A high school baseball team coach in Japan caused an incident where a student suffered fractures in two fingers and required surgery after conducting defensive training with bare hands.

According to reports from major media outlets such as Yomiuri, Asahi, and NHK on the 13th, the absurd incident took place at the training ground of the baseball club at Sakushin Gakuin High School in Tochigi Prefecture, located north of Tokyo.

On May 23rd, the school's baseball coach, Takahiro Kobari (41), singled out a second-year team member during first baseman training and instructed him in a special way: to take off his mitt (glove) and catch throws from the fielders with bare hands.

Considering that the position is first baseman, the ability to receive the ball is important. Therefore, it seems the intention was to develop the sense of hand when catching the ball.

Following the coach's instructions, this student had to catch the balls thrown by the fielders with bare hands all afternoon. However, after finishing training and returning home, the pain did not subside, and he sought medical attention.

Medical examinations, including X-rays, revealed that the student had fractures in two places on his right ring finger. It seemed that recovery would be difficult with just a cast, so the next day he had to undergo surgery. According to the hospital, full recovery is expected to take between 1 to 2 months.

The issue was formally reported to the school more than ten days after the incident, on June 4th. The head coach of the baseball club submitted a report, and the school took strict cautionary measures against three individuals: Coach Kobari, the baseball team coach, and the Director General of the baseball club.

However, due to continued complaints about the lukewarm measures, an additional decision was made on the 9th to prohibit Kobari from engaging in baseball club activities. The next day, on the 10th, the school reported the incident to the Tochigi Prefecture High School Baseball Federation.

Separately from the disciplinary actions, Coach Kobari visited the injured student and parents, saying, "An unfortunate incident occurred because I was overly focused on achieving training results. I acknowledge that there was a lack of consideration and safety management for the children. I am very sorry."

The school clarified in a separate explanation that "the training method in question has not been conducted until now. Regarding the coach's qualifications in the future, we will follow the guidance of the high school federation."

Sakushin High School, where the incident occurred, is a prestigious school in the region with excellent academic performance and is also a traditional powerhouse in baseball. The school has advanced to the finals of the Koshien tournament a total of 27 times: 11 in spring and 16 in summer. Among these, it has won the championship three times (once in spring and twice in summer), showcasing its status as one of the best in the nation.

The problematic Coach Kobari is also an alumnus of the school's baseball club. He played as an infielder and was a key player in reaching the quarter-finals of the spring tournament in 2000.

However, his dreams of becoming a professional athlete were not fulfilled, and upon graduating from college in 2006, he took a position as a coach at his alma mater. He then became the head coach at the age of 26 in September of the same year.

Since taking over the baseball club, he has achieved remarkable results. In 2009, just three years later, he led the team to qualify for the Koshien finals, marking the first time in 31 years. Furthermore, from 2011 to 2021, the team maintained the top position in Tochigi Prefecture for ten consecutive years.

Ultimately, in 2016, he reclaimed the summer Koshien tournament championship, the first time in 54 years since 1962. Thanks to these results, he was appointed as a coach for the under-18 national team in 2019.

His personal cumulative Koshien tournament record stands at 15 appearances with 21 wins and 14 losses, giving a winning percentage of 0.600. He has won once and reached the semifinals once, with three progression to the quarter-finals.

Four of his former students have become professional players, including Takuya Matsuzaki (former Yomiuri catcher), Kazunari Ishii (Nippon Ham infielder), Tatsuya Imai (Seibu pitcher), and Daisei Irie (DeNA pitcher).

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