Congratulations to Dr. Tokairin for winning the Best Paper Award at the 37th annual meeting of the Japan Society of Coaching Studies!
Recognizing outstanding research in the Society’s official journal, the Japan Journal of Coaching Studies, the award honors authors whose work contributes significant insights and practical applications to coaching.
Dr. Tokairin’s paper, co-authored with Masaki Mori, Associate Professor at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Kohei Shimamoto, Associate Professor at Hosei University, examines the relationship between training environments and life skills among young female ball sport athletes.
Dr. Tokairin’s comment:
This research was driven by a compelling desire to change the current situation facing elite female athletes. Many female athletes, despite excelling at the highest level, struggle with low self-esteem and lack confidence about their post-athletic careers. The paper was written based on the firm belief that while striving for competitive victory is undeniably important, nurturing athletes for life after sports is one of the most meaningful contributions that coaching can make to society.
With the support of the Alliance of Japan Top Leagues and various ball sport organizations, we surveyed 838 female athletes. The findings show nearly half of them lacked a close relationship with their coaches during their formative years.
This lack of connection remains a major obstacle to acquiring life skills—such as communication and social skills—even now that they have reached the top levels of their careers. In contrast, those who felt they had established open, two-way communication with their coaches were able to carry that positive experience into their current athletic careers.
I would like to share these coaching insights with the sports community, contributing to the promotion of healthy sports organizations that foster athletic excellence.
Released by: Office of General Affairs at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC)