But not for Tsubasa Endoh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His journey to a professional career took a different path, one rarely taken by Japanese players, especially those coming out of high school – America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having graduated high school early, Endoh had his sights firmly set on a college education in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I feel like a lot of people questioned me when I went to the (United) States because no one went to the States to become a pro,” Endoh told The Asian Game<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There was no path for that. But at the end of the day that was the journey that I took.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In truth, it was a journey that was set in stone from a young age when his mother forced him to learn English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Everyone asks me how I picked up English so quickly, and it\u2019s a funny story, my Mum kind of forced me to learn English when I was 3-4 years old and I hated it,” the 26-year-old recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But when I grew up in Japan and I was in Middle School and High School I just loved learning English. But in school you only learn basic grammar and reading, you couldn\u2019t really learn how to communicate with people in person and that was what I needed, but I wasn\u2019t able to do it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when the opportunity presented itself, Endoh jumped at the chance of moving the America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “To be honest, I didn\u2019t want to go to University in Japan because the system is just tragic,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “So that was no option for me. But this opportunity came at the right time and right place, I took it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It\u2019s fun to go a path that no one has taken before, and that was the opportunity that I had and I was able to get a good education in the States, the environment was fantastic, and now I\u2019m able to speak English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If I didn\u2019t go to University in the States then that wouldn\u2019t have happened at all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n