Kentaro Shimizu

日本袋棍球協會董事
亞太袋棍球聯盟首席裁判官

Board of Director Japan Lacrosse Association
Chief Officiating Officer of APLU

 

共同邁向頂點

現居日本的Kentaro，已經在袋棍球社區貢獻了二十多年，曾在世界錦標賽和U19世界錦標賽中擔任裁判，作為裁判的經驗非常豐富。作為亞太地區的首席裁判官和日本袋棍球協會的董事會成員，Kentaro致力於袋棍球在東亞的發展。

 
 

Striving Together for the Summit

Kentaro, currently residing in Japan, has been contributing to the lacrosse community for over twenty years. He has served as a referee in World Championships and U19 World Championships, gaining extensive experience in the field. As the Chief Officiating of the Asia Pacific region and a board member of the Japan Lacrosse Association, Kentaro is dedicated to the development of lacrosse in East Asia.

 
 

成為裁判的起點

回顧他與袋棍球的初次接觸，Kentaro表示：「當我進入大學時，一位朋友邀請我參加袋棍球校隊，從那時起，我就一直參與其中，直到我32歲退下球衣，才專注在袋棍球裁判領域。」他最初參與裁判工作是出於必要，因為當時日本的裁判非常少。隨著時間的推移，Kentaro的裁判技能進步迅速，很快成為國際裁判。「其實當初會願意離開球員身份，全心投入裁判工作，除了是為了幫助日本能有更多比賽外，另一個原因是這樣我才可以代表日本，站在國際賽場上。」Kentaro笑著說。

 
 

The Beginning of His Refereeing Journey

Reflecting on his initial encounter with lacrosse, Kentaro said, "When I entered university, a friend invited me to join the lacrosse team, and I've been involved ever since. I only focused on refereeing after I retired from playing at 32." He initially started refereeing out of necessity, as there were very few referees in Japan at the time. Over time, Kentaro's refereeing skills improved rapidly, and he soon became an international referee. "Actually, leaving my player identity to fully commit to refereeing was not only to help Japan have more games but also to represent Japan on the international stage," Kentaro said with a smile.


 
 

與袋棍球協會的緣分

說起與中華民國袋棍球協會之間的關係，Kentaro提到過去在1999年U19世界錦標賽吹判時，中華男子代表隊的現任總教練Travis，也代表加拿大站在球場上奮鬥，當時還有一起合照。現在回頭去看，只能說緣分就是這麼有趣。

而與中華民國袋棍球運動協會的正式接觸始於2014年。他回憶說：「當時協會只開設了Faceook頁面，理事長便聯繫了我，尋求組織委員會協會的幫助。」這則訊息的往來，便開啟了Kentaro為台灣袋棍球社區提供了指導和支持。

Kentaro協助台灣的各種袋棍球裁判活動，包含帶著台灣裁判進行教學、練習與經驗分享，對於台灣裁判的培養給到不小幫助。Kentaro特別強調了裁判之間，團隊合作的重要性，「裁判在袋棍球比賽中，團隊合作至關重要，每位裁判能不能互相幫助，是一場比賽能不能順利的關鍵。另外，錯誤是不可避免的，但裁判需要對自己有信心，並專注於下一個判罰，不能被前面的失誤影響。」

 
 

Connection with the Lacrosse Association

Talking about his relationship with the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association, Kentaro mentioned that during the 1999 U19 World Championships, the current head coach of the Chinese Taipei men's lacrosse team, Travis, was playing for Canada, and they took a photo together back then. Looking back now, it's fascinating how fate works. 

His official contact with the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association began in 2014. He recalled, "At that time, the association only had a Facebook page, and the president contacted me, seeking help from the Japan Lacrosse Association." This message exchange started Kentaro's guidance and support for the Taiwanese lacrosse community.

Kentaro has assisted in various lacrosse refereeing activities in Taiwan, including training, practice, and experience sharing with Taiwanese referees, providing significant help in cultivating referees in Taiwan. Kentaro particularly emphasized the importance of teamwork among referees, saying, "Teamwork among referees is crucial in a lacrosse game. Whether the referees can help each other is key to the smooth progress of a game. Also, mistakes are inevitable, but referees need to have confidence in themselves and focus on the next call, not being affected by previous errors."


 
 

令人印象深刻

談到台灣的袋棍球時，Kentaro指出：「袋棍球在台灣仍然是一項小眾運動，風氣還需要建立，讓這項運動不是只有少數人在打，而是能有更多人可以參與。」

另外，Kentaro提到台灣的選手們需要在身體和心理上，需要變得能更有競爭力，以應對高層級比賽中的碰撞與變化。然而，他也讚揚了台灣選手的敏捷和努力，「相比更久以前，上次我看一些中華隊選手的技術已經變得更加成熟，打球的方式變得很像日本的優秀選手，令我印象非常深刻。」Kentaro表示。

 
 

Leaving Strong Impressions

Speaking about lacrosse in Taiwan, Kentaro pointed out, "Lacrosse is still a niche sport in Taiwan, and the culture needs to be established so that more people can participate." He also mentioned that Taiwanese players need to become more competitive both physically and mentally to cope with the collisions and changes in high-level games. However, he praised the agility and effort of Taiwanese players, saying, "Compared to the past, the skills of some Taiwanese players I saw last time have become more mature, and their playing style is very similar to excellent Japanese players, which impressed me a lot."

 
 

一起往頂點邁進

回顧過去的十年，Kentaro對台灣袋棍球協會不斷努力改進教練和裁判制度表示欽佩。他看到協會不斷挑戰和改進的決心，並指出這種不斷改進的精神對於運動的發展至關重要。

展望未來，Kentaro強調了台灣袋棍球場景中需要更多年齡層次的多樣性。他建議擴展大學和業餘俱樂部，走類似於日本的結構，讓更多球員在畢業之後也能享受這項運動，讓台灣袋棍球的實力能不斷堆高。

並且Kentaro希望在自己退休之前，有機會看到袋棍球亞洲錦標賽的舉辦。而中華台北代表隊的變強，一定有助於亞洲錦標賽的整體強度，進而讓亞洲袋棍球的實力有所提升，讓所有東亞選手的實力能夠更離世界頂點更近一點。

Kentaro以對台灣袋棍球協會10週年的衷心祝賀結束了專訪「恭喜中華民國袋棍球運動協會。能成為你們旅程的一部分我感到非常榮幸。繼續前進，繼續成長吧！」

 
 

Moving Towards the Peak Together

Looking back on the past decade, Kentaro expressed admiration for the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association's continuous efforts to improve coaching and refereeing systems. He has seen the association's determination to constantly challenge and improve, which is crucial for the sport's development. Looking ahead, Kentaro emphasized the need for more age diversity in Taiwan's lacrosse scene. He suggested expanding university and amateur clubs, following a structure similar to Japan, allowing more players to enjoy the sport even after graduation, thereby continuously enhancing Taiwan's lacrosse strength.

Kentaro also hopes to see the Asian Lacrosse Championship held before he retires. The strengthening of the Chinese Taipei lacrosse team would certainly contribute to the overall strength of the Asian Championship, bringing the skill level of all East Asian players closer to the world's top. Kentaro concluded the interview with heartfelt congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association, saying, "Congratulations to the Chinese Taipei Lacrosse Association. I am truly honored to be part of your journey. Keep moving forward and growing!"