My Sports Background

My Sports Background

I'm a case study in what happens when you don't stick to one sport. My father is English born and worked exactly like a Japanese salaryman (long hours & little free time), though we lived in Canada. When he wasn't working and dealing with other issues we would play catch, or less so shoot some baskets. More importantly he had a hands off approach to my sports.

My mother, for her part, wanted me not to play hockey as she feared me becoming a "Puck Head." This only worked until I got to be a teenager and thus got over being a mommas boy, as I later played rougher sports.

The positive name for someone like me is an "All Rounder." Though not sticking to one sport is not what I have in mind for my son, as I have narrowed them to two serious sports and the rest for fun.

Here is a brief listing of my experience:

- Little League Baseball
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Skateboarding
- Skiing
- Freestyle Wrestling
- Rugby
- Hockey (Ice)
- Canadian Football (Played both ways)
- American Football (In Japan)

There are other activities that I took part in that I will add as reference to my articles on my blog, yet these (above) are the key ones. I have coached a boys baseball team in Canada, and have had my son on a Japanese Little League team, in which I took part in supporting every weekend. I've been team captain when I played Canadian football.

Awards

- Soccer (City Champs)
- Basketball (City Champs)
- Heavyweight Wrestling (2nd-Place Southern Ontario)
- Tennis (Won a Youth Tournament)
- Rugby (University Champs)
- American Football in Japan (League Champs)
- Summer Camp (Best Overall Athlete Award)

All that aside I'd still say reading from other successful coaches and athletes is almost as important as personal experience, if one can be logical and take the key input from them and then master it as best as one can. Understanding history, among things, is the way to understanding different cultures and avoid culture shock/ cultural conceit, as our modern obsession with fashion is a vise. I look forward to helping show Japanese baseball to the world from a honest give & take approach.

Always open to questions,
MM