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National Association of Japan-America Societies, Inc. Bridging the Pacific Since 1978 www.us-japan.org US-Japan 150th Anniversary Special Project JapanJapan--AmericaAmerica YouthYouth BaseballBaseball CampCamp 20042004 July 30 - August 14, 2004 733 15th Street, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202-783-4550 National Association of Japan-America Societies, Inc. Fax: 202-783-4551 Email: [email protected] 全米日米協会連合 Sponsors and Donors Sponsors and Donors Program Sponsors Individual Donors The Freeman Foundation Mr. Mitsuhiro Fujiwara Hokkaido Little Senior League ANA-All Nippon Airways Mr. Robert F. Grondine White & Case LLP Mr. Yoshihito Okuyama Hokkaido Pony League Mr. Kiyoshi Suzuki Hokkaido Sun League US-Japan 150th Anniversary Project Sponsors Founding Sponsors Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsors Japan-America 150th Anniversary Youth Baseball Camp 2004 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements he National Association of Japan-America Societies would like to first and foremost thank all of the T collaborating organizations whose staff took time out of their extremely busy schedules to coordinate convoluted arrangements, came up with great ideas, and enabled us to have a wonderfully successful pro- gram! Jeff Rodin, Gonzo Grasis, Matt Smith and Chris Carlton of the Arizona Diamondbacks Training Centers provided immeasurable support for the baseball camp, the special events, and to the host families, making the overall program much more valuable and memorable for everyone involved. Dale Jensen, a Diamond- backs owner and a host family, was also very supportive and gave special consideration to the program. Becki Deem, a Diamondbacks staff person and also a host family, took care of so many details and en- abled the program to be even more enjoyable for the boys. We are also very grateful to the nine host fami- lies, hosting two Japanese teenagers each, for the tremendous care they took with the boys. Hosting two teenagers from a completely different culture for seven days required much energy and commitment! We also extend our appreciation to the ten American baseball coaches who demonstrated extraordinary dedi- cation to improving the baseball skills of the budding young baseball players throughout the duration of the camp. The three volunteer interpreters certainly helped make for more effective intercultural commu- nication among the participants. In addition, we appreciate the contributions of the staff from the Japan-America Societies of Arizona, Southern California, and the State of Washington. They helped make the local arrangements and often participated with the boys in the various program activities. The Japan-America Society of Southern California staff members and their families are to be commended for going that “extra mile”. All the coordination in Japan was managed by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Koji Asada, and the Hokkaido Baseball Association. We would like to express our deepest appreciation for their work in se- lecting the participants, keeping them informed, and arranging all the pre-departure events in Hokkaido. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our sponsors and donors for their generous contribution to the program. Funding from the Freeman Foundation made it possible to implement the program as originally conceived, and All Nippon Airways provided a tremendous amount of support with both international and domestic transportation. We were honored to receive contributions from four individual donors, Mitsu- hiro Fujiwara, Robert Grondine, Yoshihito Okuyama, and Kiyoshi Suzuki. Their personal dedication to strengthening US-Japan relations generally and to the program specifically was vital to the success of the program We also want to thank the US-Japan 150th Anniversary Project Sponsors AFLAC, All Nippon Airways, Pfizer, Toyota, TEPCO, NOEVIR, and SONY for their generous ongoing support. It is impossible to adequately recognize the many people who contributed in so many ways to the success of the program. We do, however, wish to extend our gratitude to the persons and organizations listed on the following page. Japan-America 150th Anniversary Youth Baseball Camp 2004 Collaborating Organizations & Participants Collaborating Organizations & Participants Baseball-related Organizations Government The Arizona Diamondbacks Training Centers U.S. Consulate General, Sapporo The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Hokkaido Baseball Association Embassy of Japan Hokkaido Little Senior League Baseball Association Hokkaido Prefectural Government Hokkaido Pony League Baseball Association City of Sapporo Municipal Government Hokkaido Sun League Baseball Association Japan-America Societies Japan-America Society of Arizona Japan-America