June 7, 2010
The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team currently is touring and playing contests over in Japan. The Irish left on June 2 and are slated to return to the United States on June 10. John Heisler, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Media and Broadcast Relations at Notre Dame, is blogging from the journey.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
With the 13-hour time difference from South Bend to Tokyo, the Notre Dame contingent lost half a day on the 12-hour flight from Chicago to Japan. The American flight from Chicago (15 people) arrived about 3:20 p.m. Tokyo time, and almost two hours later the flight from New York (47 people) landed. The two buses headed toward midtown Tokyo as the sun went down on a sunny, 75-degree day – with sights seen out the bus windows ranging from traditional rice paddies to the Tokyo Disney Resort. The delegation from New York was slightly delayed because freshman Bobby Smith’s bag was temporarily headed on a crate to the Philippines before it was intercepted at the Narita Airport. Two lacrosse sticks remained in New York but will arrive in another day. Matt Ciambella is dealing with missing passport issues and will arrive in a few days. Juniors Tom Connor and Ryan Alexander missed the trip because they are starting summer internships.
After checking in at the Tokyo Price, the Irish delegation headed to a open-air welcome reception at Gonpachi, a traditional Japanese eatery in the Roppongi district. The event was sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of Tokyo, with president Bill Moran making welcoming remarks. The Irish party enjoyed a variety of sushi and other traditional Japanese fare. It was safe to say some level of exhaustion set in, with the group having been up for more than 24 hours straight by the time the Irish returned to the hotel.
Friday, June 4, 2010
After a bountiful buffet breakfast (both Western options and traditional Japanese elements) at the hotel, the Notre Dame traveling party spent a day of Japanese culture immersion.
First, the Irish headed to Tower Hall Funabori in Edogawa where they spent the afternoon learning about calligraphy and tea ceremonies. After a quick lunch of sandwiches and lemon iced tea (after everybody took off their shoes), half the team headed to calligraphy class – with the players sitting in three rows with paper and ink in front of them. With Keiichi Takei providing the instruction with a staff of six, the Irish learned to spell out the word Nippon in Japanese characters. The bamboo brushes – some thick, some slender – are key to the process since the brushstroke is critical to the result. The Notre Dame group practiced on rice paper (smooth on the front side, rough on the back), before putting a final version on a heavier piece of souvenir art board. The calligraphers were presented special Notre Dame alumni medallions for their help – and they helped the Irish players add their own names to their boards.
Next came the tradition-rich tea ceremony, with the green tea (and the Japanese sweets that came with it) standing for harmony, tranquility, purity and respect. The group received instruction on specifics of picking up and positioning the tea bowl and how to drink it with the bowl decoration facing the right direction. After you are finished drinking, you use your fingers to wipe the bowl where you drank out of it, then you shift the bowl so the decoration faces out – then you show “appreciation” to the tea bowl. Instruction came from the Edogawa International Friendship Society (check out photos at http://home.cilas.net/~c241371/).
Next the team headed to Edogawa City for a welcome reception, also involving the Loyola (Md.) women’s team that also is participating in the Friendship Games. The mayor of Edogawa City spoke, as did a representative of the Japanese emperor, along with Japan Lacrosse Association president Hiroshi Kimura, and coaches of both the Notre Dame and Loyola teams.
Following the reception, members of the Notre Dame team headed out by train on an individual basis to stay with players and families of the JLA. Several players traveled as many as two hours on the subway to reach their host family homes. Notre Dame players brought their own gifts for host families, as well as the alumni medallions and some Notre Dame lacrosse hats for use at the games themselves.
Among those on the trip from South Bend is Linda O’Leary, whose late husband Rich formerly was both the club and first varsity head men’s lacrosse coach for the Irish. Rich passed away last July.
A longtime Japan resident is former Irish goaltender Rob Simpson. Irish coach Kevin Corrigan and his family stayed with Simpson on Friday night. Next up on Saturday are games with the Japan Under-20 team as well as one with the Japanese National squad.
