUaUZaR

— ニュース速報(一般紙系) (@FastNewsJP_) February 21, 2019

It’s an inspirational story to say the least, and most reacted in awe.

“Damn, they’re strong.”
“They only had eight, but those were eight elite players.”
“Awesome! Great job!”
“Are they ninjas? [Iga city is famous as the former home of a ninja clan]“
“Let that be a lesson to anyone who thinks they don’t stand a chance.”
“I wonder if that has more to do with the low level of women’s soccer in Mie than the strength of that team.”
“That’s like something out of a manga!”
“I’m scared to see what they can do with a full team.”
“Well, I guess we have our next World Cup team all sorted then.”

It is a great example of the value of working hard and not giving up by recognizing and tackling your weaknesses to reach your goals.

全員1年生で県大会に優勝したことだけでも評価できるのにその偉業を８人で成し遂げたとは！ pic.twitter.com/gMjySRJFv5

— わさきぃキャプテン (@daisumf10kemari) February 3, 2019

It’s exactly like the time when we got an X-Box One but couldn’t play our Wii U on the same TV, before realizing we could just patch the Wii through the X-Box… Exactly like that time.

Source: Ise Shimbun, Hamusoku
Featured image: Twitter/@daisumf10kemari
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