2023-2024 season interview

Since its founding, the Fujitsu Track and Field Team has been working to develop athletes who can compete in the world. The international competitions we aim for from this year to next are continuing. In a notable event, Sato Kentaro broke the men’s 400m national record for the first time in 32 years to win. It must have given him confidence, and we are also very proud.

Since taking over as director, it has been my constant goal to make the team strong. Fujitsu athletes have their own goals and continue to compete with strong determination, so I want to work with my staff to create an environment where we can further raise our spirits and inspire each other in each event. I want them to take pride in being in the Fujitsu athletics team and do their best to achieve the clear goal that they set. In addition, I would like to always produce about five national team athletes for the world championships and games.

On the other hand, Fujitsu long-distance runner also have an essential goal as a Japanese corporate team: Ekiden. From the player’s perspective, it will be difficult to adjust the condition between the international tournament and the Ekiden, but all the members have one heart: we want to win as a Fujitsu team. While having individual goals, I want to make sure that they value their pride, responsibility, and gratitude to those who support them.

Since 1992, the Fujitsu team has produced 8 consecutive Japanese representatives at the world games held every 4 years, and next year will be the ninth. We will do our best to support our players so that they can play well on the world stage.

2023-2024 season interview

Last season, we won the Rice Bowl two times in a row and became the team that won in Japan seven times. This is my third time since I took over as head coach in the 2019 season, and I’m feeling good about it. 2022 seasons with a newly reborn team allowed us to build on our previous efforts.

We have come to be called a “winning team” by those around us, but that term “winning team” is always our goal, and I believe it never ends. Aiming for high places, building up the basics, trying new things, even if we become the best in Japan, what we do is the same, and I think it is a repetition of this. The strength of Frontiers is that each player can work on such things.

We focus on what we need to do and do our best from start to finish. This is the Frontiers team standard. It’s not just football, it’s work, it’s everything else. Everyone plays well when they’re in the mood, but whether they can stick with it in any situation. Individuals should think carefully and act. We always talk in meetings. In theory, plays with a high success rate often don’t turn out that way. Where do we go back then? It doesn’t make sense to regret the play that ended, to rush to break the situation, or to focus on something that can’t be changed. Just focus on what we need to do and win in the end. The players of the current team have such a strong mentality, which has led to a victory.

We will do our best to meet the expectations of our fans in the 2023 season.

2023-2024 season interview

The concept of Red Wave has not changed this year. The team is based on aggressive defense, speedy development on offense and wide use of the court to aim for shots.

The composition of the squad changed last season. In addition to young players taking the lead, the team failed to break the negative cycle and finished in sixth place even when the team was in a good stage due to a series of injuries to key players before the season.

Using that experience, we are preparing as much as we can as a team and playing this season. We can expect young players, including rookies, to step up sufficiently, and Hayashi Saki’s transfer is a huge improvement. As the captain of the Japan National Team, she has shown strong leadership and has a very high basketball IQ, so she is very well integrated into the team, which is hard to believe that she has joined this season. Of course, she is good as a shooter and has the ability to be the starting point of an offense. This season, I feel that the players have gained more depth.

The key to the ups and downs is the center position player. Not only on defense, but also on offense, the range of Red Wave offense will be broadened by their proper situational judgment. I think that will lead to our goal of winning the championship.

This season, the team’s slogan was changed back to “PRIDE & PASSION.” That’s what I put up when I was HC in the Red Wave in the 2014-2016 season. Players need to take pride in the style of play they have built and the team’s history of the traditional Red Wave. It is only when the situation is unfavorable that the pride will inspire the team and players. On top of that, we would like to share our passion for the game of basketball with our fans.