[Congratulations! Juku High School Baseball Team Koshien Victory] [On the Koshien Victory] Behind the Scenes of the Student Support Tour

2023/10/11

On July 26, after winning the final of the National High School Baseball Championship Kanagawa Tournament against Yokohama High School, Keio University High School (hereinafter referred to as "Juku High School") secured its first appearance at the Summer Koshien in five years. At that moment, in the scorching heat of Yokohama Stadium, Principal Akuzawa and I shook hands firmly, and at the same time, steeled our resolve. This was because a continuous series of tasks and decisions, such as student support for Koshien and school logistics, was about to begin. Unlike the spring tournament, preparations for the Summer Koshien must be completed in just 10 days.

At Juku High School, after the prefectural final, we notified all students that the school would organize official Koshien student support tours for the first game and the final, and that only student tickets for the Alps stands would be sold from the second game through the semifinals. For the first game against Hokuriku High School, 330 students participated in the school-sponsored Koshien support tour. However, for the second game against Koryo High School scheduled for August 15, we prioritized student safety due to the approach of Typhoon No. 7 and cancelled ticket sales. As it turned out, the game was postponed due to the direct hit of the typhoon and the Shinkansen was in total chaos, but the students avoided being caught up in it. There were requests for 364 tickets for the quarterfinal against Okinawa Shogaku High School and 821 tickets for the semifinal against Tsuchiura Nihon University High School; interest in Koshien grew rapidly as the team advanced. It is rare for Juku High School students, who are usually cool-headed, to participate in an event so voluntarily. For the final against Sendai Ikuei High School, we opened recruitment for a 600-person tour, which reached capacity immediately.

The baseball team's success brought inspiration and a sense of unity not only to Juku High School but to various communities. At Hiyoshi Station on the Tokyu Line, which we use daily, station staff posted warm messages of support on the electronic bulletin boards during the Koshien period. Furthermore, at the moment of victory, an announcement was reportedly broadcast inside Hiyoshi Tokyu Avenue, and cheers erupted from within the store. And at the Hiyoshi Campus, the rain stopped on the afternoon the victory was decided, and a large rainbow reportedly appeared in the sky.

Since the victory, I have received many words of "Congratulations on the win" and "Thank you for the inspiration." I feel that the two team goals set by the baseball team members last year when the new team was formed—"To be number one in Japan" and "To be a team that people want to support"—were achieved in the best possible way at the Summer Koshien.

Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and say "Congratulations" to the members and affiliates of the baseball team, the Keio University Cheerleading Team, and the brass band, as well as the faculty, staff, the Hiyoshi shopping district, and everyone who supported us.

Even so, the growth of the team members was remarkable. They became tougher with every game, continuing to grow beyond the imagination of the adults. It may have been the players themselves who remained the most composed until the very moment of the Koshien victory.