森英昌：播下青少年棒球运动的种子

文/本刊记者 刘丁睿

“Good job! Run the bases!” “This slide is so awesome!”... On the occasion of the 50thanniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations, the 2022 Online Baseball Catch International Exchange Competition was held in Chongqing in August to enhance the sports and cultural exchanges between Chongqing and Japan. This competition was participated by 3 teams from Chongqing, 20 from Japan,and over 10 from other countries. They strengthened mutual understanding through the competition.

“Nowadays, Chongqing is seeing a growing number of teenagers playing baseball. There are not only baseball matches for primary and secondary school students but also more than ten adult teams.” According to Yuan Siping, a baseball enthusiast who organized the Chongqing team in the 2022 Online Baseball Catch International Exchange Competition,the development of baseball among adolescents from a little-known sport to a must be credited to the efforts made by the Japanese baseball coach Hidemasa Mori 14 years ago.

“Nothing is impossible.”

Hidemasa Mori comes from Kumano-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima, Japan.And he has been a baseball lover since he was a child. The freedom on the field has given him endless imagination. He firmly believes that “nothing is impossible”.

“好球！快跑垒！”“这个滑垒太帅了！”……值此中日邦交正常化50周年之际，为增进重庆与日本的体育文化交流，2022线上棒球接球国际交流大赛于8月在渝举办。来自重庆的3支球队和日本的20支球队，以及10余支海外球队参赛。大家通过比赛交流，增进对彼此的了解。

“如今，在重庆，走上棒球场的青少年越来越多。不仅有中小学生棒球比赛，还有10余支成人球队。”2022线上棒球接球国际交流大赛重庆参赛队组织者、棒球爱好者袁思平介绍，重庆青少年棒球运动从无人知晓到日渐成熟，离不开14年前日本棒球教练森英昌的“播种”和“耕耘”。

“没有做不到，只有想不到”

The Chongqing Team in the 2022 Online Baseball Catch International Exchange Competition重庆球队参加2022线上棒球接球国际交流大赛。

森英昌的家乡在日本广岛县安艺郡熊野町，他从小喜欢打棒球，球场上的自由，赋予他无尽想象力，他始终坚信“没有做不到，只有想不到”。

Hidemasa Mori (Middle) and Chongqing Baseball Players森英昌（中）与重庆棒球运动员。

In 2008, Hidemasa Mori came to Chongqing to study Chinese at Sichuan Foreign Language Institute (now Sichuan International Studies University). During his study, he came up with the idea of forming baseball teams among youth in Chongqing, where no one played baseball. He hoped that baseball could become a sport that attracts great public followers like table tennis, badminton, and basketball in Chongqing.

At that time, Yuan Siping was a student at Chongqing Baxian High School(now Chongqing Experimental High School). She remembered that Hidemasa Mori tirelessly visited schools to promote baseball including Sichuan Foreign Language Institute, Chongqing University, Chongqing Nankai Secondary School, Chongqing Baxian Middle School, etc., laying a solid foundation for the formation of the team.

Hard work paid off. In February 2009, thanks to the active efforts of the Chongqing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Hidemasa Mori, Chongqing’s first youth baseball teams were formed in Nankai Secondary School and Baxian Middle School respectively. Before returning to Japan,Hidemasa Mori carefully recommended coaches for the two teams. In September 2009, Hidemasa Mori returned to Chongqing to serve as the baseball coach which had been temporarily vacant at Nankai Secondary School. He also brought some baseball equipment donated by Kumano High School, which addressed the equipment shortage for the team.

On October 13th, 2009, he left Chongqing as his coaching came to an end. Soon after, when he participated in an event of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) in Beijing, he heard that the recruitment for senior volunteers to Chongqing was about to start. “It must be destiny. I decided to become a member of JICA to promote baseball development in Chongqing,” Hidemasa Mori said.

In March 2010, under the JICA Volunteer Program, Hidemasa Mori, as a firstgeneration volunteer, served as the coach of the first batch of youth baseball teams in Chongqing. He devoted himself to training with enthusiasm. He always appeared on the field on time during the weekly training, be it sunny or rainy.

2008年，森英昌来到重庆，在四川外语学院（今四川外国语大学）学习中文。留学期间，他萌生了在“没有人打棒球”的重庆组建青少年棒球队的想法。他希望棒球在重庆能像乒乓球、羽毛球、篮球一样，成为大众喜爱的、可以尽情享受的运动。

当时，袁思平就读于重庆市巴县中学（今重庆市实验中学）。她记得，为了宣传棒球运动，森英昌乐此不疲地奔走于四川外语学院、重庆大学、重庆南开中学、重庆市巴县中学等地，为组建球队打下了良好的基础。

功夫不负有心人。2009年2月，在重庆市人民对外友好协会与森英昌的积极推动下，重庆市第一批青少年棒球队分别在南开中学和巴县中学成立。回国前，森英昌悉心地为两支球队推荐了教练。2009年9月，棒球教练因故短暂空缺，森英昌又“临危受命”来渝担任南开中学棒球教练，并带来了家乡日本熊野町熊野高中捐赠的一批棒球器材，解决了球队器材紧缺的问题。

同年10月13日，森英昌结束执教离开重庆。不久，他在北京参加JICA（日本国际协力机构）活动时，听说即将启动派往重庆的高级志愿者招募，“我感觉这就是天命、缘分，在内心下定决心，那就成为国际协力机构的一员，在重庆把棒球运动搞下去。”森英昌表示。

2010年3月，受JICA志愿者项目的委派，森英昌作为第一代志愿者出任重庆第一批青少年棒球队教练。他以饱满的热情投入训练指导，不论天晴还是下雨，每周训练时间他总会按时出现在球场上。

