Second day of the expedition.

Without feeling the fatigue from yesterday's travel, I energetically went for a walk early in the morning and showcased Japan's tradition with radio calisthenics.
After that, I had breakfast and headed to training.

Finally, the players' excitement was high as they could finally play soccer, and smiles naturally appeared on their faces.
The venue is the facility of SBV Excelsior, which belongs to the top league in the Netherlands, the Eredivisie.
It was planned to be held at the practice field next to the stadium, but thanks to the manager's arrangements, we were able to use the stadium at the last minute, which further boosted the players' spirits.
In the meeting before training, Coach Sato conveyed the theme of this expedition, emphasizing the importance of "accepting everything."
In training, we started with a gesture game to express ourselves and gradually moved our bodies.
Since the venue for the training match held in the evening was the stadium, we were able to have good training in terms of getting accustomed to the grass and the atmosphere.

After having lunch, we went out for sightseeing in the city and were able to experience things that we usually cannot by encountering different cultures.
I challenged myself to communicate while using my poor English and the gestures I practiced in the morning during shopping.

After returning to the hotel, we will depart for the training match.
The opponent is SBV Excelsior U14. The venue was supposed to be the stadium where training was held in the morning... but this time it has been changed to the practice field next to the stadium, opposite to the morning.
Still, we will proceed with preparations without any hesitation, with a spirit of "accepting everything."

As Coach Sato said about the importance of the first 15 minutes, we overwhelmed the opponent right after the kickoff and took the lead with a goal from Hayata in the 2nd minute of the first half.
After that, by actively challenging, Tanaka added 2 more goals, and the first half ends with a score of 3 to 0.
We entered the second half with the same mindset, focusing on the first 15 minutes, but we repeatedly found ourselves in trouble due to our own mistakes.
With GK Kamoshita at the center, we managed to hold on and gradually regained the flow, and Takahashi broke through with Moritsugu's through pass to score an additional goal.
Despite continuing to create chances, they could not score, and the match ended 4-0.
 

The staff of Excelsior and the local coordinators praised the many smiles and how much everyone is enjoying soccer, even saying that the image of Japanese people has positively changed.

During today's activities, there were many things that did not go as planned and things that are considered normal in Japan did not apply. However, I believe that it is because we were able to positively challenge ourselves by "accepting everything" that we received such an evaluation.
Among them, many challenges have been identified, and starting tomorrow, I want to embrace all of those challenges and enjoy football to the fullest.