With a shot, the backhand and learning the basics of tennis, 200 Japanese students from Osaka college were in a weekend training session last Friday to begin the process of learning advanced therapy techniques.

The students from Osaka, Japan were here for the weekend to learn athletic training skills because all 200 are enrolled in Japan’s sport medicine school to do so.

All of the students are majoring in the field of sports medicine and were here to received the training that is unable in Japan.

Cerritos College invites these students every other semester to receive the athletic training to deal with phyiscal injuries, learning the basics of sport they are training for (i.e. basketball, tennis, soccer) and also to have fun.

The students were split into five groups: learning tennis skills, basketball, aerobics, soccer, and basketball.

Maria Corral, business major, said, “It is kind of weird that these students are here.”

Corral, who was helping the student learn the basics of tennis added she felt is was also fun to see the students here.

During the lesson Rosanna Chapman, women’s tennis coach, said, “You instructors will have a quiz to learn at least one of the students’ names.”

As Japanese student Motomi Nakagawa, 15, hit a basic forehand he said, “I like what I am learning from them.”

Another Japanese student, Hirokai Wakabayashi, said that tennis “is like playing hockey.”

He said the reason he said that is because he plays hockey himself.

Another student reacts to the Japanese students on campus.

Napoleon Tomas, undecided major, said,”It is a good thing that the Japanese students are here because we can learn a lot from one another.”

As another group of Japanese students was learning the skills of basketball, Steve Johnson, women’s assistant basketball coach, said, “Having the students here from Japan is a great opportunity for our students.”

Moreover, he said that no matter the language, “basketball is international.”

During the session, Johnson said that the students were learning passing, ball handling, and also had a free throw competition.

Japanese student Hietochi Tanioka, 15, agrees, “Yes, I also like basketball, and I have been playing basketball for nine years.”

He adds that although he speaks little English, “I would like to learn more of the language.”