Fureai Sports Class Held at Kawasaki City Hiebara Elementary School

Ayaka Daikuen and Naka Hasebe, players belonging to NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki, held a Fureai Sports Class at Kawasaki City Hiebara Elementary School in Kawasaki City.

R-CONNECTION

Activity: Fureai Sports Class held at Kawasaki City Hiebara Elementary School Date: Friday, June 5, 2026 Location: Kawasaki City Hiebara Elementary School Participants: Player Daikuen, Player Hasebe

First, the players introduced themselves, and then everyone did warm-up exercises to the energetic calls of the children.

After that, the players explained the basic volleyball techniques (underhand pass and overhand pass) and then moved on to practice. For the underhand pass, the emphasis was on "moving the ball using your knees like an elevator without swinging your arms," and for the overhand pass, the key points were "making an onigiri shape above your head and gently sending the ball upwards as if lifting it to the sky."

Libero Daikuen teaching basic techniques

They also practiced circle passing, where participants practiced connecting the ball with their teammates while keeping the points mentioned at the beginning in mind. Furthermore, teams competed to see how many consecutive passes they could make in a circle, and each team was very excited.

In the subsequent spike practice, Player Hasebe first performed a demonstration. The students cheered loudly at the powerful play by the top athletes. The key points for spiking were emphasized as "swinging your arms widely and jumping high" and "catching the ball at your highest possible hitting point."

Finally, they practiced through a game format, and the students actively applied what they learned from Players Daikuen and Hasebe that day, with many seen chasing the ball and calling for tosses in loud voices. Player Daikuen also joined them on the court, and it was a very exciting time as they enjoyed playing together.

The students expressed their delight with comments such as, "I play volleyball in class, but I couldn't do it well before, and I can do it now after being taught today," "It was amazing to see the play of professional players up close," and "It was so much fun. I want to play more volleyball."

At the end of the class, the players conveyed a message: "Volleyball is a sport where you aim for points while connecting the ball with your teammates, and it is a very fun game. We hope that everyone will come to love volleyball. Also, please come and watch our matches at Todoroki Arena." In addition, the players presented each student with a team clear file, and the class concluded with the children feeling the fun of volleyball while also feeling close to the top athletes.

Player Hasebe earnestly answering questions from the children

Through activities like this, NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki will continue to promote efforts to let more children know the joy of volleyball and pass that enjoyment on to future generations.