Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a great time. Since I joined Football BC as a communications assistant, I have spent one week surrounded by a great manager, Daniel, and Leo, who was my previous coworker and finished his internship two Saturday’s ago. If you know him, you must have heard of his many works that can be found on Football BC’s website and on YouTube.

http://www.playfootball.bc.ca/ 

https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialFootballBC

First of all, let me say thank you to Leo and describe how great he was. He was an extremely trustworthy and indispensable team member. He taught me precisely how to edit videos, something that I had no experience with before, how to update the high school football newsletter we publish every week, shoot videos and take photos, and so on. In addition to that, he showed me how I should work with Canadian people and the Canadian work environment, which made me feel more comfortable. I must say without him, I would not have gotten off to a great start and given a great impression on Daniel. Thank you so much for all of his kindness. I will do my best to catch up with him and to make you enjoy reading my blog like he did from now.

 

As you can see, I am having a precious time here even though I feel like I am struggling to learn challenging tasks all the time. My most memorable experience so far came last week when I went to BC Place last Saturday to participate in the “Salute to Amateur Football” event. In the afternoon, I shot videos for the brilliant people who were inducted into the British Colombia Football Hall of Fame. After that, I watched the BC Lions game live to learn the rules, which helped me understand more about Canadian football. Thanks to the amazing experience, I was able to learn not only basic rules but also how to root for home team like “crowd noise”. During half-time, Leo and I went to the field to take photos and shoot videos of kids playing football. It reminded me of my childhood when I played and enjoyed soccer. Their performance made me motivated to work hard. At the same time, I felt like I wish I could be a child.

 

 

 

When I was spending time in the office, I received a certificate for completing the The National Coaching Certificate Program “Making Headway in Football” which is something I learned all football coaches in Canada have to take. You might realize how much I am learning new things day by day.

Finally, I have started new project named English and Japanese football dictionary to help Japanese people who do not know anything about football to learn and become more interested in football like me. My goal is to convey how wonderful Canadian football is to Japanese people. I think it is my mission. If you, especially Japanese people, have anything you want to know about football, feel free to ask me so that I can help you out.

 

So this is my adventure so far at Football BC. I plan to keep taking full advantage of my opportunity, to use my skills and to enjoy my experience. 

 

I hope you keep enjoying my blog. If you have any suggestions or advice or even constructive criticism, do not hesitate to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you. See you later.

Are you ready to rock???

My name is Yusuke Sakakibara, but you can call me Luke which is my nickname. I am a Gastown Business College practicum student and I am extremely excited to work at Football BC for the next three months. I wanted to give a brief introduction of myself and, after reading my blog, hopefully you know a little more about me.

 

First of all, I must say that working in a sports management company is definitely my calling because sports has had a great influence on me since I was a child. When I was an elementary student, I played baseball and if, I may say so myself, I was quite talented because I received quite a few awards. However, I had no choice but to quit playing due to a severe shoulder problem. After that, I almost hated to play sports until soccer saved my neck! Through playing soccer, I was able to grow as an individual and learn the importance of dedication, effort, teamwork and cooperation with all people involved. As a result, our high school soccer team was able to win the prefectural championships. It was a memorable experience that I will never forget!

Back in Japan, I was a firefighter. Unfortunately, I ended up quitting that prestigious career because at that time I did not have a strong enough mentality to handle the hardships and expectations as a firefighter. Hence, I lost most all confidence that I have been building since I was a child and suffered from a great deal of depression. However, the athletes’ documentaries and autobiographies helped me get back to reality. They taught me that all my efforts will pay off as long as I never give up in the face of adversity and to just make quality effort to make my life brighter. So since then, while keeping them in mind and to regain my confidence, I started to study English because it is one of the most difficult and challenging things to succeed in especially for most Japanese people. I managed to get back on my feet and I was able to speak English quite well after two and half years thanks in part not only to my renewed motivation but also to all those who supported me.
  

Without sports, I believe I wouldn’t have overcome the challenging situation I experienced nor have the chance now to work at Football BC as a Communications Assistant. I really appreciate this refreshing opportunity.

 

 

 

Finally, I am studying everything I can to know about Canadian football especially the rules and how to play it. I did not know anything about Canadian football and just thought it was very hard and dangerous. But my mindset has completely changed and now I realized football is one of the most intelligent, fun and exciting sports. I must say that I am a big fun of football right now.

 

I would like to convey the attractive points of football to you, especially those who do not have any knowledge about it. Like me, I am sure you will be crazy about football and start watching or playing it. It would be great if I could share how I feel about Canadian football.
 

My ultimate goal is to contribute to the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics thus I am aiming to get many experiences and skills under my belt from seasoned and competent team members. It will be challenging, but definitely rewarding and invaluable. I believe I will do it because I have evolved into a diligent, tenacious and resilient individual who goes the extra mile all the time and now never gives up. I promise to you I will do my best to make you enjoy and motivated by reading my blog from now on.

Do you have any questions and advices? Do not hesitate to ask comments or advices to me! See you next time. Have an inspiring day.