And one leftover from Thursday – Irish goaltender Scott Rodgers, who definitely qualifies as outsized in Japan, ran into a couple of sumo wrestlers wearing their robes in a Roppongi club. The Sumo experts thought Rodgers might be a candidate for their area of expertise.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
This morning brought plenty of overnight anecdotes from the various home stays by the Notre Dame players and coaches in the homes of the Japanese players. Assistant coach Brian Fisher and his wife Lauren and trainer Mandy Merritt stayed in the vacant Roppongi apartment belonging to German-born Formula Nippon/Super GT driver Andre Lotterer who is racing in Paris for Audi Team Sports Joest. Meanwhile, one Irish player spent the evening with a Japanese player who spoke no English at all (a Japanese phrase book helped), another had a heavy-duty commute to today’s game involving six different trains – and a third made a stop Friday evening at a hot mineral springs.
Everyone met at 10 this morning at Rinkai Field for the first of two games in overcast but pleasant conditions. With graduated seniors on the sidelines, the young Irish took on the Japanese Under-20 team and emerged with a 12-2 victory. The home team wore yellow jerseys that said ’09 East Youth. The game was played on, essentially, a dirt field of volcanic rock – with baseball and soccer games happening on adjacent fields and a ferris wheel nearby. The teams played two 20-minute running time halves (with orange balls), with Colt Power playing in goal in the first half and John Kemp in the second. Nick Beattie and Sean Rogers had two goals each, Eric Keppeler and Max Pfeifer a pair each – and Ryan Foley had three. Andy Will accounted for a single goal. The Japan goals came from Fukazawa and Sone. After the game, the Japanese team did a one-two-three cheer and lifted Irish coach Kevin Corrigan into the air three times. The teams took a joint team photo after the game.
After a quick lunch of Subway turkey sandwiches and Lipton iced tea in cartons, the Irish took a short bus ride over to Edogawa City Track & Field Stadium for a 1 p.m. game against the Japanese National squad. By afternoon it was warm and sunny. The Japanese wore nifty black jerseys with white numbers and royal blue trim, with white shorts and blue helmets. This second game was played on a grass field and involved four 20-minute periods of running time. Huge signs on the far side of the field read “Smarten Up! Be Stronger, Be Tougher, Than Ever!” in both English and Japanese. Four officials, including one female, handled the contest. Most of the seniors returned to action this afternoon.
This time senior Brendan Moore played the first half in goal, with Power handling the third period and Kemp the fourth. The Irish led 3-2 after one period, 5-4 at half, 9-6 after three periods and ended up winning 13-8. Notre Dame won it with three goals from Foley, two each from Zach Brenneman, Rogers, Beattie, Steve Murphy, plus single tallies by Neal Hicks and Pat Cotter.
After the contest the coaching staff and players returned to Rinkai Field for a one-hour clinic for 100 college freshmen. Then it was back to host family homes for a second evening for the Irish players. On Sunday, the Irish again take on the Japanese National team in the International Friendship Games – with opening ceremonies set for noon at the same Edogawa Stadium where at least 7,000 fans are expected to attend. The Loyola women’s team plays at 1 p.m., followed by the Irish at 3 p.m.
Japan has some 20,000 individuals playing lacrosse at the college level, but no youth programs and only a handful of private high school programs.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team rolled out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first 15 minutes, then held on thanks mostly to its defense to edge the Japanese National team 7-6 this afternoon in the nightcap of the International Friendship Games at the Edogawa City Stadium in front of more than 6,000 spectators. In the first game the Loyola (Md.) women’s team defeated Japan 13-10.
Japan’s star attack Mikisuke Sekine (he had five goals against the Irish Saturday in their “friendly” preview match) opened the scoring with a goal a minute in. But the Irish bounced back with four straight tallies – by Nick Beattie, Neal Hicks, Ty Kimball and then Ryan Foley for a 4-1 advantage that Notre Dame never relinquished. Mikisuke added a second goal, then a third by Wataru Tsugu, before Zach Brenneman scored for the Irish with a minute left in the opening half (the teams played four periods of 20 minutes running time each) to make it 5-3 at half. Beattie’s second goal took it to 6-3 for the Irish before a second goal by Wataru made it 6-4. Japan’s Jun Motoshita cut the margin to 6-5 on a man-up conversion with eight minutes left, before Kimball’s second goal for the Irish took it to 7-5 with 5:30 on the clock. Japan’s Shinya Maruyama accounted for the final goal with 12 seconds to go. Scott Rodgers played all the way in goal for Notre Dame.
