Kokoyakyu

I’m a huge baseball fan. Lately I had the opportunity to watch the PBS special, Kokoyakyu, on the annual Japanese national high school baseball tournament. Several things struck me as I watched:

1. The depth of the passion and seriousness of the cheering squads, which are drawn from the entire student body, train just as hard as the baseball teams, and accompany the teams to their games. Watching them before the games, in the stands, and after the games is fascinating. The cheering and enthusiasm in the stands matches what you might see at the best college football home games, particularly as the tournament progresses. After each game the players formally thank and bow to the cheering squads.
2. The phenomenal coaching that occurs. Not from a baseball sense, although that is commendable too, but from a personal relationship sense. The coaches clearly view molding these young men into future citizens as their primary responsibility - they’re not just training baseball players.
3. The pressure and responsibility that both the teams and the cheering squads feel as they represent their schools. They take this very seriously.

If you’re a baseball fan, this is definitely worth an hour of your time.