Introduction | What Used to Feel Normal
When I was playing football in Japan as a junior high and high school student, there were things that simply felt normal to me:
- We weren’t allowed to drink water during summer training (it was over 35°C every day, and many players collapsed from heatstroke)
- Training ran from 9am to 5pm, for more than a week straight
- After a training match, we would run for over two hours
- As punishment, the whole team had to shave their heads
Writing it out now, some readers may be surprised. But at the time, this was just “the way things were.”
Since then, I’ve played overseas and now coach children in New Zealand, and that has given me the chance to look at what used to feel normal from the outside. In this article, I’d like to think as objectively as I can about the strict coaching that has existed in Japan’s junior high and high school football: why it exists, and what it gives and takes away.
This is not an article to criticise specific coaches or schools. Nor am I saying that “everything about Japanese coaching is wrong.”
1｜Why Does “Strict Coaching” Exist?
I don’t think there is a single reason. I believe several factors overlap.
① The history of “konjō-ron” (spirit-over-science thinking)
In Japanese sport, the belief that “enduring hardship has value in itself” has been deeply rooted for a long time. The way school education and club activities (bukatsu) developed as places to build discipline and perseverance also plays a big part.
② A culture of “collective responsibility”
This is the idea of treating one person’s mistake or violation as the responsibility of everyone. Making the whole team shave their heads was a perfect expression of this. I touched on this in an earlier article (10. Collective Responsibility), but while taking responsibility as a team has its good sides, there is also the risk that the individual disappears from view.
③ Circumstances on the coaches’ side
In environments with large squads and few coaches, “ease of management” tends to take priority. Strict rules and rigid hierarchies can work as tools for keeping a large group in order. And coaches who were raised that way themselves pass the same methods on to the next generation.
2｜What Is Said to Be the Benefits
It wouldn’t be fair to only list the negatives, so here are the positives that are often attributed to strict coaching.
- Mental toughness: The experience of not running away and seeing things through when it’s hard does stay with you
- Discipline, punctuality, manners: What you learn there can be useful long after you leave football
- Bonds with teammates: The friendships formed by sharing hardship together can last a lifetime. I’m still close with teammates from those days
But there’s a question I want to pause on here: were these gained because of the strictness, or could they have been gained in other ways too?
3｜The Downsides and Limits
① Safety
There is no sports-science basis for restricting water during exercise. Dehydration reduces concentration and decision-making, and raises the risk of heat illness. In Japan too, organisations such as the Japan Sport Association have issued guidelines on exercising in the heat, calling for frequent hydration and for stopping exercise in dangerous conditions.
② Development
Long hours, high frequency, and running while already fatigued raise the risk of injury and overuse. More importantly, you can’t learn high-quality play when you’re exhausted. Football is a game of decisions, but what gets trained in extreme fatigue is less decision-making and more “the ability to endure.”
③ The risk of producing players who don’t think
When punishment and fear become the motivation, a player’s attention shifts from “getting better” to “not getting scolded.” Players who stop taking risks for fear of mistakes is a major loss in the developmental years.
④ Players who walk away
Some players who can’t keep up with the strictness come to dislike football itself and leave the game. As a coach who wants kids to keep loving football, this is the part I find most regrettable.
4｜A Global Perspective
In Spain, Australia, and New Zealand, where I’ve played, the scenery was different from Japan.
- Emphasis was placed on quality and concentrated intensity rather than the length of training
- Hydration and recovery were treated not as “weakness” but as part of performance
- When a player made a mistake, the focus was on a conversation about “what to do next” rather than punishment
Of course, overseas is not simply better. Every country has strict coaches, and competition is tough everywhere in the world. What matters, I think, is not the amount of strictness but its substance.
Recently I’ve become used to the football environment in New Zealand, but to be honest, my first impression of the youth development setup here was a shock. Without choosing my words carefully, I thought it was “soft.” But after experiencing other countries as well, I came to a different conclusion: it was Japan that was the abnormal one.
I think I was only able to realise this because I had experienced so many different countries.
Japan’s development environment is also steadily changing. Efforts to eliminate violence, a rethink of how club activities are run, and measures against extreme heat are gradually making their way into the field.
5｜My Opinion: “Strictness” and “Unreasonableness” Are Different Things
I’m not trying to deny “strict coaching” itself.
- Demanding high standards
- Having players keep promises and be on time
- Expecting full commitment
These are forms of strictness, and I believe they are necessary in development.
On the other hand,
- Not letting players drink water
- Long hours of training with no scientific basis
- Punishments with no visible purpose
These are unreasonableness. Strictness exists to help players grow; unreasonableness exists for the convenience of coaches or for the sake of habit. I believe it’s important for coaches, parents, and players alike to be able to tell the two apart.
As a yardstick, this question helps:
“Does this lead to the player getting better, or growing as a person?”
If the answer is yes, it’s strictness. If you struggle to answer, it’s worth taking another look.
Conclusion | To Parents and Players
If your child is in a strict environment, rather than deciding simply that “strict is bad” or “strict is good,” please look at what’s actually inside it.
- Is their safety being protected?
- Is your child still able to love football?
- Can the coach explain “why” they are doing what they do?
If all three are in place, even a strict environment can be a great place to learn.
Finally, it’s true that I gained things from those experiences. At the same time, I also think, “Maybe that time could have taken a different form.” I carry both of those thoughts as I work with today’s children.
I hope this article can be a small starting point for thinking about Japan’s development environment.
