Posted on: Friday, August 6, 2004
U12 boys team to play in tournament in Japan
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Advertiser Staff
A 12-under boys select soccer team from Hawai'i will be participating in an international tournament next week in Japan.
The Saitama International Soccer Tournament will be held next Thursday through Sunday in Saitama, located outside of Tokyo.
A field of 40 teams from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Germany and several Japanese prefectures will compete in the event.
The 20-player Hawai'i team leaves Monday and arrives Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. in Tokyo. Head coach Kenji Hasegawa said the two days off before the tournament will be enough time to adjust to the new surroundings.
"It's easy to fix the jet lag," Hasegawa said. "I think the kids will fix it."
Hasegawa said this trip is an opportunity to promote local soccer and hopefully invite Japanese teams to play here.
"Hawai'i soccer is really improving," Hasegawa pointed out. "We have a big facility like Waipi'o (Peninsula Soccer Stadium) and we should advertise Hawaiian soccer more."
The trip costs more than $1,200 each and virtually all of it is paid out of pocket by team members. The team was selected from three different tryouts over a two-month period.
Hasegawa, who is originally from Saitama, said he and the team are excited about the trip.
"I can show my prefecture to them," Hasegawa said. "My friends will come to the tournament to watch the Hawai'i kids play."
