Tokyo Great Bears

Tokyo Great Bears
Full nameTokyo Great Bears
東京グレートベアーズ
FoundedMay 2022; 2 years ago (2022-05)[1]
GroundKōtō, Tokyo, Japan
OwnerNature Lab Co., Ltd.
Great Bears Co., Ltd.
Head CoachFinland Kasper Vuorinen
CaptainJapan Koichiro Koga[2]
LeagueV.League Division 1
WebsiteClub home page
2023–24 V.League Division 1 Men's

Tokyo Great Bears (Japanese: 東京グレートベアーズ) is the Japanese male volleyball club in V.League Division 1, the highest volleyball league in Japan. Established in May 2022 by Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and would start competing in 2022–23 season.[1]

Concept

The team name means the players and supporters that are connected, comparable to the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which is part of Ursa Major. The club intend to connect people, regions, and the world through volleyball. They will envision a future that will make the volleyball world more exciting and attractive.[3]

History

In 2021, it was announced that FC Tokyo volleyball team would suspend the operations after the 2021–22 V. League season.[4][5] But in May 2022, It was reported that the team was transferred to Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and established as the new team Tokyo Great Bears.[6][3]

In the same month, Great Bears Co., Ltd. was founded as the management company for the club under Nature Lab and some players from FC Tokyo was also transferred to the club.[3]

All players are offered professional contracts.[7]

Tokyo Great Bears broke the V.League Division 1 attendance record with 8,142 fans in attendance for the game against JTEKT Stings at Ariake Coliseum.[8]

Team

Current roster

Team roster – season 2023/2024
No. Player Name Date of birth Position
1 Japan Hidetomo Hoshino (1990-09-29) September 29, 1990 (age 34) Outside hitter
2 Japan Kentaro Tamaya (1992-01-30) January 30, 1992 (age 32) Setter
3 Japan Fukatsu Akihiro (1987-07-23) July 23, 1987 (age 37) Setter
6 Japan Hideyuki Kuriyama [ja] (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 (age 31) Middle Blocker
8 Japan Masahiro Yanagida (1992-07-06) July 6, 1992 (age 32) Outside hitter
9 Japan Takahiro Tozaki (1995-06-14) June 14, 1995 (age 29) Outside hitter
10 Japan Taichirō Koga (c) (1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 35) Libero
11 Japan Daigo Yamada (1998-04-11) April 11, 1998 (age 26) Middle blocker
12 Japan Hirotaka Odashima (1991-07-22) July 22, 1991 (age 33) Middle Blocker
13 Japan Hayata Yanagimachi (1996-06-17) June 17, 1996 (age 28) Opposite Spiker
14 Japan Shin Tehara (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 (age 31) Setter
15 Japan Yuki Imahashi (2000-12-25) December 25, 2000 (age 23) Setter
16 Japan Takumi Kameyama (2001-02-27) February 27, 2001 (age 23) Outside Hitter
17 Japan Shingo Kasari (1997-01-29) January 29, 1997 (age 27) Outside hitter
18 Japan Tetsuya Muto (1997-11-05) November 5, 1997 (age 26) Middle Blocker
20 Brazil Rafael Araújo (1991-06-13) June 13, 1991 (age 33) Opposite hitter
28 Japan Kandai Goto (2003-01-25) January 25, 2003 (age 21) Libero
Head coach: Finland Kasper Vuorinen

Former Roster

Head coach history

Name Years
Japan Koichiro Shimbo 2022-2023[9]
Finland Kasper Vuorinen 2023-Present[10]

Notable Players

Brazil Rafael Araújo (2022)

Results

League result

  Champion   Runner-up

League Position Teams Matches Win Lose
V.League Division 1 2022–23 season 8th 10 36 10 26

References

  1. ^ a b "tokyo-greatbears information". tokyo-greatbears.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ "022-23シーズン 選手契約（12選手）及びキャプテン決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). tokyo-greatbears.com. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "バレーV１新チーム『東京グレートベアーズ』小池百合子東京都知事を表敬訪問" (in Japanese). prtimes.jp. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ Li, Matthew (8 December 2021). "Espejo's team FC Tokyo to suspend V.League ops after season". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ "FC東京バレーボールチーム活動休止のお知らせ ｜ニュース｜バレーボール｜FC東京オフィシャルホームページ". FC Tokyo (in Japanese). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ "応援ありがとうございました。" (in Japanese). fctokyo.co.jp. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ^ "【東京GBインタビュー①】久保田代表取締役が感じたVリーグの可能性「我々も26年前にはなかった会社」 | 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】". 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】 | 月刊バレーボールが運営するバレー情報サイト (in Japanese). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  8. ^ "東京グレートベアーズ 2023年3月5日(日)V.LEAGUE MEN 最多入場者数更新のお知らせ". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. 2023-03-05. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  9. ^ ネイチャーラボ. "真保綱一郎監督 退任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  10. ^ ネイチャーラボ. "カスパー・ヴオリネン新監督就任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-06-15.