Why I diagnose
instead of teaching.
In 2002, I started something no one in Japan had attempted before — a fully private, one-to-one soccer coaching practice. At the time, soccer in Japan was a team sport, learned in a team setting. The idea of teaching it individually was almost unheard of.
But as I worked with children one by one, I became more and more certain of a single fact:
Nearly every child who has stopped improving shares one thing — an unaddressed cause.
A child who can't score isn't failing for lack of shooting practice.
A child who can't beat defenders isn't failing for lack of feints.
There is something earlier in the chain that no one has identified.
No doctor would prescribe sprints to a child with a fever. They would diagnose first, identify the cause, and then prescribe treatment. It seems obvious in medicine. Yet in soccer coaching, this "diagnosis-first" mindset is almost entirely missing.
So I decided to build The Soccer Technique Clinic myself.
That decision was 22 years ago. The clinic is still open — and the method now bears my name.
Biography
Founder, The Soccer Technique Clinic
CEO, STS Inc.
Coverage: 23 wards of Tokyo + Online (worldwide)
Instagram: @ssyatabe / LINE: large subscriber base
We diagnose why your child can't improve.
The Journey
Born in Urawa, Saitama
Raised in Urawa — historically known as Japan's "football town." Played the game from earliest childhood.
Founded the practice
Launched Japan's first private soccer coaching practice, in a market where one-to-one soccer coaching did not yet exist. Began the pioneer path.
Publishing & Media
Published books on private coaching methodology. Television and magazine features helped establish private soccer coaching as a category in Japan.
The Yatabe Method Established
Systematized the methodology around a medical model: diagnosis → treatment → follow-up. Formally established as The Yatabe Method.
20,000+ Lessons Delivered
Crossed 20,000 cumulative lessons. SNS reach surpassed 110,000 followers, becoming one of Japan's largest voices in private soccer coaching.
Going Global
Growing online diagnosis demand from selected families in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, Australia, and Canada. Bringing Japanese-quality private coaching to the world.
Three Principles
Look at the cause,
not the talent.
Children rarely stop improving because they lack talent. Almost always, the cause is something invisible. Once the cause is identified, the path opens.
Diagnose first,
then teach.
A good doctor doesn't prescribe before diagnosing. Neither do we. We observe, we analyze, we identify the cause — before any teaching begins.
Improvement is not
a one-time event.
Like a dental check-up, technique requires periodic monitoring. We build systems to prevent regression — so improvement compounds, season after season.
Track Record & Reach
2 Books
Published works on private soccer coaching methodology and parental engagement.
2,600+ Videos
One of Japan's most extensive coaching video archives, growing steadily for over a decade.
900+ Articles
22 years of coaching insights, published continuously as long-form articles.
110,000+
Combined followers across YouTube, Instagram, blog, and LINE.
Beyond the Pitch
Born in Urawa, Saitama — historically known as Japan's "football town." Spent his entire adult career on one side of the equation: passing the game to the next generation.
Every child he coaches becomes a "case" — documented, analyzed, and added to a 20,000-record database that informs every new diagnosis.
Off the pitch, he is an entrepreneur exploring new business ventures and an active operator of AI tools as "AI staff" in his workflow — and, true to his Saitama roots, a devoted ramen explorer.
Talent is rarely the problem.
The real cause is simply invisible
— until someone trains to see it.
Have your child's
technique diagnosed.
Online Diagnosis JPY 19,800 / In-Person Diagnosis JPY 44,000.
Applications are reviewed personally.
WhatsApp: +81-80-4722-3530 / Email: ssyatabe0@gmail.com