INTERVIEW

Yamamoto: I started playing basketball in my first year of elementary school. My sister joined the basketball club. I tagged along. My mom had been a basketball player, so I was exposed to basketball from a young age.

My father had been a volleyball player, so my first sport was volleyball. But then I encountered basketball. I played basketball all through junior high and high school. I’ve been playing basketball ever since.

I went to high school at Ohka Gakuen High School in Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture. We won the national championship while I was there. After that, I joined the TOYOTA Antelopes, who are also based in Aichi Prefecture. I’ve been with them ever since. To tell the truth, I was also considering another team at the time. I couldn’t make up my mind who to join. However, I was attracted by the personality of the TOYOTA Antelopes team when I watched them play their opening match of the season, so I chose them. The head coach gives us clear-cut instructions. All of us apply ourselves fully and learn from one another. We all really love playing basketball. That atmosphere is the appeal of the TOYOTA Antelopes.

Before practice, I always start by getting a feel for the state of my body. First, I check where the muscles are tense and where I feel stiff. I address these problems. Then I’ll do some maintenance training. That’s my routine. For example, if practice starts at 9:30, I get to the gym around 7:40 and spend the time from 7:45 to 9:00 assessing my physical condition. Then, around 30 minutes before practice, I start shooting some baskets. And after practice or a game, I try to assess how my body has changed before stretching.

I also watch what I eat. I make sure to eat a well-balanced diet, especially things like leafy vegetables. I take in additional protein between my three meals a day. Diet is crucial for recovery and for staying in good condition in general.

Yamamoto: The first time I used a treatment device was at an osteopathic clinic in my junior high school days. But back then I only used it for maintenance or treatment. It’s only recently that I’ve started to use it on a regular basis.

The main reason for using a treatment device isn’t to treat injuries, but to prevent them and to avoid chronic pain.

A prerequisite for playing throughout the season is staying in good shape. If I were unable to practice due to injury or pain, I would obviously not be able to do my own practice, which wouldn’t be good, and I think it would also affect my practice with the team. For those and other reasons, it’s a matter of course for me to try to stay in tune with my body so that I can stay on the court.

I also feel that having everyone maintain their own physical condition is an important factor in building a strong team.

Yamamoto: I think it does. I think it matters no matter how old you are. The portable treatment device I use provides three types of useful electrical stimulation: TENS, EMS, and microcurrent.

I believe the habit of self-care also builds an understanding of your body, which helps prevent injury and improves performance.

The first step to understanding how your body is built is to take an interest. That’s true not just for basketball, but any sport. So it’s a good idea to start self-care in any way that you can.