Education
Soccer: Coaches of Japan’s top pro soccer team assist DODEA players on Okinawa
By
Stars and Stripes January 29, 2025
Brian Mcelhiney and Keishi Koja
Stars and Stripes January 29, 2025
Vissel Kobe coach Tomo Sugawara, center, observes Department of Defense Education Activity high school students practicing posession training at Ryukyu Middle School at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Young soccer players from two Defense Department high schools on Okinawa trained recently with the coaches of Japan’s top-rated professional team.
About 45 students from Kadena and Kubasaki high schools learned tips and tricks from the leaders of Vissel Kobe, champions for two years running of Japan’s premier J1 professional league. The workshop took place Friday afternoon on a soggy field at Kadena’s Ryukyu Middle School.
Rain had threatened to move the session indoors but held off long enough for the students to receive hands-on instruction from the six coaches. Vissel Kobe’s players arrived afterward for a photo with the students.
Read more at stripes.com.