About Us
In this digital era, we believe that technology can unite sports communities worldwide, enhancing ‘craftsmanship’ (i.e., ‘shokunin’ // 職人) in areas like coaching and training. Through collaboration with experts in sports and technology, we’re building a global community that inspires growth and innovation. Our aim is to create a platform where sports professionals can exchange diverse ideas, access career resources, and reach their full potential.
Mission
Our mission is to create a 'Cloud Campus for Sports'—a collaborative space where athletes, coaches, and professionals can access valuable resources, build meaningful connections, and support one another. Through shared knowledge and community, we aim to make education in sports more accessible, empowering our members to grow their skills, careers, and impact within a supportive network.
Vision
Our vision is to create a globally connected sports community that drives innovation, fosters growth, and prioritizes sustainable and responsible practices. We’re committed to empowering sports professionals with tools and resources that elevate their craft while making a positive impact on people and the planet.
Our Story
Created by Dreamers, Sports and IT Enthusiasts
Sunbears began with a father’s simple wish to support his son’s athletic journey. Watching him train, he realized that technology could make a meaningful difference for athletes. This inspiration led to the creation of Sunbears—a platform designed to help teams and athletes grow every day.
The vision first took shape with Kojimori, a temperature sensor for the sake industry, where we learned the power of precision and innovation. This foundation brought fresh thinking into sports, driving us to focus on using data to help teams prioritize injury prevention and monitor progress effectively.
In 2016, Sunbears took form with the support of a Hungarian IT team. We've since grown by collaborating with athletes, coaches, trainers, college and national teams, developing practical, reliable, and affordable tools to keep teams prepared and healthy.
At Sunbears, we don’t just offer tools—we’re here to walk alongside teams, helping them reach their best at every step.
More than just software, Sunbears is about shaping the future of sports. We’re here to inspire teamwork, support growth, and play a small part in helping tomorrow’s athletes become the best they can be.
Meet The Contributors
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Takahito Suzuki ｜Coach
Coach Suzuki is the current head coach of Toyo University Ice Hockey Club, coach of Bring Up Athletic Society, former professional ice hockey right winger, and the former head coach of the Japan National Team. In 2023, he was appointed as the Director of Technical Department of Japan Ice Hockey Federation (JIHF). Previously, he played in the ECHL- Charlotte Checkers, Kokudo, Seibu, Nikko Ice Bucks, Japan Ice Hockey League, and Asia League.
Coach Suzuki has been constantly collaborating with the Sunbears team, and contributing to the ice hockey drill library, drill draw features development, as well as regular function testing with his professions and experiences.
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Yukata Saho｜Trainer
Mr. Saho is the BOC Certified Athletic Trainer, the Executive Director of Sports Safety Japan, and the trainer of Bring Up Athletic Society. He is also a Chairperson of the Selection Committee of Japan Ice Hockey Federation (JIHF). Previously, he was a Head Athletic Trainer of the Japan National Men's Ice Hockey Team.
As one of the long-time chief contributors of Sunbears, Mr. Saho has been working with us on the development of the EAP system, as well as team data management. He's also been constantly supporting us with his professional and selfless insights.
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Tomohiro Usui｜S＆C Coach
Coach Usui is currently working as the Physical Planner for Bring Up Athletic Society's Rugby Academy. Additionally, he is serving as the S&C Coach for Toyo University Ice Hockey Club. Previously, he worked as an S&C coach for the Edogawa University men's basketball team, Waseda University rugby team, and Sunwolves Rugby.
With the profession and passion in sports science and technology, Mr. Usui joined Sunbears as the main contributor on development of team training stats/ sRPE development , which makes Sunbears a even more useable and handy for the professional sports teams.
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Tomomi Iwahara｜Coach
Ms. Iwahara is a former Head Coach of Women's Ice Hockey at Nippon Sport Science University and a former player and coach for SEIBU Princess Rabbits. She represented Japan in international competitions, including the IIHF Women's World Championship, the Asian Winter Games, and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Since retiring in March 2022, she has been pursuing graduate studies in coaching and researching ice hockey at Nippon Sport Science University.
Her collaboration with us on drill libraries and video documentation has been invaluable. Her passion, dedication, and commitment to both ice hockey and sports education continue to inspire and motivate us.
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Yoshiyuki Sakai｜Coach
With more than 20 years of basketball coaching experience, coach Sakai is the current head coach of Kokugakuin Kugayama High School Basketball Club. He has participated in the Inter High School Tournament eight times and the Winter Cup three times as a coach. His highest ranking is 8th place in the Winter Cup 2013.During his lead, many of the graduates have been active in the B-League, and contributing to the development of basketball in Japan.
