Japanese, US All-Star High School Teams playing fourth Friendship Series
The high school kids from Japan and USA meet for a fourth consecutive year in the Friendship Series taking place in the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California. The All-Star high school teams from both companies will participate.
The Major League’s vice president of youth and facility development Darrell Miller was thrilled on the occasion. He said that it is great to see the youngsters in action and they themselves will remember this for a long time to come.
"What's great is these guys really learn to love and respect each other's ability. And they also really remember each other," said Miller.
Darrell said that bonds of friendship are built that go beyond the series and last for a long time to come. His own son has played in two of the three friendship series and said that he has fond memories attached to the event.
"They build some friendships and bonds that go beyond this series here. They exchange stuff. My son played in this game the last two or three years, and he wears all the Japanese paraphernalia that he's exchanged with these other guys,” Miller said.
This will also provide an opportunity to these youngsters to play against a tough opposition and will also be a good addition to their playing profile. Many of these players will soon be heading to colleges and universities and will play college ball and
may one day also be part of the big leagues.
Japan itself has one of the best professional baseball leagues in the world and has a very competitive competition every summer. A number of players from Japan have played in the Major League and have found success. The greatest success story of a Japanese
player in the Majors is that of Ichiro Suzuki who has been performing phenomenally for over 10 years now.
The American team is coached by Shigetoshi Hasegawa, a former Major league player, who was born in Japan and also started his professional career in the native country. His son Kohto is also playing for the US side as a pitcher.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa is pleased with the event and hopes that he can teach the American kids a thing or two. He first got involved in the tournament two years back and now regularly is associated with it.
"We're just going to keep doing this," said Hasegawa. “.. So I want to come here a lot, and I can help the American kids."
This is indeed a great step in creating friendship between the people of the two countries. It also provides the youth of to understand people from different areas of the world and understand their values and also have an opportunity to show other their
own. It is surely an excellent effort and should be expanded.
Tags: