On the 7th, Shusaku Nishikawa visited Saitama University Elementary School, an elementary school in his hometown, and as the "Reds Teacher," he gave a lesson to fourth grade students on the theme of "Dreams."
"Reds Sensei" is a class where players use their own experiences to teach students about the importance of having dreams, working hard towards those goals, and the importance of family and friends who support them in making their dreams come true. This was the fourth Reds Sensei class this year, following Yoshio Koizumi 's visit in September, and the 36th in total.



When Nishikawa entered the gymnasium with a lively "Hello!", he was greeted with loud applause from the 105 fourth graders. Nishikawa first introduced himself to the students. He called out, "I hope to have a great time with you all today, have fun and be lively! I look forward to seeing you all," and the students responded with enthusiasm.
The lesson began with a student calling out "Mr. Shusaku," and, based on a "Dream Timeline" that the player himself had written, the player spoke to the students about the dreams he had as a child and how he spent his time working towards those dreams.





Nishikawa says that his childhood dream was to become a police officer, but he entered elementary school with that dream in mind. As he played soccer with his friends during recess, he became interested in soccer, and when he joined the soccer club in the third grade, his soccer career began. When he first started playing soccer, Nishikawa wanted to be a forward, but he was assigned as a goalkeeper, taking advantage of his childhood physique. Nishikawa said that he hated being a goalkeeper because of the nature of the position, "The ground was dirt, so your clothes would get dirty, and if (the opponent) scored a goal, the goalkeeper would be held responsible," but he continued to challenge himself and work hard, and he talked about how he became a professional soccer player.



Nishikawa says he didn't have any dreams when he was in elementary school, but he said, "I enjoyed playing soccer more than studying. Even after everyone had gone home, I would stay at school alone to practice soccer, and I would work hard at the things I loved during my childhood."

He continued, "When I was in junior high school and high school and was scouted by youth teams and high schools, I started to seriously think about becoming a professional soccer player. When I thought about what path would be best for me and how I could become a professional soccer player quickly, I decided to join a team in the development organization of a professional soccer team in my hometown of Oita Prefecture." As a result of continuing to play the soccer he loves, "my dream naturally became to become a professional soccer player."



Nishikawa spoke of a major setback he felt at the age of 21 when he was unable to play in the final of the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (now the YBC Levain Cup) due to an injury to his left knee, saying, "The team won the championship, but I wanted to play and it was very disappointing," and reflected on how he has spent the last 20 years of his professional career ever since, always being conscious of what he can do to prevent injuries. He continued by talking about how he was selected for the Japan national team for the first time at the age of 21, saying, "The Japan national team is a place where everyone in Japan supports me, and I continue to work hard with the goal of wanting to be selected no matter how old I am."



In response to a question from a child asking "Which goalkeeper do you respect?", he replied, "I really admired Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. Even now, when I meet him, I get nervous and it brings back the feelings I had as a boy."
" he said with a smile. After carefully answering some of the children's questions, he spent a friendly time with them, passing the soccer ball around to deepen their friendship.





Finally, Nishikawa addressed the children who participated in the class, saying, "I think you will find things you want to do and dreams, but please continue to work hard towards your dreams. I would be happy if you all come to Saitama Stadium to support us and fight together." He continued, "Today, to commemorate our becoming number one in Asia in the ACL (AFC Champions League) last year, Urawa Reds will present soccer balls to elementary school students in Saitama City. I would be happy if everyone can have fun using the soccer balls," and presented the children with soccer balls along with clear files signed by the players, and the class ended with a commemorative photo being taken with everyone.





Nishikawa then handed out clear files to each child as they left the gymnasium, seeing the fourth graders off.



After the children had left, a special project entitled "Urawa Reds Project" was held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Saitama University Elementary School. In this project, the children themselves, starting from the first graders, carried out "projects they would like to do with Urawa Reds."

Starting with a request from a first-grader who wanted to "take a photo with the players," the children's proactive ideas were realized one after another, including "soccer advice sessions," "penalty kick contests with players," "hula hoop competitions," and "rock-paper-scissors tournaments." Nishikawa responded with a smile throughout, and interacted with many of the children.



The players' visits to elementary schools are conducted for the children of their hometown, based on the Urawa Reds philosophy of "Contributing to the healthy development of young people as members of society." By interacting with local children, the players can feel closer to the club and the players, and the players will continue to send messages that give children dreams, hope and courage.

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]