The American School in Japan Winter 2019-20 Sports Recognition Program was held in the ASIJ theater today. Athletic director Brian Kelley waxed poetic about the winter sports teams, which included wrestling, swim, boys soccer, field hockey, cheer, and girls and boys basketball. He specifically mentioned the growth of the wrestling team, noting that the wrestling program is now the largest of all winter sports.
The Booster Chair, Heidi Regent, presented Sportsmanship awards for all the JV teams, and the coaches presented the varsity awards. Wrestling awards were as follows: JV Sportsmanship: Aaryan Most Valuable Player: Rin Most Improved: Kaisei Sportsmanship: Michiru Coach's Award: Ira Starting with Rin and the MVP, there was likely no serious debate on this award winner. Winning Far East and Kanto championships two years in a row, both undefeated seasons, is rare. Being so good you're recruited by colleges is rare - I think there are, at most, four seniors throughout the Far East who will wrestle at the next level. Unprecedented this season in the entire Far East, and at ASIJ as long as I've been keeping records, is the dominance that he showed. He took just 21 minutes and 3 seconds to win 20 matches. He scored 180 points in this time, giving him an otherworldly 8.6 points per minute. The most incredible part is that he wrestled all his matches without allowing a point - NOT A SINGLE POINT ALLOWED. That unparalleled accomplishment is something I've never seen before and may never see again. What a treat it has been to have him in the wrestling room with the mere mortals that make up the rest of the team. His teaching skill as team captain was a huge bonus, too. Other stats: - Overall record: 20-0 (1st) - Dual meet record: 7-0 (1st, tied) - KPASS record: 4-0 1.000 (best win %, tied) - Technical falls: 16 (1st, by far) - Most exposures: 38 (1st, tied) There were many worthy candidates for Most Improved this season. The winner, Kaisei, is a freshman who started the season at 101. However, he only went 3-4 in his first 7 matches, with two of those wins coming from foreits. In other words, he appeared to be over his head on varsity. In his last 8 matches, though, he went 5-3, with wins over opponents who had bested him earlier in the season from Kinnick, Kadena, and St. Mary's. His win over the St. Mary's foe came after 3 previous losses to the Titan, in his last match of the season. It caused the team to beat St. Mary's for 3rd and finish ahead of them in the Far East. Kaisei also beat Kinnick, despite previous losses to him, in the last dual meet of the league regular season that enabled ASIJ to co-win the conference championship for the first time since 2007. The Sportsmanship award going to Michiru was not surprising. After spending his freshman year on varsity, taking 4th at Far East and 3rd at Kanto, he lost his early season wrestle off this year. His debut performance on JV was a loss. After that, when pressed into varsity action, he lost. Including a single win against a backup wrestler from Zama, his season started with a soul-crushing 1-4 record, with all the losses via pin. Michiru did not stop coming to practice. He did not show a "crushed-soul" attitude. He kept practicing hard and kept his good attitude. He finished the season on a 5-0 tear but, more importantly, he kept himself on an even keel and used his experience - in wrestling and in winning and losing - to help his fellow teammates. He's pretty much the picture of the "right way" to do things. The Coach's Award went to Ira. Winning smile, leader, teacher, attitude, effort, performance, results - his record over his four years of wrestling contains some great wins, some incredible almost-wins, and a lot of "wins" in places not determined by official referees. He grew in his time as a wrestler, and he lifted those around him along the way. Continuing that this year, he was a great example to the younger wrestlers, a great consoler, a great encourager, and a great leader. Ira was the glue that strengthened the bonds between teammates and welcomed new wrestlers and freshmen. Aaryan received the JV Sportsmanship award. He attended all the practices held over Christmas break. When he was injured, he still came to practice to help and encourage in any way he still could. When offered an opportunity to represent the team on varsity, he jumped at it. He knew when to socialize and when to take the work seriously. He took 4th at the Yokota tournament, filled with varsity wrestlers, and 2nd in the JV Kanto Finals. He will be a great asset on the team for the next 3 years. After the awards were all presented, and the winter sports participants had separated into sport-specific rooms, the juniors presented the seniors - Ira, Yo, Keibun, Rin - with some parting words of thanks and big cards filled with messages from team members. Coach Carlson gave a nice summary of the team from three years ago (small, weak, individual) to now (big, strong, together) and his time with each of the seniors. Ira and Rin provided some parting thoughts with their teammates. Ira spoke of his bond with the team and his feeling that "this is my home." He urged the returning Mustangs to remember that their growth potential is limitless. Referring to the incredible success of the last two years, he exhorted them to remember that it's up to them to keep the team strong. Rin spoke of how difficult a sport wrestling is, but that his motivation came from the team, "You put the fun in wrestling for me." He talked about his time with the wrestling team being the best experience of his life and that, even though it was nice to have lots of success (he had a LOT of success), he was most proud of the sportsmanship and respect that everyone showed, that manifest itself in winning the Team Sportsmanship award for the second year in a row. The coaches reminded the team of the goals from "the whiteboard" after the small team had just finished their season (see 2019-20 COACHES tab for a picture the whiteboard). Next year is the 3rd year, and there are some lofty goals set for the team. The ability to reach those goals will only come from work in the offseason. There were also expressions of appreciation for the many parents and supporters, for the managers, and for the team parents. The success of the team was built on many, many contributions from many, many people. I echo my heartfelt gratitude for every mother who doesn't know the first thing about the sport and doesn't really like their boy being twisted up and smooshed into the mat but showed up to cheer him on anyway and for everyone who brought food, took pictures, sent emails, and everything else. Adam Carlson and Rei Suzuki really do have something special going on here, and I'm glad we're a part of it.
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