Yarakashi Dojo #11 Beyond Regret: Executive Succession Edition

Hello everyone.

I am Tsurumi, the representative of Yarakashi Dojo.

In #10 Beyond Regret: Spring League Edition, I talked about how we finally reached the Spring League and, despite various troubles, managed to get promoted to Division 1 through team unity.

In #11, I will talk about our new goals after achieving promotion to Division 1, and about the process of handing over executive duties.

Although we managed to get promoted to Division 1 through team unity, our executive term continued until October. From early May, when the Spring League ended, we had five more months to go, and we had to manage the executive transition while also overcoming the Autumn League.

We were faced with such a difficult situation.

The need to set new goals

Once we achieved promotion to Division 1, we needed to shift our previous goals and set new ones.

There are two leagues, spring and autumn, but only the spring league allows participation in the national championship.

If that is the case, the most important thing was to hand over the team to the next generation while still in Division 1.

However, if we set "staying in Division 1" as a realistic goal,

the team's motivation would drop. And we couldn't just set a goal of finishing 2nd or 3rd.

On the other hand, setting a goal of reaching the Intercollegiate Championships was something the team couldn't even imagine.

So, we decided to set the goal of "winning Division 1."

Various voices could be heard.

Can we really win? Wouldn't it be more realistic to just aim to stay in the division?

Those were the kinds of voices we heard.

When a goal is achieved once, it becomes important to start everything over again.

The need to raise team unity once more

On the other hand, the team's unity, which had been high, was not something that would last forever.

Because we relied so much on our fourth-year seniors, there was a gap between our sense of wanting to be promoted and

the younger students' sense that they were the ones who worked hard.

And there was a sense of distrust centered around me, as I had been unable to perform well.

We decided to start over again in order to set the goal of 'winning the first division'.

The first thing we started with was improving the team's fundamental skills.

First of all, in order to compete in the first division, the gap we had was in fundamental skills.

We didn't get any results across the board in the league's individual matches.

In the first place, it was said that Shimane University was strong in team matches but couldn't get many results in individual matches.

So, to start winning outside of team matches, we decided to have everyone play singles to improve our serve receive, as well as the stroke power needed for both front and back court players.

And to make the younger students stronger, we made it a rule to always pair seniors with juniors.

Until then, we often paired people of the same year and made pairings with the future in mind, but

we changed all of that to cultivate a sense for matches in the first place.

On the other hand, we also had to develop the executive team.

Until now, everything was decided only by the executives, but we started moving forward with discussions with the captain candidate for the next term.

I talked to him about wanting him to act as another executive.

I started asking for his opinions on technical aspects that I couldn't strongly address myself.

There was also a major turning point for me as a player.

There was also a major change regarding myself.

The choice to return to being a front-court player again.

Although I was actually able to win one match as a back-court player in the spring league,

I became aware of what I should not do as a backcourt player.

And, because there was a junior who wanted to play singles,

and there were three first-year backcourt players, I felt that my clinging to that position

could potentially hinder the team's strength,

so I decided to play singles as a reserve while primarily playing as a frontcourt player.

However, when I participated in singles practice, I drew resentment from my juniors.

If Tsurumi-san is going to do stroke practice for frontcourt training, then I want to do it too.

I could hear voices saying things like that.

I was preparing with the team's future in mind, but it seems others thought I was playing selfishly.

Honestly, I was incredibly frustrated at the time.

I was thinking so much about the future. Why was I being called selfish?

I found myself thinking about things like that.

At that time, I was unable to think about how I was being perceived.

Under those circumstances, I decided to stop doing stroke practice and focus on frontcourt practice to prepare.

However, to ensure I didn't lose my touch even a little, I made sure to always handle the ball feeding.

What actually happened to the team?

In the autumn league, we achieved 4th place, managed to stay in the first division, and were able to hand it over to the juniors who would take on executive roles as a first-division team.

On the other hand, as a team, we had to ask the fourth-year students to step in and play,

and this time too, I was unable to make the choice to put myself out there.

Honestly, while there was an aspect of prioritizing the team's victory, the cause was that I was afraid I might be criticized again.

The league at the time was very intense, and the regulars were a bit exhausted, but

I couldn't make the choice to change things.

This is because no matter what I chose, there would be complaints.

And as a result, one person ended up suffering from heatstroke and poor physical condition.

This incident remains as a regret.

Even though I had been doing things with the mindset of changing many things until then,

I lacked the courage and ended up playing it safe.

Passing the torch to the next generation

On the other hand, I prepared the juniors to take over the executive roles.

When I left the practice to the juniors,

they started to notice various things.

Things like what was lacking, or why they were doing things a certain way, and so on.

I became able to understand what my seniors had said to me in the past.

However, while I offered light advice, I tried not to change things significantly.

I was conscious of acting only as an assistant so as not to hinder their growth.

When you try to change something, complaints will always arise.

At such times, it is important to listen to what is said while maintaining a strong will and having the courage to act.

I was able to realize the importance of these things.

Thank you for reading this far.

Next time, I will write about finally reaching my senior year, my fourth year, and how I faced job hunting, research, and club activities as my final year.

I would be very happy if you could read the next installment as well.

The Dojo of Blunders, Tsurumi