The 2016 Japan representative selection meeting was held!
The Japan national team selection meeting was held from March 26th (Sat.) to 27th (Sun.) at the Sano City International Cricket Ground, with 25 female participants and 41 male participants from all over the country, including the Kanto, Tokai, and Kinki regions. In particular, there were many participants from the junior generation, and the event allowed us to see that the path to player development from Cricket Blast to the Japanese national team is gradually being established.
For this year’s Japan national team selection meeting, we invited two professionals from Australia: specialist coach Cameron Tradell and trainer Shuichi Okawa. Coach Tradel was in charge of skill training, and trainer Okawa was in charge of physical training.
On the 26th, in addition to a physical fitness test consisting of a 2 km run, 35 m run, 3 run run, standing long jump, and plank, the girls had a red and white match, and the boys had skill training and bowling and batting. On the 27th, in addition to physical training, we also held a men’s red and white match, skill training, and bowling and batting.
Skills training included training to improve situational judgment and adaptability. In addition, regarding physical training, a menu was introduced that would allow athletes to work on strengthening their physical strength during daily practice. It is expected that the participating athletes will further improve through their daily practice under the guidance of two experts, Coach Tradel and Trainer Okawa.
The results of the selection will be announced in early April, and the members of the 2016 Japan national training team will be decided. Players selected for the training squad participate in training camps, practices, and warm-up games several times a year, with the girls participating in the East Asia Pacific Regional Tournament (Samoa) in July, and the boys participating in the East Asia Cup (Sano City) in November. We also aim to join the Japanese national team that will participate in the East Asia Pacific Regional Tournament (venue to be determined) in early 2017.
This time, there were no qualified candidates for the general public recruitment for Japan’s women’s national team, but we will continue to accept applications from inexperienced candidates, including those with experience in other sports. If you would like to take up the challenge, please contact our association.
