watching “star athlete” tonight and the moment when young yuki was leaving modena in 2015 left me in shambles. it must’ve taken a lot of courage for yuki to move overseas at such a young age and without speaking a word of english, let alone italian. he looked like such a shy boy yet he was welcomed warmly by his new teammates, who helped him and guided him every step of the way. all his friends embracing him and giving him words of comfort while he was in tears because he had to leave was so overwhelming. everyone chanting “ishikawa alè”, hugging him… and now yuki is the captain of ryujin nippon, the bronze medalists of this year’s vnl. he’s such an incredible athlete and role model, people like him truly make you contemplate the power of sports 🥹
