The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants and the Chiba Basketball Federation are studying in Vila-real to implement the club’s methodologies at youth level
The ‘made in Miralcamp’ methodology was already in fashion in Japanese football thanks to Villarreal CF’s agreement with Kashima Gakuen, but now, representatives of different sports recognised in Japan, such as baseball and basketball, have also arrived at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground to learn about the methodology of the Yellows Academy as part of the creation of their respective academies.
On the one hand, the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, the first professional baseball team founded in Japan, which plays its matches in a stadium with a capacity for 55,000 spectators and boasts a brilliant track record, arrived at Miralcamp with the director of its academy, a coach and a fitness coach. For them, until a few years ago, there was no such thing as an ‘academy’, despite the fact that it is Japan’s number one sport. However, some clubs such as the Giants are looking to change this policy and are looking to Villarreal CF as a reference point.
In addition to understanding the context of the club and its idiosyncrasies in the ceramics and citrus sectors, the Japanese club officials learned about the operation of the residence and the importance of studies, about methodology and the concept of ‘autonomous player’ and about the values of the Submarine, also attending an EDI (team with intellectual disabilities) training session and an Endavant Igualtat meeting between Villarreal B and Down Castellón.
On the other hand, the collaboration agreement with Japanese basketball involves several entities, such as the Chiba Basketball Federation, two clubs called Chiba Jets and Altiri, the Edogawa University and the sponsor ZOZO. The agreement includes online training on psychomotor skills and methodology between March and July. And it will be precisely in the seventh month of the year when Yuriko Saeki, from the Villarreal CF Department of Football Administration and Competitions, and Mariam Vera, coordinator of Psychomotor Skills, will travel to the auditorium of the Edogawa University to give a lecture on these subjects.
Villarreal CF’s grassroots football and professional sport in Japan continue to grow hand in hand through the various agreements that both Fernando Roig Negueroles and Yuriko Saeki have signed over the last 20 years. Thus, the Yellows Academy has become a benchmark for many Japanese institutions.
