On September 24, 2024, the 76th Fukushima Prefecture High School English Speech Contest was held at the Haramachi Lifelong Learning Center.

Yoshiki Tsukahara, a second-year student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, gave a speech titled ‘No.12’ , and has won the 3rd place.

No.12

“TSUKAHARA Yoshiaki” Koriyama Kita High School

Imagine that you are standing in the middle of the rugby field. Your opponent, who is much bigger and taller than you, is running toward you at top speed, holding a rugby ball by his side. Can you stop him? Surely, you would say, “NO! It is scary.” Yes, it is very scary, but you have to stop him by tackling in a rugby match. Technically, you have to stop him by bumping into him with your shoulder and squeezing him with your arms to the ground. It is not easy. When I began to play rugby last year, I was too scared to tackle. However, I have been able to change myself through my experiences. Please listen to my story.

I was born in the Philippines and was raised by my grandmother throughout my childhood. My mother was working in Japan at that time to support my family. I was a naughty boy and did all kinds of bad things at school. I remember often getting scolded by the principal. Then, I came to Japan when I was nine years old to live with my mother. I was happy to be with my mom, but I didn’t like going to the elementary school, as I spoke no Japanese and was bullied by some bad boys. In fact, my mother once came to school and asked my classmates to be nice to me. At that time, I felt sorry for my mom and thought I had to be strong.

In 2019, when I was 12, the Rugby World Cup was held in Japan. I watched rugby for the first time on TV. I was fascinated by this sport. All the players were so strong and cool! Besides that, about half of Japan’s national team players were foreigners. Rugby allows foreign players to play for the national team after living in the country for a certain period of time. The diversity on the screen was great. Also, the players’ attitude grabbed my heart. Once the rugby match was over, they gave respect and honor to each other. This is called “no side.” I felt that rugby players have not only a strong body but also a strong heart. I became interested in playing rugby myself, but I never had a chance in my junior high school days.

Last year, I entered Koriyama Kita Technical High School to play rugby. I am very happy to be able to play rugby every day. I have learned a lot of things from my coaches and teammates, especially from Yamato Watanabe, who was the captain of the team last year. Yamato was devoting all his time and energy to the team. He came to school the earliest every morning for self-training, and he practiced rugby harder than anyone else, not for himself, but to make the team strong. As a captain, he often talked to each of us and gave us positive encouragement. Actually, I couldn’t tackle at all in the beginning as I was timid. But Yamato never gave me up and taught me how to tackle and strengthen my mindset. Most of all, he taught me the importance of working hard for my teammates. Now I realize that playing rugby is giving my all for the team and this mindset makes me strong.

Yamato’s jersey number was 12. In rugby, jersey numbers represent the position. The No.12 player is called the “inside center,” and his role is to break the defensive line and to tackle when attack turns into defense. No. 12 has to be powerful and strong. Yamato was a real No. 12. He had a strong body and a strong heart.

Finally, before the rookie match several months ago, I was appointed as the new No.12 of the team. Now I feel responsible. Whoever the opponent is, I can tackle them with all my strength. When I came to Japan eight years ago, I could not imagine myself becoming a rugby player. I would like to become a strong No. 12 whom my teammates can trust.

On the lunch break of September 26, 2024, Yoshiki gave a commemorative speech at school.