Coach Sakai has been dedicated to the Sunbears basketball drill library creation along with his team.
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Mike Sciarpelletti｜Coach
Based in Langley, BC, Canada, coach Mike was the director of Strike Anywhere Powerskating. Coach Mike has been a powerskating and hockey skills instructor for over 18 years with students presently playing in the AJHL, BCHL, BCIHL, NCAA, WHL, ECHL, and AHL.
During his time playing for the Knights of Columbus in Edmonton, Alberta, Mike was taught by many elite level coaches including Edmonton Oilers powerskating coach Steve Serdachny.
It was our pleasure to be able to collaborate with coach Mike to create drill video series and visual contents. It indeed inspired us a lot to see another professional that has been dedicated in the sports education world with passion.
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Rafael (Rafa) Merino Rodríguez｜Coach
Mr. Rafa is the current Head Coach of the Philippine Women’s National Futsal Team. With a UEFA A Pro certificate from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), he brings extensive experience from coaching top-division futsal teams in Spain and England, including Pescados Rubén Burela FS.
Beyond the court, Coach Rafa has also played key roles in coordinating futsal clubs, organizing events, and supporting youth development programs. He has been a supportive presence in the Sunbears journey — extending our drill library and staying in close contact with the team. His passion continues to inspire us, shaping how we build, communicate, and find meaning in growing the futsal community.
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Sam Ajoku｜Player
Joined the Sunbears team as the Co-creator and Ambassador in December 2022, Sam is a Sport Management graduate and sports enthusiast. Besides playing football, he’s also a short and middle-distance runner.
Sam is drawn towards the impact of engaging in sports on human physical and mental health. Just as much, he’s fascinated by the psychology of the mind, understanding “why we do”, “what we do”, and the stories we tell ourselves. Sam’s fascination has opened him to the world of behavioral studies as he’s moving into the user research sector, where he can enjoy learning and challenging him with new experiences
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Kouta Nagayoshi｜Athletic Trainer
Mr. Nagayoshi is a JSPO-certified athletic trainer and acupuncturist. He’s currently a Conditioning Coach of the JSC High Performance Support Project. Previously, he worked as Athletic Trainer for the Funabashi High School Soccer Team, Women's Pro Triathletes, JAL WINGS Japan Airlines Rugby Club, Japan Rugby League One Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, etc. He’s also worked as a sports clinic staff member at the Oriental Medicine Clinical Laboratory affiliated with Tokyo Medical College, and as an instructor at Tokyo Resort & Sports College for more than 10 years.
Mr. Nagayoshi joined the Sunbears Co-creator team in December 2022. With his extensive experience and knowledge, he’s been supporting us in the production of injury evaluation sheets and examination charts for athletes.
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Suguru Kajimura｜Coach
Following his education at Nara Ikuei High School and the School of Sports Sciences at Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences in Japan, coach Kajimura accumulated valuable experience as both a professional player and coach. In 2019, he took on the role of coach for the Nara Ikuei High School soccer team. In 2022, he was promoted to head coach and has held the position ever since. In his previous capacity, he fulfilled the role of coach in three championship tournaments and one inter-high school tournament.
In 2024, Coach Kajimura joined the Sunbears co-creator team, bringing his coaching expertise and professional acumen to greatly contribute to the development and enhancement of the Sunbears Playback app.
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Takuya Murayama｜Former Player
Mr. Murayama, a former professional soccer player, now serves as the Co-Chief Executive Officer of ADLER Co., Ltd. and NARA NO MIYAKO Co., Ltd. His sports science studies at Waseda University, along with professional stints in Australia's second division and Finland's premier league, fueled his passion for developing future athletes through innovative training. Today, he applies his expertise to nurturing young talent and leveraging sports science for athlete development.
In 2024, Mr. Murayama joined Sunbears and started advancing the development of futsal and beach soccer training drills. His role also involves introducing Sunbears to more sports professionals who are equally passionate about innovation and nurturing the next generation. This enriches the platform with fresh perspectives and inspiration.
Meet the Team
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Masatoshi Hiroura
Masatoshi Hiroura is the CEO within the Sunbears project. He is proud to have formed a team and be working alongside head coaches, professors in university, international developers and creators, all who are really professionally involved into Sunbears, sharing a common vision - to form a ‘Cloud Campus for Sports’ - a platform that can benefit sports education within the generations to come.
Among many exciting and memorable times amongst the team and collaborators, his favourite moment was walking in the Oze National Park, in Japan.
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Attila Biró
As a "Co-Father" of Sunbears, his main roles are of Software and Business Developer, Innovator, and Leader. He is motivated by the drive to constantly create and improve, while being part of a team where transparency and friendship are the main ingredients, and at the same time, our key to success.
