Japan National team visits Ronan

The Japan National team navigated its way through the Montana Western Duals and the United States without much knowledge or command of the English language.

The national team, which is touring the United States and wrestling against various high school teams as part of a cultural exchange, showcased their ability to be resourceful and broke the language barrier using only a Google translator application on their phones.

“The team leader translated a little but not much and that is how we were able to translate,” Ronan Chiefs’ Coach James Muir said. “They just spoke through a microphone and that was the way they conversed back and forth. It worked really well that way. Obviously, there is a language barrier there and thank God for those applications that you can put on your phones these days. It was a great time for all of our wrestlers from Ronan and other host families. It was a great time for them getting to experience American culture and the Native American culture in the Flathead.”

The Japan National team, a team comprised of kids from third grade to high school, had a glitch in its schedule and needed a meet. That is when they were contacted by Ronan High School Coach Dave Edington.

“I was told in December there was a glitch in their schedule and they needed to compete for a couple of days,” Muir said. “That is when Dave Edington worked on the logistics to get them to Ronan because he had done many of these cultural exchange programs before. Dave Edington and Dave Bennetts worked out the logistics and they set up host families to stay with in Missoula. Our host families had them Friday and Saturday night. It just worked out for everyone. Everyone was happy and very excited, and that is kind of the way it went down.”

Because of Montana State High School Athletic Association rules, the Japanese wrestlers weren’t allowed to compete as a team. They would only get in “mixer matches” and battle local Montana wrestlers brave enough to wrestle kids that are legit Olympic hopefuls.

“Most of our athletes probably wrestle with the hopes of making it to the Olympic games,” the Japan Coach said through a Google translator. “That is normally everyone’s goal but there are big differences in goals with each kid.”

The Japanese team wrestles in multiple styles, according to their coach.

“We mainly wrestle freestyle and Greco-Roman style,” the Japanese coach said. “It was the first time all the athletes had to do fox style. Since they are the same wrestling, we thought that we could do it without a problem at first, but we actually played games and we realized the difficulty of this. But I thought we had a very good experience.”

This marks the 56th season the Japanese and a Montana team has participated in this cultural exchange.

“The exchange between the Japan Wrestling Association is a place where state teams exchange information with each other through wrestling in Montana,” the Japanese coach said. “Two years ago, the Japanese high school team only got three days to go out. This time around, we’ve been wrestling four years in Montana State through Jan 5 to Jan 14. Teams from third grade through high school are going to the university and continuing to wrestle. I have chosen the first through fifth ranked athletes in four national competitions in Japan. The period of the team’s selection is from June through October of this year.”

According to Muir, every time the Japanese team wrestled one of the U.S. High School teams, it was a big deal. The crowd gathered around every time an American wrestler would grapple with a Japanese wrestler.

Mission Bulldogs wrestler Gus Bosley was able to get a victory in his duel with the Japanese National team competitor.

Bosley, who competed on the Montana State team, in the middle school national duals in 8th grade, admitted the match was going to be “tough.”

“I knew what to expect and I know because they wrestle freestyle that they would try to throw,” Bosley said. “So I get them where I could get the take down and wrestle them where I was strong.”

Bosley, a 182-pound wrestler for the Bulldogs, said getting to showcase his skills on national level in front of his home region was “awesome.”

“I am just from down the road from Ronan and there was a lot of the community there watching those matches,” Bosley said. “It was an awesome experience and awesome for the Japenese team to come and wrestle (at the tournament) that made it a pretty fun situation.”

Bosley said defeating a top-caliber wrestler that has received internationl recognition was a confidence booster.

“It always feels rewarding and it shows that hard work pays and that is a big achievement,’ Bosley said. “It feels really good inside and it does boost your confidence in wrestling when you win a match like that.”

According to Mission-Charlo co-op coach Lyle Cronk, it was a “great experience.”

“It was a great deal for all of us, and Gus and Trent both had great matches,” Cronk said. “They were both pretty competitive matches and it was a good experience for both of them. It was a good opportunity for both of them.”