Yoshigi Torisu from Sheet & Strip Section No. 1 gave a presentation on November 6 to around 230 second-year students at his alma mater, Kurume Commercial High School. His talk was part of an exchange event organized by Kurume Commercial and the Tokyo branch of the school’s alumni association, and is meant to encourage more interaction between students and alumni active in the Kanto region.

Torisu started playing baseball as a second-year elementary school student and was a dedicated baseball player for about two decades. During his outstanding university baseball career, he was both the leading hitter and the captain of his team. He joined the JFE East Japan Baseball Club after graduating, and was selected as team captain in only his second year. He eventually led the team to its first victory in the Intercity Baseball Tournament, among other notable achievements.

During his presentation, Torisu spoke about his experiences while pursuing dreams of baseball glory, emphasizing the importance of continuing to pursue your dreams and not limiting your own potential. He also had the following advice for students having difficulties deciding their future path: “I chose my path without knowing much about universities or corporate baseball. Things turned out all right for me, but I recommend that you starting imagining your future right now.”

At one point, a student asked a sharp question: “What should you do if you hit a wall while chasing your dream?” Torisu responded: “If the thing you are striving for is something you love, I strongly encourage you to keep trying until the very end.”

After the exchange event, a smiling Torisu said: “There are things people can only do while they are young, so I hope the students will dedicate themselves fully to whatever they want to do. If they don’t, they might have regrets later. Talking with these high school students was really stimulating for me. Now that I’m now longer playing baseball, I’m finding plenty of new challenges to tackle through my work at Sheet & Strip Section No. 1. I’ve resolved to find new goals and work hard toward them.”