Japan national beach football head coach Marcelo Mendes held a clinic at Otachimisaki Beach in Kumamoto Prefecture for two days from 10-11 May.
He held one in Tokyo in April and this was his second clinic. Mendes gave the 21 participants from all over Kyushu a lecture and skill practice lessons.
On the first day, Mendes explained about basic technics, tactics and positioning by watching DVDs of training camps of the Japan national team and beach football World Cups, and then they went out to the beach to go through the practical skill session.
In the practical skill session, they worked on menus stating with some fundamental moves like exchanging floating passes and shot practices and then moved to advanced ones, such as organizational defense and offense.
On the second day, they played intra-squad games, based on what they learned on the previous day. Mendes had them to experience a variety of things like playing them in different systems and changing their positions.
''I was surprised by your potentials. I hope you all to bring what you learned here back to your respective teams and adapt them in your daily training,'' Mendes told the participants afterwards.

Comment From Head Coach

Marcelo,Head Coach
I think that the clinic in Kumamoto was a success. First off, I would like to thank all the people of the local football association and the local town office and their hospitality for preparing the great meeting room and beach, as well as their support during the events from the bottom of my heart.
And I was honestly surprised by the level of the players who participated in the events this time. They had high individual techniques as well as possessing high tactical understandings, there were some players who quickly show those that were told in the first day in the intra-squad matches of the following day. Some of them made me think to want to observe spending more time by calling them up to the national team.
I would like to tell those players that were here for the clinic this time that they will definitely have a chance to make the national team if they keep up their training as they did here in the future.

Comments From Participants

OBA Takaaki（Dorsole Kitakyushu）
Previously, we were practicing on our own, so it was a very beneficial occasion for us as we learned technical things from the national team coach this time.
The instructions from Marcelo and Ozu were easy to understand, too. Both in the lecture and skill practices, I got to absorb knowledges that I did not know before and found some issues for myself. It was such a great clinic.

ABE Yuya（A-LINE）
Since it was a clinic run by the current national head coach and a player on it, I entered it with high motivation. The levels of other participants were high as well and they gave me a lot of good stimulation. At the lecture, they taught us things in easy ways like using movies, while they were mentioning plays for goalkeepers, too, so it was a beneficial time for all of us. I felt like that it wasn't beyond my dream to make the national team depending on the efforts I will put.

INADA Yu（Dorsole Kitakyushu）
We were directly lectured by the Japan national team head coach and got to experience the training that the national team actually are going through, so it was such a valuable time for us. We learned things comprehensively from some fundamental things like how to run on the sands and ball touches to tactical matters, and I would like to bring them back to my team and raise my level.
In order for both the regional and national beach football levels being improved, I would like clinics like this to be held more.

NAKASHIMA Yusuke（Leon Fukuoka）
We started with the basic lecture and then went to through tactic, practical skill training and intra-squad games, and it was certainly a very substantial clinic. It was also impressive to me that we were instructed details about both offense and defense. The allocation between the lecture and skill practices were moderate and I was able to participate in the event with concentration until the end.
As head coach and Ozu told us, I would like to keep that in mind to play boldly not being afraid of making mistakes. I would like to see clinics like this continue to be held.