Yashima: I was the captain in 2024, and we were able to win the autumn league. At that time, Watanabe-san was a great help to me as an analyst, collecting data on our opponents and using it to try and apply it. We've talked a lot every day for the past four years, but come to think of it, we've never talked about why we're playing volleyball at Aogaku.

Watanabe: That's true! You've been active in national tournaments since your high school days, so I imagine you received offers from other strong universities.

Yashima: Yes, I did. But Aogaku was good! I lived in Ibaraki Prefecture until I was in junior high school, and was invited to a high school with a strong volleyball team to live in a dormitory in Tokyo. I was planning to continue playing volleyball in college, but at the same time, I wanted an environment where I could study hard as a student, not just focus on sports. A senior from high school had gone to Aogaku, so I heard about the club activities and faculties, and even went to visit the campus. I was able to talk to the coach at that time, and I was able to clearly imagine, "I'll do my best in my studies and club activities here for four years!" That's why I decided to enroll at Aogaku. My family runs a small company in my hometown, so I chose School of Business, hoping to learn something that would be useful to my family in the future. I was also attracted by the rich curriculum for languages, such as English.

Yashima Watanabe-san is able to balance his undergraduate studies with club activities, and even though we are just classmates, I've always thought he was amazing.

Watanabe: I thought it was important to balance my studies with club activities in order to continue. But when I first entered the school, I was overwhelmed by the high level of skill of the other club members, including Yajima, who came from strong high schools... When I joined the club, General Manager Namase told me, "You're welcome as long as you don't quit for four years," and I've been working hard ever since. In fact, I've never once wanted to quit.

Yashima: I was full of expectations when I enrolled at Aogaku, thinking, "I'm going to do my best at volleyball for four years!" But right after I enrolled, I got injured during practice and experienced a painful experience right away. But it was because of that injury that I was able to get the help of a trainer and succeed in making my body less susceptible to injury. Watanabe-san, you worked as an analyst from your first year, right?

Watanabe: Yes, at first I recorded game data while learning from my senior students in the fourth year. In my second year, I started to wonder, "Is the role of an analyst really just to collect game data?" From my third year, I started to try and error to provide data that all the team members could use in games. There were many things I couldn't understand on my own, so I asked an analyst from NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki, who was introduced to me by Coach Akiyama, for advice, and I also listened to analysts from rival universities for reference.

Yashima: We naturally rely on your data, but what made you decide to become an analyst in the first place?

Watanabe: It all started when a senior asked me in my first year to be an analyst. I was fully aware of my skills, but I still felt frustrated that I couldn't contribute to the team as a player. However, once I realized that I could contribute to the team's victory through my work as an analyst, I began to feel attracted to this job. I began to feel a sense of fulfillment in collecting as much data as possible for everyone and communicating it in an easy-to-understand way.

I have been practicing with Watanabe Yashima for a long time, and I have seen his efforts as an analyst and how he balances his studies with his undergraduate studies, so I have nothing but gratitude for him. I think he is an absolutely indispensable member of the current women's volleyball club.

Thank you Watanabe! The data itself is important, but what I tried to do as an analyst was to communicate in a way that each player could use it. In reality, that is more difficult. It is not enough to just show numbers and graphs. I think that the meaning of using data comes from explaining in easy-to-understand terms how the other person can use the data and getting them to agree.

Yashima: As a captain, I also realized the difficulty and importance of expressing my thoughts in words during this year. I think Watanabe-san knows this, but I'm a negative-thinking person, so I didn't think I was cut out to be captain. But then Coach Akiyama asked me to be the next captain... I was worried about whether I could fulfill the role, but I wanted to live up to the coach's feelings, so I resolved to change my negative thinking by accepting the role of captain. I think I have definitely changed since then. I feel that I have not only improved my skills as a player, but also my mental strength and flexibility, and more broadly, I have grown as a person.

Watanabe: Yes, yes, I think so too.

Yashima: I'm glad (laughs). Even after I get a job, I want to be involved with volleyball in various ways, but even if the day comes when I retire from the sport, the experience of juggling my studies and club activities for four years at university has given me the confidence to live as myself off the court. Before I entered Aogaku, I thought, "If volleyball is taken away from me, I will have nothing left," but now I think that "I can live proudly even without volleyball," and I think this is the biggest growth I've made. Also, I've come to enjoy learning English and have started to look at the world, which is one of the reasons I chose a job related to aviation. I'm really glad I chose Aogaku.

