Today’s beyond story is about Mr. Taketoshi Hatsuda, who is in the water polo club. He has played various sports since he was a child. Now, he is an ace in the team.
Why did he start playing water polo?
Why did he decided to enter Ritsumeikan university?
We interviewed his life of water polo club as a vice-captain.
Photo by RITSUMEI SPORTS PRESS AGENCY (https://twitter.com/ritsumeisports)
I want to be a player like this senior
When he was three years old, he started swimming by recommendation of his parents and continued swimming until 15 years old.
He practiced swimming as out-of-school activities, so he wanted to play ball games. Then he played basketball when he was in elementary school, and he belonged to soccer club when he was a junior high school student.
He said “I couldn’t play basketball and soccer well as I started playing. But I had a sense of achievement when I could play them gradually.” He was progressing thanks to his outstanding athletic sense. He served as a captain both in basketball and soccer club.
After that, he entered to Otani High School.
He said that he was going to belong to swimming club because he was swimming for a long time and wanted to avoid straining the injured knee of the meniscus in junior high school.
However, his high school didn’t have swimming club though it had a pool.
He wondered at that and went to the pool. Water polo was played there.
When he watched his seniors playing water polo, he thought “they looked so cool” and “I wanted to be a player like them”. He decided to join water polo club.
Photo by RITSUMEI SPORTS PRESS AGENCY (https://twitter.com/ritsumeisports)
If it’s difficult, the harder it can enjoy
I said, “I started playing soccer and basketball, but I thought the water ball was the hardest. Water balls are complicated, and it is hard to swim with balls. At first, I had difficulty in having a ball. So, I thought the water polo was a difficult game.”
Still, the harder he is, the harder he enjoys. That’s why he was absorbed in the water polo.
He was the only one 1st grade student to participate in the Inter-High qualifying Kinki tournament. However, he couldn’t play in a match where he could compete in the Inter-High if he won. The team was also eliminated and could not participate in the Inter-High.
He felt, “Even if he could participate in the game, he could not win the game without improving his skills”, so he practiced hard.
He was elected as a National Polity player and All Japan Junior U-17 Kyoto Prefecture representative when he was in the 2nd grade of high school, and as a National Polity player when he was in the 3rd grade.
He felt that the practice of the National Polity team and the practice of the school were completely different. Through the practice of the National Polity team, he felt that intelligence is also important for water polo.
In addition, he finished 4th in the National Tournament when he was in the 2nd grade, and in the National Polity when he was in the 3rd grade, he competed with the current Japanese National team player for the top scorer, and the team also moved to 5th place in the National Tournament.
He had experienced the national competition with the national polity team, but had not experienced the national competition with the high school team, so he said, "I want to participate in the inter-school athletic meet with the high school team. I will participate in the national competition with the national polity team. I'm happy about that, but I want to participate in the Inter-High with my teammates who have worked hard together.”
However, he lost to regular schools nationwide in the final tournament and was eliminated from the qualifying.
Photo by RITSUMEI SPORTS PRESS AGENCY (https://twitter.com/ritsumeisports)
Come on Ritsumeikan!
“I was worried whether I could balance study and club activities because I'm a science student. I thought that I have to study first, and If I have plenty of time, I do a part-time job or joining some circles. He said that he was thinking of going to a university without a water polo club.
Even so, the captain of Ritsumeikan University, who often played practice games when he was in high school, repeatedly asked him to come on Ritsumeikan. And he refused at first, but gradually began to think about going to Ritsumeikan University. Besides the director of a high school who was from Ritsumeikan University told me in an interview that he wanted to make you play water polo at university, so he decided to play water polo at Ritsumeikan University.
Be top of Kinki, and go to inter college
Mr.Hatsuda who entered Ritsumeikan University by sports recommendation.
He was confused the way to use the time at the beginning of enrollment. But, he was getting better how to use time while taught by kind seniors. And he looked back the differences between High School and University water polo that High school water polo was swimming a lot and University water polo has to use brain a lot. to adapt that was really tough for him. Even so he entered the game as a main player from when he was a 1st grade student, and his team became finalist in the Kansai Gakusei Championship and entered inter college. However, in inter college, his team lost against university in Kanto by huge gap. The next year, his team lost the enter in inter college because teamwork didn't work. This year his team also couldn’t go to inter college.
He became a vice captain and said “Be one team that everybody can get scored”. “We have to take a pool reservation create practice menu. The seniors had done all of that. I realized the hard work by seniors. I had done only practice until high school student. but I knew the process of the practice from university student, and my enthusiasm was up.”
He was injured just before the competition in October, but he said "I want to go inter college. Be top of Kinki and go to inter college". He always looks forward.
We will focus on him who overcame injury and play active.
If you want to watch the game of Ritsumeikan water polo club, you can check the date of game from below URL!
Interviewer: Ninomiya Naoya(3rd sports and science health, soccer club)
Translated by Nakata Ryo (3rd International Relations)
Iwami Toshiya (3rd Policy science)
Saho Hashimoto (3rd Literature)
Chihiro Saegusa (3rd Literature)
