INTERVIEW

Yamada: My parents played soft volleyball, and as I was tall, I wanted to do a sport where I could shine. So I started playing volleyball in junior high school.

Wada: I took swimming lessons in elementary school, but I quit swimming in the fourth grade. Around that time, I saw the Japan national volleyball team playing in an international competition on TV. That’s what drew my interest and inspired me to start playing.

Yamada: When I was in high school, I was selected to represent Japan in the under-age category, and I played alongside girls my age from other teams against overseas teams. The level of play and commitment was beyond what I was used to, and the glimpse I had of this new world helped me rediscover the thrill and enjoyment of volleyball. It also fueled a desire to aim higher.

Wada: It was fun just to become able to do things I’d been taught and start winning games. When I graduated from high school and joined a team in the V.League (as Japan’s top tier league was called at that time), I was in two minds about whether to retire after five years or to keep playing indefinitely. But I got called up to the Japan national team in my third year for the first time and I felt like I wanted to aim higher. I think it made me take the sport more seriously than before.

Yamada: As a team, our main goal is to win the SV.League, which we were within a whisker of achieving last season. As captain, I feel like this is the season in which I myself need to grow as a human being. As for my play, it’s naturally important for me, as the middle blocker, to do a good job of blocking, but since we’re offense-oriented, I also want to be able to score more points from attacks in the middle.

Wada: As a team, we can’t ever lose sight of the goal—winning the league. Personally, my goal is to always keep the world in mind as I practice every day. Whether in practice or during a game, I keep saying to myself that I should never lower the play level I’m satisfied with. Even if a play works, I make it a point to ask myself if it’s really good enough.

Yamada: More games intensify the physical burden, so I’ve become much more aware of doing things to ensure post-match recovery. Especially when we have back-to-back matches on Saturday and Sunday, it’s vital to figure out how to treat any issues and get back to a fresh state in the time between the end of Saturday’s match and the next day’s game. I’ve learned to immediately shift my focus to that once the game’s over.

Wada: Because of my role as a player on the team, I don’t often play full games one after another, so not a lot has changed for me personally. But when I do play for longer, I make recovery a priority.

Wada: Since joining this team in July 2024, I’ve been spending a lot more time getting ready for practice. In high school, I’d just do some stretching for about 30 minutes, but now, because I’m prone to shoulder injuries, I do things like stimulating my shoulders with rehabilitation-type movements before starting practice. Not only am I working as part of a team, but I’ve become more conscious of how to prevent injuries in my own way.

Yamada: I’ve been with this team ever since graduating from high school, so doing rehab before practice like her is now natural for me. But looking back on my student years, there were days when I hardly did pre-practice stretching, and even if I had pain somewhere, I just relied on my youth to get through it. [laughs] Now, my body is my livelihood, so I’m conscious of how to get myself in the best possible condition in practice.

Yamada: I do stretches and contrast baths. Since I’m prone to knee problems, if my knees swell up after a practice or a game, I start with the team’s treatment devices, and after getting home, I use a portable low-frequency electrotherapy device. I take the low-frequency electrotherapy device and a massage gun with me when I travel with the national team.

Wada: When fatigue builds up and my lower body feels heavy, it becomes stressful during games, so I sometimes wear a device that puts pressure on my legs to promote blood circulation. I bring that with me, too, on away trips.

Yamada: It has. I’ve learned that knee pain isn’t necessarily about issues with the knee itself, and it often flares up if an ankle or hip joint is in poor condition. The pain ends up manifesting in the knee. So, rather than just focusing on my knees, I’ve learned I can reduce the load on the knees by increasing the range of motion in my ankles and hip joints. Now I loosen these areas myself or explain the problem and get advice from the trainers.

Wada: I feel like I’ve become able to communicate my physical condition specifically to the trainers. Now, for example, if my shoulder hurts, I consider the impact the symptoms have on my play. I then tell the trainers about my current condition and about the movements I want to be able to do by game time. By going into greater detail in my conversations with the trainers, I think I can learn how to stretch and become aware of more factors to better understand my condition. This also means that I now spend less time worrying about what to do about pain and am able to resolve anxieties more quickly. I also feel less anxious during games because I can grasp my condition on that day.