Watanabe: I am also truly happy to have been able to end my volleyball career at Aogaku without any regrets. As an analyst, I was able to acquire computer skills, communication skills, and initiative, so I would like to take off into society with confidence.

Hokohisa: I was appointed as the head coach by Coach Akiyama before the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships last year. I was surprised and wondered, "Why me?", but I thought today would be a chance to ask Coach the reason directly.

Akiyama: I decided on this after consulting with not only myself but also General Director Namase, but to put it simply, I think it's because of Hokohisa-san's "seriousness," "sincerity," and "charm."

Hokohisa: Oh, is that the reason?! (laughs) At first, I was worried about whether I could handle the job of a manager, but gradually, I began to feel motivated and saw the "scenery" that I couldn't see if I was just a player.

Akiyama: What do you mean specifically?

I have come to feel even more strongly the presence of those who support the Hokoku team. Since I often come into contact with people who support us, including Aogaku graduates, I have come to truly understand that we are fighting with the expectations of those people on our shoulders. It is thanks to those people that we are able to devote ourselves to practice every day without any worries.

Akiyama: Can I also ask Hokohisa-san what he thinks of you as a director?

I feel a little embarrassed to be in front of Hokohisa in person... He was the captain when Aogaku achieved five university titles, and has a brilliant career that included winning the V Premier League with the NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki, so as a player he was someone I always looked up to. Of course, as a coach, not only I but everyone else relies on him. Although he sometimes has harsh words about what we should do to achieve our lofty goal of becoming the best university in Japan, I believe that his thoughts and affection resonate deeply with each and every player.

Akiyama: Great! Since I became the coach, I have always valued the team's autonomy and created an environment where the players can think and act for themselves. However, I want all the members to always work seriously towards the lofty goal of being the best in Japan. To achieve this, I, as the coach, have to be firm in my determination to achieve that goal, so I have often had to use strong words.

Hokohisa: Yes, everyone fully understood the director's feelings. He was being strict with love.

Hokohisa: I thought the same. Even during self-training, each player memorized data on their own and the opposing team's plays, repeatedly practiced tosses and combinations, and pursued high-precision play. This was put to good use in the match, and I think we were able to practice volleyball that doesn't rely on power or spikers, but instead works together to score points.

Akiyama: If we can give 100% of our strengths, we can win. That's what I believed. I think this season was a perfect embodiment of the alumni's hopes for the 11 years they had been unable to win the league. The traditional style of Aogaku Volleyball is the strength of defense, "persist, persist, and connect." This will not change for the 2024 team, but everyone's strong desire to be "Japan's best" and their awareness of connecting the ball allowed them to win the fall league.

From the second half of the Hokoku League, we discussed within the team and changed the way we practiced combinations, increasing the number of combinations and scoring patterns we could use in the game, and it worked out well, so I was honestly happy that we were able to win the Autumn League. However, our unity and trust had also become stronger, and we were unable to win the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships, where all the players were only thinking about becoming "number one in Japan," and we ended up as runners-up, which showed our weaknesses and left us with regrets.

Akiyama: It's important to accept the disappointment. I hope that even after entering society, he will use the disappointment of coming in second at the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships as a springboard to continue growing.

Hokohisa: That's true. I love this team because I feel like I'm fighting together with my teammates, the coach, and the staff. I think I've learned not only about volleyball techniques and tactics, but also about how I should live my life as a person.

Akiyama: Volleyball is a sport where a person's character is revealed in their play. We aim to win every game, but it's not enough just to win. The value of victory is completely different depending on whether the six people on the court were able to do their best for their teammates. Hokohisa-san will be graduating soon, but I am grateful to her for not only supporting the team as the manager this season, but also for passing on the good traditions of Aogaku Women's Volleyball Club to her juniors.

Hokohisa: I am grateful to have had the opportunity to spend four years of fun and fulfilling student life under the guidance of my idol, Coach Akiyama. I am sad to be graduating, but I will use what I have learned from the coach, my teammates, and the alumni who have always supported us, and do my best even after I enter the workforce!