Challenging Traditions: Keio High School’s Modern Triumph in Japanese Baseball

Every year, the Koshien high school baseball tournament in Japan, a national spectacle, becomes the center of attention for various reasons. This year was particularly special, as after 107 years since their victory in 1916, Keio University’s high school baseball team clinched the title once again. Their win, however, came with a mix of admiration and criticism, often centering around non-traditional practices like players not shaving their heads or employing sun protection. Some even commented, “Keio doesn’t even look like a high school baseball team.” Yet, the real question emerged: What made Keio’s baseball team champions again?

The undeniable key to their success is Coach Mori Takahiko. With a history of serving as the student coach during his college years at Keio University and later delving deep into coaching theories at Tsukuba University, Mori’s perspective on high school baseball is refreshingly different. “Many conventions accepted within the high school baseball community in Japan can seem illogical to the outside world,” he remarks, referencing the forced shaving of players’ heads.

Joining Keio in 2002 and taking charge of the baseball team in 2015, Coach Mori introduced a training philosophy termed ‘Enjoy Baseball.’ He believes in the sheer joy of the sport, stating, “To…