A student from my special needs school was standing at the podium!
Seeing the news about BMX athlete Rim Nakamura reminded me of a student I had when I worked at a special needs school.
S-kun had been doing BMX since he was little, and he graduated without getting a job, declaring that he would 'make a living solely through BMX.'
The teachers at the special needs school, including myself, were meddlesome, saying things like, 'Why don't you at least get a job just in case?'
But after a while, S-kun really was able to make a living solely through BMX.
Then one day, I received word that S-kun had been in a major accident and was hovering between life and death.
It felt as if time had stopped in the staff room.
After that, I transferred schools and didn't hear anything about how he was doing.
Thinking I might be able to find out how he was doing, I tried searching online.
And then!
Article after article about S-kun—Yuya Shiga-kun—popped up!
He's even on Wikipedia.
He's also a hot topic on Yahoo! News.
Excerpt from a Yahoo! News article
I was in a car, but the car was totaled. The body of the car was bent into a V-shape, and it was an accident so severe that even the rescue workers couldn't immediately find where I was in the car. At that point, I was told it was a miracle that I was even alive.
Although I was transported to the Advanced Critical Care Center at Osaka University Hospital, the bleeding from my brain wouldn't stop, and I remained unconscious for about a week, with no idea if I would survive. Even after I regained consciousness, in addition to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, I had fractured my skull and skull base, and had over 10 fractures throughout my body, including my collarbone, right arm, left and right pelvis, and femur. Furthermore, my right eye wouldn't move, and I couldn't see properly; I was completely unable to move.
When I regained consciousness, my body wouldn't move, and my vocal cords were paralyzed, so I couldn't speak properly. The doctors told me there was a high possibility I would be bedridden. They said that even if I could stand up, returning to competition was impossible. Yet, for some reason, for some reason, the only thought that came to me was, 'I will definitely be able to ride again, and I'll be even better than before.' There are times when I wonder myself how I could have thought that (laughs). But I think that was because of my strong passion for BMX.
I had always liked doing trick-like things on my bike since I was a child, like riding down stairs or drifting. My mother thought that if I was going to do that, I should do it properly, so she helped me discover BMX.
I had been sickly since I was little, and after being diagnosed with Kawasaki disease at age three, I went in and out of the hospital repeatedly, and I went to the hospital every day until I graduated from junior high school. In the midst of those days, my greatest joy was riding my bike.
Furthermore, when I reached the upper grades of elementary school, it was pointed out that my reading and writing were slow. I thought maybe I had become bad at reading and writing because I was constantly in and out of the hospital, so I took an IQ-type test, and it turned out I had a learning disability (dyslexia). From then on, I entered a special needs class and went to a special needs high school.
However, it seems that because I struggle with reading and writing, my imagination and creativity are higher than others. My characteristics matched the flatland discipline, where you think of and practice various performances yourself. Of course, it's not something that goes smoothly that easily, but through various coincidences and circumstances, I was able to make it this far.
Therefore, for me, BMX is something that must be in my life, and it is absolutely impossible for it to disappear. I think it was because that feeling was so strong that my heart was filled with power even when my body couldn't move at all.
To think, Yuya-kun had made a spectacular recovery!
And,
To think, he was standing at the podium as a special part-time lecturer at a high school!
Excerpt from the article above
'As an athlete, I am aiming to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. And I want to convey the appeal of BMX to many generations and spread it throughout Japan.'
That is the 'Professional BMX Rider Yuya Shiga,' who holds such aspirations and is active on the front lines.
He is from Minoh City and also serves as aMinoh City Special Ambassador. My first meeting with Mr. Shiga was half a year ago. My first impression was that he was a kind and humble young man.
However, when he gets on a BMX, he transforms into a fighting man. I felt drawn to that gap.
'There are limited places where you can ride a BMX, and actually, everyone is struggling with their practice environment.'
He also told me about that reality.
'A few years ago, I was in an accident and my career as an athlete was in jeopardy. But in my hospital bed, I had an intuition that I would become someone amazing.'
From there, after strenuous rehabilitation, he returned to the front lines.
I wanted someone like him to stand at the podium and engage with high school students, so I had him appointed as a special part-time lecturer at Minoh Higashi High School.
And on May 28th, we held a BMX class as an elective subject.
Even though it was the students' first time, they really seemed to enjoy it. There aren't many people who can create a space where students are so lively. This is likely something only Mr. Shiga could achieve.
'I want to start a BMX club.'
First-year members gathered, and Japan's first BMX club was born at Minoh Higashi High School!
I'm looking forward to their future activities.
Yuya-kun, who was sickly since he was little, had a learning disability, and then got into a major accident, yet overcame grueling rehabilitation to make a great comeback, is amazing.
Shohei Ohtani and Sota Fujii are wonderful, but there was a young person just as amazing right here close to me.
And his mother, who believed in Yuya-kun's strength, supported him, and continued to watch over him, is great!