Because I was concentrating on my soccer club activities, I hardly had time to go out and my university life was really dominated by club activities. Even so, I studied hard to get the credits I needed, and worked hard on my reports and tests.
In terms of balancing my studies with my studies, the soccer club's activities were held at Midorigaoka Ground in Sagamihara, which was far from the Aoyama campus, so it was difficult to travel there. Basically, we practiced in the morning, but after practicing for 2-3 hours from 7:30, we moved to the Aoyama campus, so inevitably, the classes I could attend were limited to those after the third period. As a student, I was allowed to miss practice to attend classes, and in fact everyone did so, but I tried to attend practice as much as possible and earn credits in classes outside of those hours. It's a matter of values, so I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but I think I worked hard by being well-balanced. Before classes, I often had lunch at the student cafeteria in Building 17. I liked "Building 17 Restaurant (Ichinana) Curry."

I think I can say that what I learned about soccer club management in the seminars of Professor Junichi Miyazaki, who was the soccer club's General Manager at the time, is still useful to me today. I think I understand where the money comes from and what kind of people's cooperation makes the club run. Also, until last year, the manager of Urawa Reds was Spanish, so I was able to understand the words I knew, but I was able to understand Spanish as a second language, which helped me a little.

There were very few people who were seriously aiming to become professionals, so it was quite difficult to maintain motivation. However, there were people who were working hard even if they weren't aiming to become professionals, and all of my teammates in high school were aiming to become professionals, so I was inspired by those people's efforts and got motivated. However, one thing I can say is that in club activities at university, it is important to choose your own path and what you want to do in order to maintain motivation.

I think this is now a habit. I admired so-called professionals, and since I was in elementary school I loved watching documentaries about professional athletes and the like. I want to be as close as possible to those people, so I think I have gotten into the habit of looking for overlapping parts or things I can learn from the thinking of people who have achieved results in various fields, in order to see if there are any similarities or points I can learn from them.

There's nothing special I have to be conscious of just because they're foreign players. As long as it's not a complicated topic, you can usually communicate in simple English, and as long as you greet people properly and smile when you speak, I don't think there's any problem.
As for age, my attitude doesn't change much whether the player is 4 years older or 10 years older. What's more important is what kind of achievements the player has made. For example, when I met players who have been active for many years as a member of the Japanese national team, such as Shinji Ono, who played for the same club, I was nervous and couldn't talk to them casually. However, those players have a different level of experience than me, so they often talk to me on their own, and I didn't really have to do anything from my side.
However, no matter who my opponent is, I always keep in mind that the perspective I see is different from the perspective they see. When our play doesn't go well, it means the opponent has their own motives and is making the play choices, so I keep in mind that my perspective is not necessarily correct.

When you're fighting throughout the season, there are difficult times when you can't get results as a team. In soccer, if you have an incredibly strong player like Messi, you can win just by having that, but basically, a team is strong when they are unified and everyone is fighting in the same direction. Especially after going through a period last season when things weren't going well, I felt that each person's consciousness and intentions were all over the place, and I started to think a lot about how to get the team to face the same direction at times like that. Since each person has their own ideas, it won't work if you deny the other person from the perspective that you are right and try to force your opinion through. In order to avoid discord within the entire team, I think it is very important to have a sense of balance and adjustment, such as sometimes daring to leave it to the other person's ideas or asking them to lean towards your ideas. In reality, it is very difficult, so I don't think I'm doing it as much as I say, but I am conscious of it as a way of thinking.

I think that many people who become soccer players are physically blessed or have a sense for it. Those who have that kind of talent should just go ahead as they are. So, what kind of ingenuity do those who don't have that kind of talent need to have? I think it's about thinking about soccer.
In my case, I have been working hard by looking back at what I am not good at and filling in the gaps. Let's say the maximum of each ability, such as dribbling and passing, is 100. If you compare taking it from 0, where you can barely do it, to 60, where you can do it quite well, with taking it from 60 to 100, the difference between 60 and 100 is smaller and it seems easier in terms of effort, but in reality, I think it is much easier in terms of effort to go from 0 to 60. If you can break through your strengths, you may be able to reach a level where you can compete with the world with that alone, but for example, even if you are the best at muscle training and physically strong in your club, it is actually very difficult to raise it to the top level in Japan. On the other hand, if a player's footwork is only about 20, it should be absolutely easier to bring it up to 60, and I think it is effective in improving the overall value.
I don't think this is necessarily the right way to do it, but no matter what method you choose, if you can't confirm where you are now, you won't be able to find room for improvement. I think people who can look at themselves objectively and think clearly about what they are lacking and what they need to do will improve. Also, once you acquire the ability to think and work hard, it can be applied to many things. By thinking about my own actions while playing soccer, I have become able to learn to a certain extent whatever I do, and I have gained confidence that I can improve.

There are so many books I like, but I would recommend "The Elephant that Makes Your Dreams Come True" because it is easy to read and informative. What made an impression on me was the idea of changing the environment instead of changing your consciousness. It is very difficult to change your consciousness or thinking habits, so even if you try hard, you won't be able to keep it up. In that case, you should just change your environment. For example, if you want to change your habit of lazing around watching TV when you get home, unplug the TV. That way, you have to plug it in when you want to watch TV, which puts the brakes on. It's a way of thinking that is still useful to me today. I also read the manga "Ahiru no Sora" about high school students who are devoted to basketball and the youth novel "Isshun no Kaze ni Nare" about track and field when I was in high school, and they gave me courage.

I believe that people are happiest when they live in a way and place that is easy for them. To that end, I think it's very important to get to know yourself as early as possible. What brings you joy? What are you good at? What kind of people do you like? If you know these things, you can live in a way that suits you, and I think that will make your life much richer.