Practice

Sports are really big in Japan.... huge. Really important. As equally important as school. And anyone who is anybody will pursue their sport with a passion and intensity that I'm not sure  I've seen in the States (uh, granted, I played Jr High B-ball and a lil bit of comm. college, so...)

 So that's my lead into my new interest: Basketball. Well, actually, I've always had an interest in basketball, however, I'm actually pursuing it. Before I explain, however, let me give you a layout of school sports in Japan.

 School sports are an extra curricular thing... meaning that they come after school, but everyone pretty much must play or do something. There are a range of sports from table tennis, to badminton, to Kendo, basketball, volleyball, track, baseball, etc. The American norm with a Japanese twist. The coaches are teachers, like at American schools. However, each teacher MUST coach a sport, even if the teacher isn't so great at coaching. This is a social obligation, and the teacher is not paid extra for coaching. During the year, the teachers must be here from 7 something A.M. until 4 something P.M. and then they must stay to coach from 4 something until 6 something PM. After which they must stay until it's decided that it's time to go (they will be doing paperwork, lesson planning, etc during this time.) Some of the teachers live 30 minutes + away. Almost everyone has a family. None of this applies to me, the foreigner; my contract is different.

  During the long breaks, like the month-long summer break, the students show up during the day and the coaches train with them here. Almost everyday, for 4 hours. There is a gigantic beautiful gym where basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and kendo are all done at once. There is NO air conditioning in this building, however. Upon stepping into the gym, I can't help but sweat all crucial liquids out from pores I didn't even know existed.


Basketball Practice

   As a ALT, we're encouraged by everyone to pick a sport and help out, play with the kids, use English, etc. I chose basketball because it's really the only sport I know how to play. There is no girl's basketball, so I asked the boys' coach if I could observe his team play. He gave the go ahead, but I think maybe my request was misunderstood. When I arrived to the gym, wearing a sporty track suit (all teachers change into this if they are going to be coaching), and was then invited to train with the team.

  I was a little hesitant, cuz all I was wearing for shoes were my indoor Toms slip-ons w/ out socks, but I was like, Sure! It's only junior high school... and I wanna shoot some hoops!
Uh, my biggest mistake ever. First of all, this practice started at 8AM. It was now 9:20. Prior to my arrival the children were outside running 5 MILES! 5 MILES!!!! I found this out by talking to the coach about how I stay in shape. He was like, oh, you ran 2 miles this morning, well these boys....
They do that about three times per week in the summer when their practice is scheduled in the AM. So when practice started at 9:20, coach gave a talk, most of which I didn't understand, like everything else, and then we did our beginning bows, and then we drilled. FOR an HOUR and a HALF. 1.5 hours, people. This was not game-style. This was dribbling, shooting, lines, crouches, skidding, jumping, lay-ups, etc. And it's as hot as freakin Bikram Yoga, especially since I was wearing track pants.. And to top it all off, the coach gave 3 five-minute water breaks. Thankfully, 1/2 way through practice on that first day that I went, I got a blister from my Toms shoes. I sat out for the rest of practice, which after the 1.5 hours of drill, they finally played some games. I was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and dreaming up ways I could secretly hoard water and not let the children see how weak their new English teacher was.

There was the religious holiday, Obon, for the next few days, during which time i bought basketball shoes. I was relishing in my chance to be able to keep up with the young whipper snappers, when Monday (yesterday) rolled around, and again, I did all the drills that were apart of practice. This time, practice was from 1 until 4 PM. I practiced really hard, wore the correct work out gear (shorts and tee), and almost died. Well, I didn't pass out but I felt like I was going to puke. Everywhere I walked, I dripped... my clothes were not just damp, they were drenched, as if I had fallen into a pool. Even when I begged to stop and apologized for my weakness with the coach (not so dramatically), I continued to ooze for the rest of the 3 hours. I was able to enjoy some of the scrimmages towards the end of practice, but I was so exhausted that I could hardly breathe, and I could definitely NOT keep up with the children... I do not love anything nearly enough to work myself like this, including cycling, men, art, etc...

  After practice, the coach and I decided that I would continue to come to practice, but would select which activities I would like to do. Of course, this would be the only way I would return to "play".

  I have yet to mention that after all of this torture, two hours after work, I had planned to meet a new friend, Ryan (another ALT, like me), to play basketball in an adult city league an hour away. I was wondering what the hell I was doing, but Ryan assured me that this was just pick-up basketball. Well, he was right! It was super fun, I got to meet a whole bunch of Japanese people my age, and I got to take as many water breaks as I needed. The typical night is that we play for an hour and a half (in rotating teams), and then we all go out to eat dinner. To play in the league, it's about $1.25 per meeting.... totally worth it. This was a good ending to an exhausting day, which I capped off with a hot soak in the tub, Japanese style!