Coach Junichi Takahashi (Japan), who joined Gangseo HK Baseball Club (Gangseo HKBC) as a conditioning coach led by general manager Lee Hyo-sam, gave his impressions.
Gangseo HKBC is an elite youth club baseball team founded by Hankwang High School, a high school with an emphasis on physical education in Seoul. Gangseo HKBC, which received help from the Gangseo-gu Baseball Association, recently secured a dedicated stadium outside of Han Advertising, as well as an indoor practice field, weight training room, locker room and shower room in the school, and all the facilities necessary for club operation.
As soon as Gangseo HKBC has been approved by the Korea Baseball Softball Association and registered as a player, it will embark on a full-fledged journey with the goal of participating in the phoenix this year. Coach Kim Jang-hyun, who was a right-handed pitcher for the Lotte Giants in the past, took the baton, and coach Choi Ki-moon, who also worked as a catcher for Lotte, takes over as an instructor.
Gangseo HKBC did not stop at this, but also embraced Takahashi conditioning coach, who had a relationship with manager Kim Jang-hyun in the past. Manager Kim and coach Takahashi had their first meeting in 2003 at Lotte’s San Diego training camp.
Coach Takahashi is a professional conditioning coach who has been active in 6 professional baseball clubs including China as well as 5 teams in the US and Japan.
In the past, he served as an interpreter and conditioning assistant coach for Akira Otsuka, who wore a San Diego Padres uniform in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the personal conditioning coach for the Baystars.
Coach Takahashi recently said through Gangseo HKBC, “As a conditioning coach who builds the body of a professional baseball player, it is natural to provide support to produce results.” have a responsibility He explained his leadership philosophy, saying, “I have started to see how each individual works, how the organization will become stronger, and because I have experienced championships or stagnation in six clubs.”
At the same time, he said, “In the Japanese professional baseball scene, there are players who were injured and slowed down while active at a young age, and I saw good times and bad times of players.” While accumulating such experience, as a conditioning coach, continuing to belong to a professional team is great, but I also felt that it was my mission to pass it on to the other 99% of people who have nothing to do with professional sports.” told
Coach Takahashi continued, “Since 2018, not only individual support for players, but also training of leaders (management positions in organizations), holding regional revitalization events for conditioning training, and contributions to developing countries in sports utilizing language, regardless of race and age, both at home and abroad. activity has expanded. I don’t teach it because I’m perfect, but I want to grow even more myself.”
As I said earlier, Coach Takahashi also helped Otsuka in the past. This experience is said to have been a major turning point in his life.
Coach Takahashi said, “After receiving a master’s degree in sports coaching from an American graduate school, I worked as an interpreter and conditioning assistant for Otsuka, who joined San Diego. “I knew in my head that it would take a lot of effort to play an active part in the big leagues, but a player with a track record and proven in Japan is so desperate even after coming to the major leagues,” he said. I felt with my skin that I was thinking seriously and facing it. As a professional, meeting Otsuka at the start of my career as a conditioning coach was a big turning point.”
The WBC final was held in March between Japan and the United States. Japan put Imanaga on the mound as a starting pitcher at the time. Imanaga, who debuted in Nippon Professional Baseball in a Yokohama uniform in 2015, is a left-handed pitcher who recorded 57 wins, 46 losses and an average ERA of 3.24 in 143 games (854.2 innings) until last year.토토사이트
In the match against Korea, which had already been ahead, he climbed the mound following starting pitcher Yu Darvish (San Diego) and scored 1 run in 3 innings, leading Japan to a 13-4 victory. He helped to face this championship trophy.
Coach Takahashi, who has been with Imanaga for the first time in 2016 and has been accompanying him as a personal conditioning coach since the end of the 2018 season, said, “Imanaga was a perfect pitcher. In particular, his soft pitching form stood out,” he said. “Self-management was also thorough. That’s what made Imanaga what it is today,” he said with a thumbs up.
In addition to Imanaga’s personal conditioning coach, Coach Takahashi, who is currently running a ‘JT STRENGTH & CONDITIONING’ center in Japan, plans to stay in Korea for 2-3 days 2 or 3 times a month to help train HKBC players in Gangseo.
In particular, coach Takahashi is already familiar with Korean baseball. In 2006, he helped Lim Chang-yong (retired), who was dreaming of a comeback, lead his revival, and he is also close with coach Koyama Jin, who worked as a training coach for Samsung Lions and KT Wiz. He is so proactive that he even proposes training on the Japanese high school baseball training system and the Yokohama team training system to Gangseo HKBC coach Kim Jang-hyun.
Coach Takahashi said, “It is an honor to join Korea’s Gangseo HKBC,” and said, “I will regularly pass on everything I know to the players of Gangseo HKBC throughout the year.”