Former major leaguer Ichiro Suzuki was among about 130 attendees of a three-day study course that began in Tokyo on Friday for former professional baseball players to obtain a qualification for coaching high school and university students.
Ichiro, who retired from professional baseball in March, currently serves as special assistant to the chairman and an instructor for the Seattle Mariners of the U.S. major leagues. He took part in the Tokyo sessions because Mariners' players, coaches and staff members are from this year allowed to take such courses.
To coach student baseball players, they have to leave the team in principle. However, Ichiro will be allowed to instruct students only during periods when he is not engaged in the Mariners' activities, taking into consideration his past achievements and the fact that his work for the team is limited during the season, according to the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization among other groups.
Kazuhiro Tanabe, an executive board member of the Japan High School Baseball Federation, said, "It may be difficult [for Ichiro] to work full-time because the term is limited, but it will be great if he can cooperate widely for the baseball world, not for a specific school."
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