The stadium featured a carnival atmosphere, with food vendors offering all sorts of Japanese favorites (noodles all the way to hot dogs). There was World Series-like bunting all over the stadium on a mostly sunny 75-degree day. Signage on the field featured Toyota, Konica Minolta and several other sponsors in Japanese. A lacrosse festival featured a variety of lacrosse vendors selling equipment and gear to the mostly youthful crowd.
There was a full band present for the lengthy opening ceremonies at noon that featured a handful of speeches with all four teams on the field standing behind their team placards. By the end of the day, trading of gear meant there were lots of Japanese sporting Irish wear and many of the Irish players wearing Japanese lacrosse items. Local newspaper Asahi Shimbum presented plaques to both American teams prior to the contest. Both national anthems were played. A group of young girls in blue shorts and crazy outfits made all sorts of noise and sing-songy cheers every time the Japan women’s team scored. The Japanese players bowed to the officials as they were introduced. After both games the two coaches were interviewed with live microphones, with translations provided. The games both were taped for television broadcast.
Said Irish coach Kevin Corrigan after the game, “You should be very proud of your Japanese team. They play hard and smart and they should do well at the World Championship in July. This has been a fantastic experience for our players – the people have been so gracious and so helpful. I’d like to thank all the fans who came out today as well as all those who played a part in hosting these games. It’s been wonderful and we look forward to spending a few more days experiencing your country.” Said Japan coach Yoshihiro Okubo, “Notre Dame has a really good defense and we had trouble breaking through.”
The two American teams finished the evening sharing pizza at an outdoor restaurant adjacent to their Tokyo Prince Hotel.
Monday, June 7, 2010
After two straight days of games, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team returned to the Japan cultural scene today in Tokyo, with a long day that included sightseeing, shopping and baseball.
First, the Irish contingent boarded its bus at 8 a.m. and took the hour-long ride to Kamakura, south of Tokyo and hard by the Pacific Ocean shoreline. The first stop was the Great Buddha, as it’s known, or more properly the Amita-Buddha-Daibutso. It was cast in 1252, stands 13.35 meters high and weighs 121 tons. It cost 20 yen to enter the Buddha, which sits on serene, peaceful grounds surrounded by trees. Next, the Irish walked down the street and up the hill to see the Hase-Dera Temple, which offered a beautiful overhead view of the coastline. There were several places where visitors could purchase wooden votives and write their own messages on the back to leave behind. At the shrine to Bentendo, the goddess of feminine beauty, Sean Rogers posted a votive that read “Lacrosse Makes Friends,” the theme of the week from the Japanese Lacrosse Association, and signed his name. Finally, the bus headed to downtown Kamakura where the squad spent more than two hours wandering the town and having lunch.
After the hour-long trip back to town, the bus parked in the Shibuya area that qualifies as the Rodeo Drive of Tokyo. After two more hours of exploring, the Irish group walked 15 minutes to Jingu Stadium and caught a few innings of the Tokyo Yacult Swallows baseball game against the Chibe Lotte Marine squad. The atmosphere was lively, to say the least, particular because of a huge contingent of crazy loud Chibe fans. Both sets of outfield bleachers were packed with the most vocal fans in the facility. They continually jumped up and down and did wild cheers, especially when their teams made plays. A grand-slam home run by Chibe carried the day. Meanwhile, the Notre Dame players and coaches enjoyed noodles and rice and sausages (and even KFC) at the game, then took the subway five stops back to their Tokyo Prince home.
There were a handful of leftover anecdotes from Irish player home stays with the Japanese players: — Trever Sipperly stayed in a home with 13 people and ended up taking a team photo with all of them when he left. — The mother in the home where Max Pfeifer stayed teaches English, so she invited her students to come by and practice with Max. — Jake Marmul and his Japanese player dropped a younger daughter off at school and the Japanese girl proceeded to parade Jake around the school to show him off. — Nick Beattie’s host family thought the Irish attackman, who has longish hair, needed a hair dryer. Since no one in the family spoke English, one family member drew a picture of a hair dryer to see if he wanted one to use – he didn’t.