水泳選手のコーチをしているJennyさんとズームでチャットしました。私の質問があまりに変なので戸惑ったようです。
Jenny
When I was a University student I was an athlete. I was in a swimming team. And I also served as an assistant to our head coach. The experience was so fulfilling that I decided to stay even after graduation.
Toshi
So that’s how you ended up becoming a head coach now.
Jenny
Right.
Toshi
My first question is that if you participate in a swimming race, which would you prefer,
having many spectators or nobody watching you? Which situation can help you make a better performance?
Jenny
Oh, that’s an interesting question. Yes, I think having many spectators would affect me because I feel so nervous and feel conscious that many people are watching. But if there are not so many people, I think I don’t care so much.
Toshi
So you think you can do a better job without people watching you.
Jenny
Maybe. I haven’t thought about it. So I just realized because of your question, Toshi-san, maybe I was more carefree when I swim without a lot of people.
Toshi
The reason I asked you such a strange question is that recently I often feel that sports games are less exciting than before whether it is baseball,football,hocky,or basketball. And my analysis is that spectators are not allowed to sit and watch as freely as they used to be, which makes games boring and less enjoyable.
Jenny
I can agree with you on that. People at the stadium give power to the players and the game itself by yelling and shouting.
Toshi
That’s what I feel nowadays. Stadiums cannot accommodate a crowd of people and they need to have the social distance between every two people. So it’s impossible to have as many spectators as last year. The energy gets low. Players get less motivated.
Jenny
That’s interesting. Actually I can really hear people shouting when I compete in swimming. Other sports like ball games or field sports can be impacted in the same way.
Toshi
Let’s hope that the time will come soon.