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SAGAMIHARA FAMILY HOUSING AREA, Japan – About 150 American and Japanese youngsters participated in a soccer and cheerleading clinic right here Friday to reinforce their cultural understanding.
The clinic marked the primary occasion collectively hosted by U.S. Army Garrison Japan and Zama Junior Chamber International.
To kick off the occasion, Jenifer L. Peterson, deputy commander of USAG Japan, thanked everybody for becoming a member of or volunteering for the free clinic, which additionally had skilled soccer gamers from Ebina Minerva run drills for the kids.
“I am happy to see so many participants from the local community in Zama City,” she mentioned. “We hope that we will deepen our friendship even further with our local community through this sports exchange.”
Hayato Inoue, president of Zama JCI, mentioned he appreciated the garrison for serving to maintain the occasion on the sports activities subject subsequent to Arnn Elementary School.
“We’d like to provide such opportunities for children in the U.S. and Japan to interact [with] each other and be exposed to different cultures and languages, and give them a global perspective,” he mentioned. “That’s why we organized this event.”
Children from first by way of sixth grades at Arnn Elementary and native Japanese colleges had been invited to attend the occasion.
Participants had been cut up into a number of groups to run numerous drills, resembling passing and catching a soccer and operating a 40-yard sprint, whereas one other group of youngsters practiced cheers on the opposite facet of the sphere.
Hidekazu Kanmuri introduced his daughter and son to conduct the soccer drills taught by the professional soccer gamers in addition to Morale, Welfare and Recreation workers members.
He mentioned his youngsters realized of the occasion after a flyer was distributed at their college, including that his daughter actually needed to return since she has a powerful curiosity in American tradition.
“I want my children to have an international experience,” Kanmuri mentioned. “And since it is nearby, I used this opportunity for my children to experience this bilateral event.”
Brynn Riley, partner of a 1st Corps (Forward) Soldier, had two of her sons do the soccer drills whereas her daughter carried out cheers that had been later demonstrated to the gang to conclude the occasion.
“I feel like we kind of live in a bubble here,” she mentioned, “so when we do these bilateral things it’s nice for [our children] to get to meet Japanese kids.”
Riley mentioned her household will typically attend open-post occasions to supply her youngsters the prospect to broaden their understanding of Japanese tradition.
Despite the language barrier, Riley mentioned her youngsters will even befriend random Japanese youngsters additionally at these occasions and introduce them to her.
“They always come back and say, ‘This is my friend,’ and I ask, ‘What’s their name?’ and they say, ‘I don’t know, but they’re my friend,’” she mentioned, laughing. “It’s good for them to see that kids are kids regardless of where we are.”
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