The present day of the famous general who returned to Koshien as the manager of Soshigakuen.

After the disappointment of the summer, Soshigakuen has now reached the top of the prefectural tournament for the first time since taking over the post. Prior to the opening of the tournament, the overwhelming majority of the predictions were for Kurashiki Sho and Oyama Sanyo to win the tournament. Soshigakuen’s batting lineup, which was changed in every game, including the middle lineup, functioned well, scoring 26 runs in the four games of the prefectural tournament and overturning the previous reputation of the team.

There was one memorable moment in the Chugoku Tournament, where Soshigakuen clinched their first appearance in the Koshien Tournament since taking over the post. In the semifinals, a win would guarantee the team’s first appearance in the tournament since taking over the post. In the semifinal game against Takagawa Gakuen (Yamaguchi), the No. 1 batter, who had two long balls on the day, had a cramp in his leg on the basepaths.

It is common for a player at the center of an attack to have an accident, and it is customary to wait for him to recover after intermission for treatment. However, Monma decided to replace him immediately. Immediately after the win over Takagawa Gakuen, I asked him about his intentions.

He replied, “I really didn’t want to pull out. But I didn’t like the pause (caused by the interruption in treatment). Baseball changes in that time.

Guided by the tact of a coach who knew the subtleties of baseball, the team went on to win the second place in the China Tournament. A little more than a year after his arrival, the team decided to return to the Koshien Stadium.

When he first arrived in Okayama, there were whispers that he would use his personal connections to bring in a strong player from a team in the Kanto area with which he had ties. In fact, when I greeted officials of junior high school teams in the Chugoku region, I was often told, “We don’t have any players who can compete with the kids from the Kanto region. How do you envision finding players in the future?

I don’t actively seek out players from the Kanto region. For me, the best players are those who say, ‘I want to play at Soshigakuen. If I had to name an area, I would say the Chugoku region, where the school is located, is the most important. However, since the school is located in Okayama, I want to take care of players from Okayama. After all, the hometown is important, isn’t it? If we go to the Koshien, we will be representing Okayama Prefecture. We want to be a team that the people of Okayama Prefecture will recognize as the representative of Okayama and cheer us on.

When he was at Tokai University Sagami, players from Hiroshima such as Taishi Ota (DeNA) and players from the hardball team in Shimane had joined the team, but many teams in China have not yet been explored.

Even when I was in Kanagawa, I went to places that were new to me, like Okinawa and Hokkaido, and made my way there. I believe the only way to make a path where there is no path is to move on your own.”

In between training at Soshigakuen and teaching as a social studies teacher, he drives around to observe junior high school student competitions and practices. Last year, he was in hot pursuit of a left-handed pitcher from the Chugoku region, whom he had his eye on as a “potential pro.” At a tournament in May of last year, he sat in the stands and watched the game, even in the pouring rain. The manager of a hardball team in the Chugoku region, which was the first team to send a player to Soshigakuen after Monma took over, had this to say.

Monma-san came to see us many times. We felt something, too.

Not because he was a famous coach, but because he was the most enthusiastic. Monma’s enthusiasm and seriousness are spreading throughout China.