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Yoshihiro Anai (age 36) Appointed as New Head Coach of Japanese Men’s National Team “Samurai Japan”
To All Members of the Press
Japan Men’s National Team “Samurai Japan”
Yoshihiro Anai (age 36) Appointed as New Head Coach
We would like to thank the Japan Hockey Association (JHA) for your continued and generous support of our activities.
The Japan Hockey Association (President: Kazuhiro Misu) is pleased to announce the appointment of Yoshihiro Anai (age 36) as the new head coach of the “Samurai Japan” (Men’s National Team).
Yoshihiro Anai, the new HC, was a member of the Japanese men’s national team and then coached the Tenri University men’s field hockey team. As a coach, he has led his teams to numerous national championships, including two All-Japan Hockey Championship titles, two championships in the Japan Hockey League (Prince Takamado Trophy Hockey Japan League, the highest league in Japan), and two All-Japan Student Championship (Intercollegiate Hockey) titles. He also supported the team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as a member of Japan’s national staff.
From now on, under the guidance of new HC Anai, Samurai Japan will continue to strengthen and train for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Yoshihiro Anai’s Brief History, etc.
| Name: Yoshihiro Anai Date of birth: November 27, 1987 Birthplace: Oguni Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan School attended: Oguni High School, Kumamoto Prefecture (Inter-High School champion in junior year) Tenri University Primary teaching history: April 2015-. Tenri University Men’s Hockey Club (Coach) April 2016 – March 2017 Men’s Japan National Team (Coach) |
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Comment from Yoshihiro Anai
I would like to thank the Japan Hockey Association and everyone involved for this valuable opportunity.
When I lead a team, I ask my players to work with three principles. These are: “to be able to work hard,” “to play to win,” and “never to give up. It may seem obvious, but we believe that the conditions for leading a team to victory are: the ability to never stop fighting and always keep improving, the ability to fulfill individual roles for the team, and the ability to stick to the ball until the very end. Based on this belief, we need to improve our ability to work together and function as a group in order to compete with the world’s powerful nations. From now on, we will work together with our players to share techniques and tactics, while developing the ability to compete with the world, with the aim of qualifying for the Olympics.
Finally, although I feel the responsibility and pressure of being the head coach of Samurai Japan, I will do my best to fulfill my duties with passion and determination, valuing what I have cultivated and the ideas I have inherited from my predecessors. I look forward to your continued support and cooperation for Samurai Japan.
For media inquiries and requests for interviews, please contact
Japan Hockey Association
Secretariat Sakamoto, Yoshimitsu
JAPAN SPORT OLYMPIC SQUARE, 4-2 Kasumigaoka-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0013, Japan
Telephone number : +81-3-6812-9200
E-mail: [email protected]
