Last Sunday I went to a tennis tournament to watch two of my students play. Unlike the recent volleyball tournament at Ariake Junior High, this event was all the way in Kumamoto. In fact, it was the All Kumamoto Tournament for third grade junior high girls. Kanna and Yurika, the team captain, had qualified for pairs and I made the trip working under the assumption that they would be the only two going. I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of my third grade tennis girls were there and even got the chance to meet some of their parents.
The tournament began at 9:00, meaning I had to leave the house around 7:00 to make it on time. The drive wasn’t too bad and it turns out the tennis courts are pretty close to the Kumamoto Driving Center, a place I’ve become intimately familiar with by now. I arrived with about 10 minutes to spare and found our team without too much trouble. I had told Kanna and Yurika on several occasions that I would be trying to make it to their game and that I was excited to watch them play, but I’m not sure if the other girls expected me to be there. Truth be told, I was quite possibly the only foreigner there and I don’t think too many ALTs make appearances at events so far away from their home towns. I got several nervous giggles as I said hello to the gawking passerbyes.
I’ve already spoken at length about my third grade tennis girls’ English ability. As a group, they were really impressive. Tsukasa was able to explain how the games worked without relying too much on Japanese and Ayumi, Kanna, and Karumi told me how everyone came to the tournament. Naturally, I tried to speak to them as much as I could in English, but had to switch to Japanese a few times to help them. I think the parents were really impressed, asking the kids if they understood what I said to them. I spoke to the parents a little too, though I used Japanese wherever I could. They were all really nice and I was able to ask Tsukasa’s mother which kid belonged to which parent.
Kanna and Yurika were amazing! I wasn’t sure what to expect from them since I’ve spent most of my time with the first graders, who are still learning how to play. They won the first game and only had about half an hour to rest before the second. Yurika had to get bandaids put on her arm because she had dove for a low ball early in the first set. It looked pretty bad, but I don’t think it was bleeding. Though they won the first set in the second game, they ended up losing overall. I could tell that they were both pretty upset about it, but they took it really well. I think it really helped to have all their teammates there to cheer them up, too.
I asked Ayumi what they would do now, and she said they would eat and then go home. Usually this is when I would leave, but I was given a bento by Tsukasa’s mother, who told me to eat it. As far as bentos go, it was pretty good and I enjoyed the extra time I got to spend with everyone. The kids had all packed small food like onigiri in their sports bags and ate alongside me on the bleachers or nearby in the grass. After we ate, the parents told all the kids to line up for a picture together. I had tried to get a group shot earlier, but some of the kids seemed really shy, so it hadn’t turned out great. I’m really glad the parents encouraged them because I got an excellent picture of everyone with big smiles on their faces.
One final thing to note was that Asami, a girl I had never seen before, was at the tournament. I didn’t feel comfortable asking about it at the time, but found out later that she is what’s called a hikikomori, a person who chooses to stay at home most, if not all, of the time. When I talked to my JTE about her the next day at work, she typed it into her translator, which gave the nearest English word: recluse. My JTE asked if we had that in America and I told her no, and that students who tried to stay home from school too often got the attention of their truant officers. She found this really interesting.
I’ve often wondered if we had any students like this and now am even more curious as to why Asami chooses not to come to school. I know a lot of the time it has to do with bullying or an illness. Whatever the reason, I am somewhat saddened that there is a student in my area I won’t get a chance to know. During the game, she was really quiet around me and would turn her head whenever I took a picture but was smiling and talking with the other girls. She seemed like a good kid.
Even though it’s essentially more “work” for me to go to things like this, I always have a really good time. I probably won’t make such long trips a habit, but I could definitely see going again and I know that this one was a special case. More often than not my kids play their games in and around Amakusa. At the moment, I don’t have any plans to attend another tournament, but I have heard that the first grade tennis team’s first game is happening soon and that’s definitely something I’m excited about.
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