Toyo University Ice Hockey Club

OUR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH THE PLAYERS

We recently had a group interview with three of Toyo University Ice Hockey Club players. This article provides a brief overview into their general profile as university students and athletes.

The members that have been interviewed are Koki Ishikura – the team’s vice captain; Masaki Tokoro – who has been selected to play within a professional team after his final academic year; and Riku Ishida – currently a freshman at Toyo University.

INTERVIEW

Q: What do you study?

K.I.: Sociology – Department of Sociology

M.T.: Sociology – Department of Sociology and Cultural Systems

R.I.: Sociology – Department of Sociology and Cultural Systems

Q: What other hobbies do you have besides paying ice hockey?

K.I.: Watching movies

M.T.: Working out

R.I.: Watching sports

Q: What motivated you to start playing ice hockey?

K.I.: My dad wanted me to play ice hockey.

M.T.: My older sisters were playing ice hockey.

R.I.: My grandfather was playing ice hockey.

Q: How do you handle your emotions before the game?

K.I.: I keep doing the routine even before the game.

M.T.: I tell myself that I can do it.

R.I.: I focus on staying relaxed.

Q: How do you think ice hockey impacts your daily lives?

K.I.: Ice hockey is a team sport, so I learned so much about teamwork.

M.T.: Teamwork. It has helped me work better with other people.

R.I.: It has improved my teamwork abilities and helped me maintain good communication with people.

Q: How do you generally prepare for matches?

K.I.: I keep being consistent with my routine.

M.T.: I don’t have any specific preparation for the game. I do my best on every practice.

R.I.: I concentrate on the game.

Q: What tools do you use in your preparation for matches?

K.I.: Music app

M.T.: Music app

R.I.: Music app and watching NHL play

Q: What are your main goals as ice hockey players?

K.I.: Teaching kids how ice hockey is a good sport.

M.T.: First, I want to enter the Asian league. After that, I want to go to another country to play with great players.

R.I.: I would like to become a professional ice hockey player.

Q: In your opinion, what is the key attribute that an ice hockey player needs to have in order to be successful?

K.I.: Individual ability and skills are very important, but intelligence is also important.

M.T.: Skills are very important, but being a good person is even more important because ice hockey is a team sport.

R.I.: Being persistent and keep making effort.

Throughout our blog series, we will continue to expand more into athletes life in Japan, aiming to cover aspects like – “a day in the life”, training routines, life after university, and many others – taking account of your interests on the topic, which we encourage you to share with us, so that we can create more content that you would like to read or watch (i.e., vlogs).

So whether you are reading this from Japan, or you are abroad and have any curiosities about athletes across the world, please share your questions and suggestions in the comments section below.