Thread by @vbnippon_ENG

[eng rough trans - thread]

"In Italy, Yuji Nishida feels that 'practice is quality rather than quantity'. He also talked about the 'shopping' he asked Yuki Ishikawa, and their match confrontation."
(Web Sportiva, 2022-01-26)

@volleyball1301
#西田有志

sportiva.shueisha.co.jp/clm/otherballg…

Japan's national volleyball team, Yuji Nishida, plays for Vibo Valentia in Serie A, the world's top volleyball league. Although he was injured, he made a spectacular comeback on Jan 13, scoring a service ace in his first match in two months.

He scored 12 points to show that he is still in good shape.

Nishida left for Italy in Sept after the end of last summer's Tokyo Olympics. In the video of the day on his Youtube channel, he commented, "I'm so nervous that I'm not having much fun anymore," but how was it really?

"Everything was new to me, so I was worried from the beginning about whether I would arrive in Italy safely. Sure enough, if I had been vaccinated, I wouldn't have needed the PCR test, +

+ but suddenly the rules changed and I was told that I needed a negative certificate before I could travel. I almost changed my travel date (laughs). There were so many things going on that I didn't have time to talk to my family, and by the time I left, I was exhausted."

When he finally boarded the plane, he was worried about communication, but the team held a welcome committee and he was able to blend right in, saying, "They made me feel at home and it was very easy to work with them."

But, for about a week after his arrival, his internet won't able to connect, and he felt lonely because there was so little to do.

Around that time, he had a chance to talk w/ Ishikawa, who was in his 7th season in Serie A and asked him to buy him "something" he needed.

"Seasonings. In Italy, olive oil, salt, and black pepper are the main ingredients, which was fine, but I wanted other seasonings. At first, I asked him to buy me something because I had no clothes, but he said, 'Clothes are a bit challenging, +

+ but anything food-related is fine.', so I replied 'Then, please do'"

Nishida revealed his frank exchange with Ishikawa, the captain of Japan's national team, but what he cooks using the seasonings bought for him is "pasta," and he said, +

+ "I make what I want to eat, not what I think is nutritious. I also go to restaurants, and the pasta is really good," he said, seemingly satisfied with her meals in Italy.

[The first time he faced Ishikawa as an opposing team.]

In terms of volleyball, there was a big difference from practice. In Italy, they only had about an hour and a half of practice with the ball, and he said, " The practice is more intense instead."

"It may depend on the team, but I think there are some things that need to be reviewed because the practices in Japan are much longer and are one of the reasons that lead to injuries. In a time when it is common to demand quality in practice, +

+ it is contradicting to demand quantity. There are more games than ever before. It may be up to each team to decide how they want to take it, but there are some aspects of the Italian practice method that should be incorporated."

He improved his condition through Italian-style training and suddenly made his debut in the first round of Serie A. In that match, he scored the first point right after the start and contributed to the team's victory with three consecutive service aces in the fourth set.

Speaking about that game, in which he scored 16 points, the second-most on the team, Nishida said:

"Just like in a normal game, there was no negativity, only focus on winning. The number of points scored is important, +

+ but I also try to contribute in other ways that are not visible. It was my first game in my new team, and I'm glad that I was back in such good shape."

On November 3, he faced Ishikawa in a "Japanese showdown".

The match that Ishikawa's team, Milano, won in straight sets was a big news story for Japanese volleyball fans, but he recalls that he was not conscious of that either.

"It was the first time for me to play against Yuki-san and his whole team in an official game, +

+ but it's a team sport. If it were an individual event, I might be a little more conscious of it. I just tried to get between the players. (He didn't even try to target Ishikawa with his serve.) So I don't have the kind of feedback that the fans expect (laughs). +

+ But after the game, we talked about how we played today. Even outside of that day's game, we keep in touch with each other about our current situation."

[A Japanese person's experience at a hair salon]

Nishida quickly became a "senpai" in Italy. Last December, Ran Takahashi, a sophomore at Nittai University, joined Padova in Serie A. Nishida called Takahashi when he arrived in Italy and gave him some advice.

"I hadn't seen Ran speak English very often, so I wondered if he could communicate well, but he said he had an interpreter, so I thought it would be okay. He's always been a very communicative player, so I'm sure he's blending in now."

Nishida was only accompanied by an interpreter for the first 3 days after joining the team. Even so, he said, "I was worried, but I was able to communicate normally. At first, we spoke in English, but recently, we have been able to communicate in Italian for VB-related matters.

However, in the beginning, he felt the language barrier unexpectedly. Nishida got a perm in the form of near blonde hair. He made his own request at the salon, but when he first visited, he laughed and said, "They gave me a square cut." +

+ As a matter of fact, when Ishikawa had just arrived in Italy, he had a similar experience of having his hair cut off at the corners because the hairdresser did not understand his request.

"At first, I learned Italian about haircuts, and when I didn't understand something, +

+ I told him in English, but he said, 'Japanese people don't look good with this certain hairstyle because their heads are shaped like this....'. Maybe it's a "Japanese thing" in Italy (laughs). It was a good experience. It's worked out well for me on the second time."

His play was strong from the start, and in the sixth round, he injured his left foot in the second set of the seventh game against Lube Civitanova on Nov. 21. He was withdrawn from the game.

"It was just when I thought I was doing well. As for myself, I did plenty of stretching and warm-up. Before the game, I had no pain and the area was not strained. And yet, I knew that something like that could happen."

At the time of the interview, he had not yet returned to the court, but he said, "I can jump, and my height is not decreasing, so I'm getting back to a good shape. I had a trainer from Japan to treat me, but he just went back yesterday."

[What we want to deliver to our "supporters"]

Meanwhile, the cause of the injury was discussed as follows.

"The gymnasium here is not heated, and the temperature during winter games is around 10 degrees celsius. I think the injury was caused by the fact that my body got cold +

+ when we change courts. However, I guess that's the norm in other countries, and it's my fault for not being able to handle it. As soon as I got injured, Zamst (who has a sponsorship contract with Nishida) sent me a calf supporter. +

+ In order to keep my calves cool and my muscles under good tension (in a state where they can exert their strength), I now make sure to wear that supporter during practice and training."

In the midst of his comeback, he opened his own "supporters' club" last December. As for the 680 yen per month, he said, "It may be a subtle point, but I didn't want to sell myself short," and declared, "I will make a service that will satisfy them even at that price."

"I would like to do various things such as diaries, limited edition videos, online distribution, & pre-sales of goods. I'm planning to make an int'l ver since many of my fans are from overseas. If I ever play in JP again, it would be nice to organize a tour for my overseas fans.+

+ In the past, I've talked quite a bit about technical, mental, and personal topics in my online distribution. I'm really happy that people are joining the supporters' club because it means that they value me that much."

Nishida has been open about his personal life on his Youtube channel, but for his first Christmas in Italy, he said, "The team tested positive for Corona, so all the players were quarantined at home." However, he said, "I've always been a 'kuri bocchi'. +

+ The year before last year, there was the Emperor's Cup final, and I long to spend Christmas with someone. I thought it was envious," he said with a smile.

(**Kuri bocchi is a slang word that means “a person who spends Christmas Eve/Day without company)

The year 2022 has arrived. He returned to the court early and mentioned "to be myself" as his ambition for this year when he hopes to make further progress.

"Last year, the Tokyo Olympics was great but other than that, I was injured and rehabilitated a lot, and I spent more time rehabilitating than playing. I don't think things can get any worse than last year, so I'm going to keep looking forward to this year!"

[end]