The JFA 26th U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship is set to kick off on Tuesday 3 January 2023. Here we bring you the story of HAYASHI Honoka, a member of the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team), during her time at the Academy.

○This interview was conducted online on 13 December 2022

Six years of two-hour commutes

“When I look at the photos from back then, it still brings back memories of the battles we fought together, and it makes me want to work harder.”

HAYASHI Honoka, who currently plays for West Ham United in England, reflected on the All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament (now the JFA U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship) in which she participated as a member of the Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls.

In her second year of high school, Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls won their first title in their first appearance in the championship in 2015, and in 2016, Hayashi led the team to back-to-back titles as captain. Despite her success in the tournament, there were also hardships that people did not know about behind the scenes.

Hayashi was born in Uji, Kyoto. She started playing football at the age of five under the influence of a friend from kindergarten, in which she recalls, “had so much fun.” She then joined the local Shinmei J.S.C SS during primary school and became obsessed with playing football.

In the Japanese women's football world, there is a lack of a playing environment for girls at the junior high school age, which means that many of them leave the sport when they enter junior high school. Hayashi also faced this issue when she entered junior high school. She said she thought about going to a private junior high school in Kyoto that had a girls' football team, but her coach at the time told her about the selection for Cerezo Osaka Ladies U-15 (renamed to Cerezo Osaka Ladies in 2012 and Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies in 2013). Hayashi attended the selection with a strong desire to join the team and successfully passed, becoming a member of Cerezo Osaka Ladies in 2011.

It took nearly two hours by train from her home in Uji to the training ground in Osaka. She would rush home after school and head for Osaka, finishing her training and arriving home at around 23:20pm. Such lifestyle continued for a number of years. She says that her time during junior high school was the toughest, and she devoted herself to football with the support of her family, who drove her to and from the nearest train station.

Winning the Championship in their first appearance

At that time, Cerezo Osaka Ladies was a junior high school team, but in 2011 they participated in the first division of the Kansai Women's Football League, and from 2013 in the Challenge League (second division) and Challenge League West (third division), which are all adult women leagues. In terms of strength and speed, there was literally a difference between adults and children, and Hayashi recalls, “There were times when we couldn't win at all, and even when we knew our opponents' moves, we were beaten because of the physical difference, and it was very frustrating.”

Even so, the girls "always kept a challenging spirit and played every match with a strong determination to win against tough opponents." Under this environment, where they constantly faced superior opponents, Cerezo Osaka Ladies steadily improved their abilities.

After spending three years in junior high school, her coach TAKEHANA Tomoya gave her some words of advice.

“The coach told me that I was 'too serious' and 'too quiet'. It's true that I was quiet and had the tendency to play as hard as I could. I wasn't very good at coming up with new ideas or making challenging plays. I didn't engage in any mind games with my opponents either, so I think he was trying to get me out of my shell to grow as a player.”

Hayashi recalls that the team at the time was “very energetic, cheerful, and powerful, perhaps because it was a team from Kansai.” However, Hayashi herself placed great importance on playing accurately and without mistakes. It is certainly an essential attitude, but for coach Takehana she may have seemed to be lacking something compared to the other players.

One's character is not something that can be changed so easily, and Hayashi is still not the type of player who puts her competitiveness forward, but she grew steadily with the support of her coach and teammates.

In her second year of high school, Hayashi participated in the 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament for the first time as a member of Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls. She says, “I was excited just because it was a national tournament, and everyone was looking forward to it,” while at the same time, “As a team, we were aiming to win from the beginning, and the entire team shared a strong desire to win.”

In the first round they defeated Oita Trinita Ladies 10-1 and in the second round they defeated Club Fields Linda 15-1, scoring double-digit goals in back-to-back matches. In the semi-finals against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth (now Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies), Hayashi scored her team's second goal in the 67th minute. Hayashi's goal proved to be the deciding goal, as Urawa scored a goal back in the closing stages. She was quick to react to a loose ball following a free kick, and her left-footed shot, expertly controlled to go over the head of the opposing goalkeeper, was full of energy and ideas.

The opponent in the final was Nippon TV Menina (now Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina), who had won five consecutive titles and were the overwhelming favourites to win this tournament as well. “We played with a style in which we applied pressure from the frontline, but our opponents dodged all of our pressure and we couldn't play our game at all,” said Hayashi. However, the team still managed to hold off the opposition scoreless to force the match into a penalty shoot-out where they won 5-4. Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls claimed their first title in their first appearance in the championship, and they did so by defeating the undisputed champions, Menina. For Hayashi, it was a moment when all the hard work she had put in paid off.

Continue reading Vol.2

JFA 26th U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Tue. 3 - Mon. 9 January 2023
Venue: J-GREEN Sakai (Osaka)

Tournament Information