Miyawaki stays on track

Rintaro Miyawaki is back at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville to join the national team training briefly. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Striker Rintaro Miyawaki maybe out of the NMI soccer scene for nearly two years, but he never stopped playing, as he continues to hone his skills with the hopes of representing the islands in international competitions again.

Miyawaki is back on Saipan for a brief holiday break and participated in the NMI Boys U17 National Team’s practice session at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Tuesday. He will return to New York next week to rejoin his high school and club teams.

The former MP United Football Club standout is a member of the Eastchester High School varsity team and also plays for the Westchester Flames 2004 Elite. Eastchester competes in Section 1, Conference 2 League D of the 11-section New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The Westchester Flames, on the other hand, is part of the United Soccer League 2 (formerly known as the Premier Development League) that features teams (85) in the U.S. and Canada and Miyawaki’s club plays in the Eastern Conference, Metropolitan Division with 10 other squads.

“I have been playing varsity soccer since my freshman year for Eastchester High School and was chosen as All-Section 1 this year (2020),” the junior said.

Miyawaki is one of only two Eastchester players to earn the distinction. The other one is the Eagles freshman Michael Harrigan.

Rintaro Miyawaki performs drills during a practice session at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Tuesday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Playing in the high school league and the club system against many teams in New York has helped Miyawaki developed his game further. Back on Saipan, Miyawaki is a known scorer and handed MP United several titles in the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association Youth League.

“Honestly, the level of skills of players on Saipan and NY is very different. However, hard work beats any talent and even if you are from a small island, if you put in that extra work and train harder, individually, your skill level can be above those people who are even playing in academy teams in Europe. I played against academy teams in Europe when I went to Sweden and I was able to compete and score against them,” the former Saipan International School student said.

Though Miyawaki hasn’t played on island for about two years, the NMIFA coaching staff, led by technical director Michiteru Mita, has kept tabs on the youth player.

“When we had the U19 AFC tournament campaign in 2019, he tried to join the team and I checked some of his match videos as he played in New York, but he had conflict with his schedule in school. My impression on him was he has grown taller and bigger and became more athletic and an aggressive wing player,” said Mita, who was looking forward to seeing Miyawaki join the national pool during the holiday break, but the official had to leave the island late last month and instead tasked his assistant, Jersh Angeles, to handle the group’s training sessions.

NMI assistant coach Jersh Angeles, left, talks to Rintaro Miyawaki before starting their training session. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

“It’s very nice that he came back and joined the national team training. He brings with him his experience in playing in New York and can share them to his teammates and inspire them. Unfortunately, I cannot see him personally, but our staff will take a video of his performance at the training sessions and coach Jersh will also assess him,” Mita said.

The national head coach encouraged Miyawaki to keep playing when he returns to New York.

“I hope he continues to play at a higher level in the mainland and come back to join our national team in future tournaments,” Mita said.

Miyawaki is quick to accept the invitation, saying that it will be an honor to represent the NMI again in international competitions.

“Of course, I would love to play for the NMI again and I am hoping to do so in the near future,” said the midfielder, who was part of the NMI U15 Boys National Team that played in the East Asian Football Federation U15 Boys Tournament in Xianghe, China in 2018.

The NMI was scheduled to compete in a couple of Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournaments last year, but these events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The AFC has yet to announce the new dates for the suspended tournaments.