Meaning
Everyone wants “technical progress,” but Nomura Katsuya placed “human growth” as its precondition. Effort spent polishing technique alone only carries you to a certain ceiling. This line holds a paradox: unless the human foundation – humility, self-management, consideration for others – has developed, technique eventually stalls.
As a catcher who had to grasp the personality and psychological state of every pitcher and fielder, sometimes scolding sharply and sometimes encouraging, Nomura found that the cause of a player’s stagnation was, more often than not, rooted in character rather than technique. A disordered personal life, complacency, a lack of consideration for others – Nomura witnessed, over and over in his years of coaching players, how these things could erase the effect of even the best technical instruction.
This line has never come across as mere moralizing to the many players and readers who took it to heart, because it was not spiritual talk but practical advice: if you want your technique to grow, first put yourself in order as a person. It stands as one of the most concise statements of Nomura Katsuya’s philosophy as a coach.
Lesson for Today
Today, check not just your skills but one thing about "is there room to grow in how I'm behaving and thinking right now." Small accumulations of character - greeting people properly, keeping your word, putting gratitude into words - look like a detour but actually form the foundation that supports skill growth. Before opening a technical manual, try starting by tidying up one part of who you are.
Background
Nomura Katsuya repeated this line often when discussing player development as a manager and commentator, and it appears in books such as "Sonae: 35-sai made ni Manande Okubeki Koto" ("Preparedness: What You Should Learn Before Turning 35," Kadokawa one-theme 21, 2012). As a catcher who had to grasp the psychology and character of every pitcher and fielder on the field, Nomura placed "human growth" as the precondition for technical coaching, having watched countless times how a disordered personal life or complacency could halt a player's technical progress.