Tsugihito Shiraishi has coached the children’s volleyball team in Kokubunji for about 15 years. He’s the coach of the local team, the Kokubunji Little Fighters. “My daughter used to play for this club, so I came to the games to cheer for my daughter and support the team. Then their coach suddenly left the team. Team membership began to dwindle. The prospect of actually disbanding the team arose. That’s when I was asked to be coach. The Little Fighters have a long history and a fine tradition. I accepted the offer, thinking I couldn’t just sit by and watch the team disband. They offered to pay me, too, but I declined. I didn’t think the relationship between the club and me could remain neutral if I accepted payment. I just wanted to interact with the children in a straightforward manner, and being paid was one thing I couldn’t accept. That left me free of any behind the scenes complications and free to focus all my energy on coaching.” He remained as coach even after his daughter graduated. Of the twice-weekly practices, he goes to coach the Saturday practices.Little-known to outsiders, Kokubunji, Rion’s hometown, is volleyball central—perhaps because one of the most famous clubs, the Hitachi Musashi Factory volleyball team, was based in Kodaira City and volleyball is still very popular among local children. But few clubs get to have regular practice. Shiraishi says, with a smile, that he hopes to give back what he can to the community as a volleyball coach, however small the contribution. “Rion employees take part in activities such as sweeping up leaves in autumn and shoveling the snow in winter to give back to the local community that’s always been so supportive. Becoming a coach wasn’t something I’d planned, but if my coaching helps put smiles on the faces of the children who want to play volleyball, I’m more than happy to do it.”Right after joining Rion, Shiraishi was posted to Osaka. Later, he was assigned to the Kokubunji headquarters. He speaks of Kokubunji’s charms. “I lived in a fairly lively neighborhood in Osaka. In Kokubunji, I found myself living in this idyllic pastoral setting of greenery, fields, and temples and shrines. It’s a positive environment for children. They’re growing up healthy and stress-free. I think the atmosphere also has a positive influence on the Rion employees who live in Kokubunji. I’ve found a lot of them to be gentle and down to earth. Kokubunji’s setting seems to help them focus on their research and development work.”And Kokubunji is where Shiraishi coaches the children every week or so. He laughs as he says that he intends to stay on as a coach for a while and wants to keep working alongside the children. “The children all grow at their own pace. Some grow quickly, while others take time. It doesn’t mean the slow learners won’t become good players. You might see some struggles at first, but you’ll be amazed by the progress they make with practice. Seeing them grow is inspiring.”Helping Save a Volleyball Club with a Long History17OUR FAVORITE TOWN, KOKUBUNJI—RION STAFF SHOW YOU AROUNDStrolls Around KokubunjiHometown! This issue’s theme ［Contributing to Community Through Volleyball!］In this new collaborative series of articles, each of our staff members will take turns giving their unique take on Kokubunji, Rion’s hometown.In part 4, we interview a staff member who’s coached the local children’s volleyball team in Kokubunji for many years. Let’s zoom into his efforts to energize the town through sports!Kokubunji City Daiju Elementary SchoolThis is the main practice venue for the Little Fighters. The team also accepts students from other schools. The school is located near the center of Kokubunji in an idyllic setting sur-rounded by farm roads and quiet residential neighborhoods.My FavoriteTsugihito ShiraishiPurchasing Section, Materials Depart-ment, Corporate Planning Division. Responsible for working with various sections in procuring the necessary ma-terials. He is an expert in providing sup-port for device manufacturing from Rion’s corporate center.❶❷❶ Shiraishi coaches the team every Saturday. Once a soccer player, he now finds himself coaching volleyball. “That’s an unexpected turn of events,” he laughs.❷The Kokubunji Little Fighters coached by Shiraishi is a club with a long history. At one point, the team faced a membership crisis, a trend Shiraishi and others helped reverse. Currently, the team is active with 16 members.
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