Joel set for second stint in Japan
TNP Dollah Kassim Award winner has been training with SPL champs Albirex to prepare for his trip
Three years have passed since FAS Football Academy (FFA) Under-18 footballer Joel Chew trained with J2 League side Omiya Ardija, but the month-long experience left such an impression on him that it remains deeply rooted in his memory.
Next week, the 18-year-old will return to the Japanese city of Saitama for a 10-day training stint with the club - one that he is looking forward to.
One thing that has stuck with him from his previous visit is the players' commitment to their training.
The winner of last year's The New Paper Dollah Kassim Award said: "They just kept going at it. I thought they would tone it down but they just saw the need to improve and train every day."
The mentality that Japanese players have is something the Joel, who aims to pursue football full-time in the near future, wants to emulate.
He knows that apart from physical traits, having the right mindset will be imperative for his development, and hopes that through the stint, he will be able to better his own.
The stint came about through FAS general manager of youth development S. Varatha Rajan, who knows the director of youth development from Omiya.
To prepare for his trip to Japan, Joel has been training with Japanese team Albirex Niigata, who were recently crowned Singapore Premier League champions for the third consecutive year.
Although he has joined them for only a handful of training sessions, the midfielder described the experience as an eye-opener.
On his first day, he was surprised that most of the players had already arrived and were doing their own stretching at the reporting time.
The experience has highlighted the importance of having the right outlook on training, something that he feels he has lapsed in occasionally.
And while the daily training sessions with the White Swans have been demanding, Joel embraces the challenge.
The Republic Polytechnic student feels that it has driven him to want to improve himself, saying: "It definitely has changed my attitude to be better in terms of doing my own training when I can and reporting early.
"It pushes me more because it's healthy competition to know that everyone is competing for a spot.
"I don't think I have the best mindset at the moment, so definitely the change of mindset would be a huge boost to improve myself."
Takuya Inoue, head coach of FFA U-18, believes having the short stint with Omiya is a good chance for Joel to learn from the team's young players and expand his game.
The Japanese, who was a former assistant coach for Omiya, said: "It's a good opportunity. He can see how the same age group focus as compared to Singapore.
"It's a good environment for him to be in."
Inoue noted that over the past year of working together with Joel, he has seen the teenager improve and step out of his comfort zone.
The 51-year-old remembers being impressed by Joel when he first saw him playing as part of the Under-15 squad three years ago but felt that he was not achieving his potential.
Inoue then worked with Joel to polish certain aspects of his game like finishing and also shifted him to play a deeper role in midfield.
Initially, it was something that Joel had difficulties adapting to, but he managed to overcome with some perseverance.
Inoue said: "At first, he struggled a bit with the different position but he always kept trying and he has improved a lot in the last year.
"He is able to maximise his strong football sense and technique, which makes it dangerous for opponents."
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