Getting His Kicks From Soccer : Rolling Hills Standout Doesn’t Miss Rigors of Japan’s Schools

Home for Naoki Ishizaka lies thousands of miles away on the other side of the Pacific Rim. But whenever he starts to feel homesick, Ishizaka only needs to think of one word.

Juku .

In the Land of the Rising Sun, the juku is the rough equivalent of an academic boot camp. It’s where Japanese high school students spend an average of 12 hours a day studying to gain entrance into the country’s finest universities.

Today in Japan, Ishizaka’s friends are logging those 12-plus hours of calculus, physics, biology, computer science, history and whatever else their instructors can pour into them.

But today at Rolling Hills High School, the juku is the farthest thing from Ishizaka’s mind.

He can barely think beyond today’s soccer match against archrival Palos Verdes.

“I want to beat Palos Verdes more than anything,” Ishizaka said. “I’d like to beat them twice.”

Rolling Hills (9-7-1 overall, 3-3 in the Bay League) will need to have all components clicking when Palos Verdes, unbeaten in league, arrives for a 3 p.m. game at Rolling Hills. Ishizaka will be ready.

The senior center-halfback is the backbone of Rolling Hills’ midfield. He’s a workmanlike ball handler, a steady playmaker who likes to dish the ball off so that teammates can make the goals and take the glory.

“He’s our field general,” said Rolling Hills Coach Mike Shimizu. “He knows how to see the whole field instead of just seeing the ball at his feet. He’s got the ability to see the spaces to run into and to put the ball into.”

Ishizaka arrived in the United States with his family in April, 1987. Ishizaka’s father, Yoshio, is a top-level sales executive for Toyota U.S.A. When he was transferred to Torrance, he moved the family to a home in Rancho Palos Verdes.

In the Tokyo suburb of Kawasaki, Ishizaka played three years of soccer for Ozenji, his junior high school. So when he arrived at Rolling Hills at age 16, soccer was the great equalizer.

He made the sophomore team. He played a season as an outfielder for Rolling Hills’ sophomore baseball team but quickly became bored with that sport.

Last season, Shimizu promoted Ishizaka to the varsity level. He’s been a fixture in Rolling Hills’ midfield ever since.

And although Jay Finnigan and Neal Roy are Rolling Hills’ leading scorers, Shimizu is quick to point out that it is Ishizaka who makes things tick in his offense.

“He’s got a real good shot, he just doesn’t use it as often as I’d like,” Shimizu said.

Ishizaka has scored two goals this season, both while following plays that he had set up for other players.

Ishizaka provided the insurance goal in a league victory over Leuzinger when the goalie came out to smother a Rolling Hills miss. Ishizaka trailed the play perfectly and tapped the ball past the overextended keeper into the left corner of the goal.

Against Mira Costa, Ishizaka watched a missed shot pop out of the goal, sprinted in to stop the ball with his chest, then volleyed the shot into the right corner of the net.

“Naoki’s soccer style is sort of an extension of his personality,” Shimizu said. “He’s a fairly quiet individual, but he plays very good soccer.”

In contrast to his natural quietness, Ishizaka has emerged as Rolling Hills’ vocal leader. Shimizu said Ishizaka helped the team through an early slump when many of the players were “quibbling and having problems focusing on the game.” Ishizaka conducted the team from the midfield, commanding players on where to go and keeping them active in the flow of the game.

“The majority of our players respect Naoki a lot,” Shimizu said. “When he talks, he talks with some purpose. He doesn’t just talk.”

Respect is something that Ishizaka likes most about Americans.

“Once you prove yourself, and once they get to know you better, Americans give you respect,” he said.

One of Ishizaka’s most ardent American admirers is second-year coach Shimizu, who has four Japanese transfer students in his soccer program. Fuminori Shoji is a center-forward on the junior varsity team, and Kei Takeoka and Tatsuya Sunada are sophomore players. Only Ishizaka speaks fluent English.

It’s an interesting situation for the 28-year-old Shimizu, who is nisei --a second-generation Japanese-American--but has difficulty communicating with his Japanese-speaking players.

Enter Ishizaka.

“He helps me translate,” Shimizu said. “If I’m not sure a concept is getting through, I’ll ask him to help me out.”

Ishizaka got his first taste of the English language at an early age. For six years, until he was 10, Ishizaka lived with his family in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

Living abroad has been a worthwhile experience. At least in Australia and California, there is no juku .

“School in Japan is the opposite of the way it is here,” he said. “In Japan, you compete and work so hard for years to get into college. Then, when you get into college, it’s like a party.

“Here, you kick back until after high school and then you work hard in college.”

Ishizaka may end up getting the best of both worlds. He’s considering returning to Japan for college, where his best friend, Hidetoshi Tonoka, plays soccer for Yomiuri, the top club team in Japan.

But he’s fascinated with America and Americans and would like to pursue a graduate degree and a career in the United States. He’s especially taken with American sports, particularly basketball.

“You don’t get to see too many slam dunks in Japan,” he said.

When he returns to Japan, Ishizaka will take a cosmopolitan air back with him. He has two favorite baseball teams--the Oakland Athletics and the Yomiuri Giants. His favorite soccer player is Michel Platini of France. He speaks near-perfect English, with a trace of an Australian accent but sprinkled with a healthy share of California slang like dude .

And his soccer style?

“It’s Japanese,” Ishizaka said. “Whatever that may be.”