Photo By Sgt. Carlos Jimenez | A Japanese little league baseball player bats during the Youth Sports’ Friendly...... read more read more
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Japanese and American families bonded as they watched their children play together during a Friendly Baseball Tournament at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Aug. 19, 2017.
The Marine Corps Community Service’s Semper Fit Program and Youth Sports held the tournament to encourage a positive and healthy relationship with the Japanese locals through sports.
“We hope that the children and families involved were able to gain a greater appreciation of our host nation and a better understanding of their culture with sports,” said Nina Rivera, a recreation assistant with Youth Sports. "We hope that our Japanese competitors were also able to understand our culture and how much fun we have with these sports and at these events.”
The tournament featured four teams, three Japanese and one American. The Iwakuni All Stars played local teams from Hiroshima, Saeki and Okayama. The Iwakuni All Stars is comprised of players, aged 10-15, selected by coaches from teams on the air station.
The Okayama team defeated Saeki in the final game, winning 4-0.
Although the Iwakuni All Stars did not come first, the tournament was still considered a success. Even those who played said the event was a worthwhile experience.
“It was fun because we don’t really get to do this a lot; we usually just play against Americans that live on base,” said Jacob Shadle, third baseman with the Iwakuni All Stars. “I was excited to be playing against Japanese people.”
Stephanie Brown, the athletic director of Semper Fit, said the event was a great opportunity to act as a good ambassador and share an experience with the locals who attended.
“It’s just a really fun day,” said Brown. “It’s not about the competition. They’re just getting together to play and have a good time.”
This is the first time Youth Sports hosted a friendly baseball tournament. Rivera says they hope it’s the first of many to come, and she attributed the success of the tournament to their sponsors and the volunteers who helped throughout the day.
“It was a great success,” said Rivera. “We had many great sponsors whom we greatly appreciate and hope they will support us next year along with many more to make our future events even greater than this year’s tournament. Our Japanese competitors showed their appreciation to us by cleaning up after themselves and politely saying ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ to our All Stars team’s families.”
For more information on upcoming events, contact Youth Sports at 253-3239 or 253-5777.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2017 01:20 |
| Story ID: | 245533 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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