San Mateo all-stars gears up for Japan trip

The San Mateo entourage last made the trip across the Pacific in 2019, but a lot changed in the intervening years. The Toyonaka team was to come to San Mateo in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans.

“In theory, [the Toyonaka team] should have come this summer because their trip was pushed from 2021,” Harris said. “But they were really excited about hosting us for the 60th anniversary because we hosted them for the 50th anniversary.”

Now, the 32-member San Mateo contingent will be making the trip. But instead of making the trip in early August, before school starts, this year the group will leave Sept. 30 and return Oct. 9.

“The folks in Japan actually requested that we consider a change in timing because of the heat that we all experienced when we go in August,” Harris said, adding a Japanese player passed out in the dugout in 2019 because of the conditions.

The impact will be felt for those San Mateo players who attend local Catholic schools, but those in the San Mateo-Foster City School District will not have any issues about missing class.

“It works out perfectly,” Harris said. “It won’t (impact the public school players) because we are scheduling it around the San Mateo-Foster City School District fall break.”

Harris said the tryout pool had more players this year than previously, which he attributes to the change in the date change. When the trip was planned for early August, many potential players skipped it as it would affect either family vacations or a player’s club and travel team tournaments. It was during those lean years that Harris opened up the team to 10-year-olds to fill out the roster.

“We opened it up to 10-year-olds about eight or 10 years ago because we struggled to get enough awareness and enough kids to tryout,” Harris said. “And a lot of that has to do with a lot of the other programs going on.”

A cultural exchange

The trip, however, is about so much more than baseball. The players on the team are serving as cultural ambassadors for the city of San Mateo, so when tryouts were held back in February, Harris conducted interviews with all the potential players, to make sure they had the right mindset for this journey.

“All of these players have skills,” Harris said. “So not only was the tryout focused around baseball skills, there was also an interview component. We really focus on having a well-rounded individual. …While baseball is the activity, we also stress that we’re looking for individuals who will represent San Mateo and their families.”

The family element is important because the San Mateo group will not be staying in a swanky hotel. Instead, members of the team will stay with host families.

To that end, the players and coaches have spent one night a week since February going through what Harris calls “culture classes,” at which time the players will learn about the Japanese customs and language.

“We’ll start teaching them the Japanese phrases we want them to learn — like how to say ‘thank you’ or good morning’” Harris said.

The classes also serve as a team-bonding opportunities. The players won’t gather for practice until the beginning of September, so getting them to come together as a team will be the most crucial, Harris said.

The American and Japanese teams will play five games, while the rest of the time will be spent exploring the country. The San Mateo contingent will spend the first few days getting acclimated to the weather, which is a lot more hot and humid than the Peninsula, and will also do some sightseeing — including a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which remembers the atomic bombing of the city that all but ended World War II.

“I’ve gone (to the museum) once before. It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced,” Harris said. “We started teaching (the team) a little bit about the experience.”

The contingent will also visit Osaka and travel on the famed Bullet Train as well.

An experience of a lifetime

And really, that’s what the trip is all about — giving these boys an experience they will never forget. That’s why Harris is still involved 33 years after he went to Toyonaka as a player.

“I don’t think I truly appreciated the program when I was there as a 12-year-old,” Harris said. “Once I had the experience of being on the adult side and seeing how they embraced us and really seeing it firsthand, I knew it was something I couldn’t walk away from.

“It truly is a family. Now that I’ve gone back four or five times, I’ve seen my (host) family the last few times I’ve been back. That’s a cool continuation.”

That continuation trickles down to this year’s team. Four members of the 2021 squad have a relative who made the trip previously. Caleb Fuata’s dad and uncle both made the trip to Toyonaka — dad Dave Fuata went with Harris in 1990, and his younger brother, Jake Fuata, went in 1994. Maddox Stone’s uncle went on the 1994 trip; Cody Gordon’s older brother, Chase, went in 2019, as did Zach Marinec’s sister.

“Operationally speaking, it helps to know about the program,” Harris said. “The people of Toyonaka really embrace seeing these kind of connections and the host families really embrace it.”

The trip, however, is not cheap and the team and association have been raising funds to cover the $80,000 to $95,000 cost.

“The airfare alone for 20 players is almost 40 grand,” Harris said. The biggest fundraiser is a golf tournament and auction at Poplar Creek Aug. 18. There are also a number of corporate sponsors who help defray some of the costs and a GoFundMe page has been set up as well. The group is also taking donations, while the players have also undertaken fundraising efforts of their own.

“This is not your traditional ‘pay-to-play’ type of team. We don’t look for families to make any financial commitment,” Harris said. “We do tell them there will be a lot of work for fundraising.”

Ultimately, Harris hopes the experience the players have in 2023 will have an impact on them in the years to come — much like it has for Harris.

“When I went back in 2019, I had dinner with my host family and it was the same house,” Harris said. “(The familial aspect of the exchange) really helps continue the program. The hope is these (San Mateo) families really embrace the program enough that they want to get more involved.”

Go to www.smsistercity.com if you are interested in donating to the San Mateo Sister City Association all-star team or would like more information.