Hello! We are FC Nono, a social football team in Bihar, India, dedicated to empowering underprivileged children through football activities.
We are pleased to report that a professional football coach and FC Nono ambassador Mr. Katsumi Yusa ("Coach Yusa") visited the FC Nono’s activity sites for three days from August 15 to 17, 2023, to provide football instruction to children participating in FC Nono activities!
Profile of FC Nono Ambassador Mr. Katsumi Yusa
Coach Yusa began his career in 2007 with several professional football clubs in Japan, including Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and also played professionally in India for 9 years from 2011 to 2020. He then returned to Japanese clubs and retired in 2022. He is currently coaching as a professional coach for Fukushima United, a J3 team in Japan.
He is the first Japanese national to play in the Indian Super League!
During his time in India as a professional player, he played for a prestigious Indian club called Mohun Bagan, and is a legendary figure that is still talked about among fans today. We have a common connection of "India x Soccer" and he is supporting FC Nono as an Ambassador.
Coach Yusa is third from the right in the front row
(Quote from Coach Yusa's Instagram)
Purpose of Coach Yusa’s Visit
The purpose of Coach Yusa's visit this time is mainly for the following two reasons:
1) To show the children the joy of football and the motivation to continue playing soccer.
We thought that advice and guidance from Coach Yusa, who has a 9-year professional career in India, would further accelerate the motivation of the children participating in FC Nono’s activities.
2) To receive feedback on FCNono's practice menus and program design
It is very important to build appropriate practice menus according to the age, gender, and skills of the children in order to help them grow through our activities. Normally, FC Nono's representative, Mr. Hagihara, leads the development of their own practice menus, but we evaluated them from the perspective of a third party with experience and a license in order to improve and enhance their practices and programs.
Activities during Coach Yusa's Visit
Coach Yusa was able to teach and interact with FC Nono’s children for three days in August 2023. Hope you will enjoy the photos and the interaction!
Day 1 (August 15, 2023)
Coach Yusa was arriving by plane from Delhi, the capital of India, to FC Nono's activity site, so we went to Gaya Airport to pick him up. For many of the children, it was their first time to go to the airport.
Snap shot in front of the airport!
Although Coach Yusa arrived in India (Delhi) from Japan the day before and he had only a small break, he immediately joined our activities.
Coach Yusa arrived on Tuesday, which was the day of our weekly “Kids’ Coaching Project”. On that leg of the trip, he traveled to a village in a remote area with us to mainly monitor the above project and also provide guidance.
Immediately, he joined the circle of local children and warmed up together.
His communication skills were excellent!
Snapshot after practice!
Day 2 (August 16, 2023)
On the second day, we held two practice sessions, one in the early morning and the other in the evening, for the children who have been participating in FC Nono practice on an ongoing basis. Since these children have been practicing for nearly two years (since the establishment of FC Nono), we focused more on improving their football skills.
Early morning practice. The children are earnestly listening to the guidance of the experienced Coach Yusa!
Evening practice on the second day
Coach Yusa is a passionate coach who puts his heart and soul into each and every practice. Children were impressed by the way he conducts his coaching.
The children are caught up in Coach Yusa's enthusiasm and practice proceeds in a cheerful atmosphere from start to finish!
Day 3 (August 17, 2023)
On the third day, we originally planned to conduct practice sessions for the same target group as on the second day. However, due to the unfortunate downpour, we were unable to conduct the originally planned practice sessions and focused on learning the technical improvement.
Players are required to play even in heavy rain*. Practice was conducted in the form of mini-games! The condition of the ground was not good in the heavy rain because of not being able to control the movement of the ball. But, the children ran around as much as they could because of being taught by Coach Yusa, who enjoyed himself more than anyone else.
*Football is a sport that is played in rain or snow, so we do not cancel games or practice on those grounds. As soon as we recognize thunderclouds, we make a decision to suspend or cancel the game for safety.
Learnings from Coach Yusa
The children, as well as the FC Nono coaches, learned a lot from Coach Yusa, including detailed technical instruction and communication. There is no end to what we learned during his visit, but the most important thing we learned as a team was to "Always Give your Best"!
From the first day to the last day, Coach Yusa consistently shouted these words.
Whether playing football, studying, or doing anything else, his message: "It doesn't matter how good or bad you are, just try to do the best you can" seemed to have left a big impression on the children.
The children of FC Nono are working hard in their daily lives and practices amid many adversities, but by continuing to do their best in what they can do now, even in such circumstances, they can open the way and get closer to achieving their dreams.
We FC Nono coaches also learned that there are things that we, surroundings of the children who are doing their best, can do and support them.
Children who give their all × Supporters who support them
We believe that the combination of these two elements will bring us closer to the realization of our team's vision, "Realization of a society where efforts are rewarded”!
After final practice with Coach Yusa!
Thank you for Your Interest in our Activities!
How did you like today’s article about Yusa Coach’s Visit to FC Nono?
FC Nono is supported by many people in various fields to support the growth of children.
This time, Coach Yusa came all the way from Japan to visit FC Nono's activity sites to provide direct soccer guidance. We hope this report will give you a glimpse of his visit!
Also, Mr. Daisuke Tsutsumi, CEO of Quartet Communications, Inc. accompanied Coach Yusa on this trip to observe our activities and interact with the children! Thank you very much, Coach Yusa and CEO Tsutsumi!
In front of the gate of the Mahabodhi Temple, an iconic World Heritage site of our activity area! (Coach Yusa is on the left and CEO Tsutsumi is on the right)
【How to DONATE】You can Donate FC Nono through the online platform “Syncable”!
We are happy to announce that we recently opened an account on the platform “Syncable”, which is an online fundraising platform dedicated to non-profit and non-governmental organizations, run by STYZ Inc.
In the past, we have had several interests about direct donations to our organization and similar inquiries. All of us here at FC Nono are happy to finally have this Syncable platform set up to be able to accept donations from both Japan and overseas supporters.
For the details of direct donation to us, please check the link below:
We ask for your ongoing support toward our future activities through this new Syncable donation platform.
Please let us know of any inquiries that might arise regarding this method!
Thank you always,
Team FC Nono
ABOUT FC Nono
FC Nono is a football organization set up to tackle social problems and dedicated to social change in developing countries. As a charitable and social project, our mission is to improve inclusive living conditions of young girls/boys of BodhGaya city, Bihar State in India who are forced to live in poverty through our wide range of social activities focused on health, education and human resources development towards sustainable livelihoods. We reach out to the youths in impoverished families, prison, the disabled and street children.
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