“森教练喜欢抱起他的木吉他悠悠地弹唱，这是棒球队招新会上的惊喜，也是训练后缓解疲惫的慰藉。”在袁思平记忆中，她的棒球启蒙教练森英昌，带给大家一段辛苦且美好的时光，“开心、安全、礼貌、放松，是森教练传递给我们的信念。他常说，自己通过开始去做、努力去做，才知道其中的快乐。”

在森英昌的带动下，通过周而复始的训练，队员们的球技快速进步，棒球打得也有模有样了。与此同时，一个新的想法在森英昌心中萌生—打比赛！他希望借着比赛的契机扩大宣传，让更多人知道棒球、喜欢棒球、加入棒球，享受棒球带来的无穷乐趣。

“Coach Mori liked playing his acoustic guitar and singing softly. This came as a surprise at the baseball team’s recruiting meeting and served as refresher after tiring training.” In Yuan Siping’s memory, Hidemasa Mori, her first baseball coach, delivered everyone a challenging but enjoyable time. She noted, “Happiness, safety, courtesy, and relaxation are the values that Coach Mori passed on to us. He always shared with us that the only way he could have experienced happiness was by getting started and working hard.”

The players’ skills significantly improved thanks to Hidemasa Mori’s instructions and consistent training. At the same time, Hidemasa Mori had a new idea: why not organize baseball matches? He intended to take this opportunity of the match to allow more people know about baseball, like it, play it, and enjoy the endless fun from it.

The First International Baseball Friendly Match, organized by the Chongqing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Consulate-General of Japan in Chongqing, and Kumano-cho Japan-China Friendship Association was held at Chongqing Nankai Secondary School in May 2010 thanks to the initiative and planning by Hidemasa Mori. The members of the Nankai Secondary School baseball team, some international students in Chongqing, and international residents in Chongqing made up two teams for the match, strengthening the interactions between Chinese and Japanese teenagers and boosting baseball’s visibility.

“In my previous life, I was from Chongqing.”

Hidemasa Mori returned to Japan after his coaching, finishing the work as a first-generation volunteer in July 2010. Ryota Kadowaki, a member of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), carried on and coached in Chongqing.Hidemasa Mori maintained contact with his team after going back to Japan. He always missed the time when he lived there and still cared about the development of baseball in Chongqing.

Missing Chongqing, Hidemasa Mori went back to Nankai Secondary School in March 2013 and provided guidance to some of the veteran baseball teams,including “Red Ant” and “Hunter”. “I would like to do more for the thriving of baseball in Chongqing and attract more people to play baseball,” he expressed his hope.

“At present, a variety of matches, such as the Panda Cup Slow Pitch Softball League and the Youth Baseball Championship organized by the Chongqing Baseball Association, are held every year in Chongqing.” Yuan Siping observed that Chongqing baseball has garnered widespread attention as a result of more baseball matches, and that the number of baseball players is expanding.

Hidemasa Mori has witnessed how Chongqing’s youth baseball has grown from strength to strength. The International Baseball Friendly Match initiated by Hidemasa Mori was successfully held in Chongqing Nankai Secondary School for five consecutive sessions, with the theme on “international exchanges through baseball”.

Hidemasa Mori and Principal Tian Xiangping developed a close friendship while he was coaching at Chongqing Nankai Secondary School. Principal Tian recalled Coach Mori’s fondness for Chongqing. “In my previous life,” Hidemasa Mori joked, “I was from Chongqing.”

In July 2014, Hidemasa Mori officially ended his coaching and returned to Japan. “Even though I’ve retired, I still hope to use my strength to promote the exchange of baseball culture between China and Japan.” He expressed that he would visit Chongqing to catch up with former players and friends once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Photo/Chongqing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

2010年5月，在森英昌的发起和策划下，由重庆市人民对外友好协会与日本驻重庆总领事馆、日本熊野町日中友好协会主办的第一届中外棒球友谊赛在重庆南开中学举行。由南开中学棒球队成员和部分在渝留学生、在渝外国人混编为两个队进行比赛，加强了中日青少年之间的交往，同时扩大了棒球运动的宣传。

“前世我是重庆人”

2010年7月，森英昌结束第一代志愿执教返回日本，JICA青年海外协力队队员门胁亮太接替他赴渝执教。回国后的森英昌与队员们保持着联系，时常怀念在重庆生活的日子，仍关心重庆棒球的发展。

2013年3月，想念重庆的森英昌回到了南开中学，并参与指导“红蚂蚁”“猎人”等重庆元老级棒球队。他说，“希望为重庆棒球运动发展‘再添一把火’，吸引更多的人参与到棒球运动中。”

“目前，重庆每年有市棒垒协会组织的熊猫杯慢垒联赛、青少年棒球锦标赛等比赛，形式多种多样。”袁思平表示，随着这些赛事遍地开花，重庆棒球运动受到广泛关注，球友圈不断扩大。

森英昌见证了重庆青少年棒球运动从弱小走向庞大，从幼稚走向成熟。由他倡议发起的中外棒球友谊赛，以“通过棒球进行国际交流”为主题，在重庆南开中学连续成功举办了5届。

在重庆南开中学执教期间，森英昌与校长田祥平结下了深厚的友谊。田校长回忆，森教练非常喜欢重庆，他曾开玩笑说“前世我是重庆人”。

2014年7月，森英昌正式结束执教返回日本。“虽然已经引退，但我仍希望为中日棒球文化交流贡献自己的力量。”他表示，待新冠肺炎疫情过去，会再来重庆，见一见老队员、老朋友。