Attila enjoys electric unicycling, especially for the adrenaline it brings into daily life. Just as much, he loves traveling, reading, ice skating during winters, and contributing to environmental matters. More so, he sees his work as a hobby in itself.
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Yin-Han Yang (Zoe)
At FBTriangle, Zoe holds the position of Creative Director and actively contributes to the production of our visual content, including UX development and marketing, as well as branding initiatives. She also leads the Sunbears' Marketing Team.
Zoe's passion lies in researching, learning, brainstorming ideas, and watching travel and food videos in the comfort of her warm and cozy room. In her free time, she also composes music and produces videos for dance companies worldwide.
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Corina Maereanu
Corina joined the Sunbears team as an intern and is now working as a Marketing Executive, with several PR and Branding duties. She enjoys the warm and radiant atmosphere of the team, and finds the Sunbears 'kaizen' (i.e., 'continuous improvement') approach to be a real motivation!
She loves discovering the world through as many ways possible, and particularly enjoys cooking, maintaining an active lifestyle, along with researching into health, nutrition, psychology, and philosophy.
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Yuriko Hiroura
Yuriko, a licensed massage therapist in New York State and a certified manual therapist in Japan, has joined the Sunbears marketing team as a content creator and translator. She admires the warm and cooperative atmosphere of the team despite the diversity of their cultural and career backgrounds. In addition to her current roles, Yuriko has been a dancer in New York City for more than ten years. She loves animals and dreams of living with many dogs and cats.
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Kumi Kubota
Translator, Customer Service in Japanese, also in charge of Google Ads. Having joined Sunbears in September 2020, Kumi has found the team unique, with a challenging spirit and global collaborative working environment. Her favorite Sunbears’ value is “to contribute to society for the next generations”.
Kumi moved to San Francisco after spending 20 years in Asia with a profession in management, editing and writing. “It’s never too late to learn” is her favorite quote. She enjoys the healthy life in California with a recently adopted dog.
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Yuge Zhao
Yuge, who previously worked as an intern in the marketing department in the UK, now serves as a Marketing Assistant, supporting the Marketing Executive with tasks such as promotions, social media management, and customer service.
She loves challenges, which can stimulate her passion for life. At the same time, she enjoys living in peace and trying to maintain a peaceful heart through exercising and listening to music. As a sports lover, Yuge is ready to contribute to improving sports around the world!
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Chloe Eck (Hiroura)
Chloe joined the marketing team as a Marketing Coordinator in May 2022. Originally from Kentucky in the United States, she now considers Tokyo her home. She is thrilled to be a part of such a diverse and talented team and is excited to learn and grow with them. She is particularly eager to introduce people around the world to Sunbears.
Chloe spends her free time either in her happy place (at home on the sofa) or taking weekend trips into fresh air. She finds happiness in animals, nature, gaming, and sitting outside with a mystery novel and a cool breeze.
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Amanda Lisa Sugawara
As an intern in the marketing department, Amanda provides customer service in both Japanese and English, conducted software testing, and contributed to user experience.
As a graduate student in biomedical sciences, Amanda is passionate about health and well-being. She is excited to work in an international environment, sharing Sunbears with many teams and hoping to bring a positive impact to them. In her free time, she enjoys a variety of interests, including reading, playing games, traveling, and cooking.
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Amrita Kafley
Amrita has recently joined the marketing team at Sunbears. As a marketing and product specialist, she is looking forward to working as a communicator between the technology team and the end users. She believes in the power of sports and its ability to bring diverse groups of people and communities together.
When she is free she loves being outdoors - going camping and hiking in the summers and snowboarding in the winters with her family.
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Tetsuya Koyama
Tetsuya is a marketing team Intern who joined the team in December 2023 while attending the University's Sports Technology Department. He aspires to become a sports trainer, specifically a Strength and Conditioning (S&C) trainer, in the future. Tetsuya has been playing soccer since he was a child, and he is keen on working hard to achieve a project by collaborating with the team. He is also eager to contribute to the development of sports by considering how he can best help.
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Naoto Hiroura
Naoto is a video creator specializing in promotional content for Sunbears. With over a decade of experience as an editor and CG generalist, he has worked on a diverse range of projects including TV commercials, corporate videos, music videos, and films in Japan. An avid sports fan, Naoto particularly enjoys international football.
Rethink connection
Sunbears aims to transform the world of sports by connecting professionals of all ages and helping them achieve their full potential. We believe that by putting people first and fostering a sense of community, we can create a more vibrant and supportive sports environment for everyone involved.
Therefore, we would love to hear from you! Whether you have questions or ideas, our team is here to provide assistance and support. Feel free to get in touch with us anytime.