Society of Southern California Japan-America Society of the State of Washington America-Japan Society of Hokkaido Baseball Players (Japanese) Baseball Players (American) Host Families Daisuke Arakawa Riley Baehr Brian and Kaye Baehr Ryohsuke Arakawa Alexander Deem Becki and Kirk Deem Yasuhiro Fujimura Benjamin Deem Will and Nancy Hooke Yuta Haga Gilbert Galindo Dale Jensen Yusuke Horita Matt Hibbert Don and Paula MacWilliam Kensuke Hosokawa Sam Hooke Jennifer and Creston Myers Kou Igarashi Wade Hooke Margaret and Michael Planeta Yuta Kasai Kyle Huard John and Wendy Unrein Yuki Katayama Shane Humphrey Doyle and Marie Wilson Shogo Kojika Jim MacWilliam Yoshinobu Kosaka Antonio Miller Volunteers Kenta Nagano Justin Myers Sylvia Bahm (Phoenix) Kenta Nakakoshi Michael Planeta Kelly Mouer (Phoenix) Masato Niki Anthony Reda Kumiko Niimi (Phoenix) Hiroaki Shimomura Taylor Urein Carmen Erber (Los Angeles) Yuya Shimose Tony Urein Ian Perez (Los Angeles) Yuto Toyama Devon Villarreal Kohei Watanabe Jeff Wilson Coaches/Chaperons (Japanese) Coaches (Diamondbacks) Mitushiro Fujiwara Jim Caruthers Yoshihito Okuyama Mike Campbell Kiyoshi Suzuki Gonzo Grasis Matt Ingram Keisuke Kanno Brandon Martin Sean Payton JD Ramirez Jerry Renner Jeff Rodin Japanese and American players and Ken Rudolph coaches before a game in Sedona, Arizona, on August 6, 2004 Matt Smith Japan-America 150th Anniversary Youth Baseball Camp 2004 Table of Contents Table of Contents Sponsors & Donors Acknowledgements Collaborating Organizations & Participants Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………...…….…1 Activity Report Pre-departure…………………………………………………...2 Phoenix - Baseball Camp 1……………………………………3 Phoenix - Baseball Camp 2……………………………………4 Phoenix - Baseball Camp 3……………………………………5 Phoenix - Host Families……………………………………….6 Phoenix - Special Events 1……………….…………………….7 Phoenix - Special Events 2…………………………………….8 Phoenix - Coaches 1..………………………………………….9 Phoenix - Coaches 2 ………………………………………...10 Los Angeles…………………………………………………..11 Seattle………………………………………………………...12 Incident Report…………………………………………………..…...13 Future Prospect…………………………………….……………….…14 Program Evaluation Summary…………………………………….….15 Areas for Improvement………….………………….………………....16 Appendix I - Program Format Summary………………………………..17 II - Preparation Timeline……………………………………..18 III - Travel Agenda…………………………….……………...19 IV - Baseball Camp Menu…………………………………….20 V - Coaching Staff Agenda……………….……….…………....21 Japan-America 150th Anniversary Youth Baseball Camp 2004 Executive Summary | 1 Executive Summary s one of the activities commemorating the 150th Anniversary of U.S.-Japan relations, NAJAS A worked in cooperation with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to establish a two-week baseball camp for Japanese and American boys ages 13 to 15 to be held in Phoenix, Arizona. The Japanese contingent also traveled to Los Angeles and Seattle to take in some Major League Baseball games. The purpose of the camp was to provide baseball instruction, cross-cultural education, and to encourage the young baseball players to learn more about each other and each other’s countries (See Appendix I for the Program Format Summary and III for the Travel Agenda). Eighteen Japanese baseball players along with three coaches to accompany the group were selected from Hokkaido by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Hokkaido Baseball Association. The selection criteria were based not only on the candidates’ baseball skills, but also on their interest in having a cross- cultural experience. The 18 American baseball players were chosen by the Diamondbacks from the Phoe- nix area. The Diamondbacks selected those who had participated in the Diamondbacks Training Centers in the past and whose families were willing to host the Japanese boys for seven days in Phoenix. NAJAS Associate Director Yusuke Tanno joined the 18 Japanese baseball players and three coaches at the beginning of the program in Sapporo and stayed with the group throughout the program, saying good- bye to them in Seattle. After having a special pre-departure ceremony at the Hokkaido Prefectural Gov- ernment offices on July 30, the group traveled to Phoenix, Arizona. The Japanese teenagers stayed in pairs with the nine host families for the entire duration of their stay in Phoenix. Aside from some special events such as the cultural orientation, a Diamondbacks Premier Stadium Tour and some home games, the boys spent nearly all of their spare time with their host families. The activities for the Japanese coaches were specially arranged by the Diamondbacks staff. The baseball camp was held every evening with 18 American teenagers and 10 Diamondbacks coaches. The camp menu was uniquely tailored for the needs of this program, and the Diamondbacks coaches and the Japanese coaches went over

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