Tainai Deers
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The Tainai Deers is an American football team located in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. They are a member of the X-League.
| Tainai Deers | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquartered | Chofu, Tokyo, Japan |
| Colours | Burgundy and white |
| Mascot | Deer-kun |
| Website | http://www.deers.jp |
| Personnel | |
| Owner | Yoshiaki Fujimori |
| Head coach | Motohide Takano |
| League / conference affiliations | |
| X-League Central Division | |
| Championships | |
| Japan X Bowl titles: 2 (1997 and 2009) | |
| Division championships: 14 (1997–99, 2001, 2003–05, 2007–12, 2014) | |
Team history
- 1989 Team founded by the Kajima Business group. Team known as the Kajima Deers
- 1992 Promoted from X2 to X1.
- 1997 Won first Tokyo Super Bowl title.
- 2009 Won 2nd Japan X Bowl title and 1st Rice Bowl National Championship
- 2014 Kajima Group ends team sponsorship. Lixil Group offers new sponsorship. Team renamed the LIXIL Deers.[1]
- 2021 Lixil Group end sponsorship. Team renamed Deers Football Club.[2]
- 2022 Team renamed Tainai Deers.
Seasons
| X-League champions (1987–present) | Division champions | Final Stage/Semifinals Berth | Wild Card /2nd Stage Berth |
| Season | Division | Regular Season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||
| 1989 | East | 1st | 4 | 0 | 0 | Makoto Kaneji | ||
| 1990 | East | 1st | 8 | 0 | 0 | Makoto Kaneji | ||
| 1991 | East | 1st | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won X2-X1 promotion match (Silver Ox) 24–16 | Makoto Kaneji | |
| 1992 | East | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 0 | Makoto Kaneji | ||
| 1993 | East | 4th | 7 | 6 | 0 | Shigeru Saito | ||
| 1994 | East | 1st | 6 | 2 | 1 | Lost semifinals match (Onward) 6–34 | Shigeru Saito | |
| 1995 | East | 3rd | 8 | 3 | 0 | Shigeru Saito | ||
| 1996 | Central | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 0 | Motohide Takano | ||
| 1997 | Central | 1st | 10 | 1 | 0 | Won Semifinals match (Onward) 23–20 2OT Won Tokyo Super Bowl XI (Matsushita Electric Works) 48–12 Won 51st Rice Bowl National Championship game (Hosei) 39–0 |
Motohide Takano | |
| 1998 | Central | 1st | 8 | 2 | 0 | Lost semifinals match (Asahi Beer) 13–38 | Motohide Takano | |
| 1999 | Central | 1st | 9 | 0 | 0 | Won Semifinals match (Recruit) 20–13 Lost Tokyo Super Bowl XIII (Asahi Beer) 16–18 |
Motohide Takano | |
| 2000 | Central | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 0 | Kiyoyuki Mori | ||
| 2001 | Central | 1st | 9 | 1 | 0 | Lost semi-finals match (Asahi Soft Drinks) 13–21 | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2002 | East | 2nd | 9 | 3 | 0 | Lost Wildcard match (Asahi Soft Drinks) 10–28 | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2003 | Central | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Lost Wild Card match (Asahi Beer) 3–7 | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2004 | East | 1st | 10 | 0 | 0 | Lost Wild Card match (Obic) 3–10 | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2005 | Central | 1st | 9 | 2 | 0 | Won Wild card match (Onward) 27–6 Lost semi-finals match (Matsushita Denko) 0–3 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2006 | East | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | Won Wild Card match (Asahi Beer) 14–6 Won Semi-finals match (Matsushita Denko) 13–6 Lost Japan X Bowl XX (Onward) 21–24 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2007 | Central | 1st | 6 | 2 | 0 | Lost Wild Card match (Obic) 13–19 OT | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2008 | Central | 1st | 10 | 0 | 0 | Won Wild Card match (Fujitsu) 21–19 Won Semi-finals match (Asahi Soft Drinks) 24–7 Lost Japan X Bowl XXII (Panasonic Denko) 14–28 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2009 | Central | 1st | 8 | 1 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (Suita) 32–19 Won 2nd stage match (Asahi Beer) 24–14 Won Final stage match (Panasonic) 34–26 Won Japan X Bowl XXIII (Fujitsu) 21–14 Won 63rd Rice Bowl National Championship game (Kansai) 19–16 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2010 | East | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (Meiji Yasuda) 52–13 Lost 2nd stage match (Asahi Soft Drinks) 38–23 Lost final stage match (Obic) 21–28 OT |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2011 | East | 1st | 7 | 0 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (As One) 55–7 Lost 2nd stage match (Nojima Sagamihara) 20–27 OT Lost final stage match (Obic) 20–45 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2012 | East | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (at As One) 40–6[3] Won 2nd stage match (Fujitsu) 27–15[4] Won Final stage match (Fujitsu) 24–14[5] Lost Japan X Bowl XXVI (at Obic) 24–27 |
Yasuhiro Maruta (MVP) Kohei Arai (ROY) |
Kiyoyuki Mori |
| 2013 | East | 2nd | 7 | 1 | 0 | Lost 2nd stage match (IBM) 35–56 Won 2nd stage match (at Panasonic) 47–45[6] Lost final stage match (at Obic) 12–21 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2014 | Central | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (at Asahi Soft Drinks) 23–7[7] Lost 2nd stage match (IBM) 10–38 Lost final stage match (at IBM) 54–69 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2015 | Central | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (at Elecom Kobe) 35–8 Lost 2nd stage match (at Fujitsu) 24–34 |
Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2016 | Central | 2nd | 7 | 3 | 0 | Lost quarterfinals match (IBM) 16–37 [8] | Kiyoyuki Mori | |
| 2017 | East | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 0 | Lost quarterfinals match (IBM) 31–51 | Tominaga Hajime | |
| 2018 | Central | 3rd | 4 | 5 | 0 | Lost Wildcard match (at Tokyo Gas) 7–14 OT | Tominaga Hajime | |
| 2019 | X1 Area Central | 1st | 6 | 3 | 0 | Motohide Takano | ||
| 2020 | X1 Area Central | N/A | 3 | 0 | 0 | Motohide Takano | ||
| 2021 | X1 Area Central | 1st | 4 | 2 | 0 | Motohide Takano | ||
| 2022 | X1 Super Div. A | 5th | 3 | 5 | 0 | Motohide Takano | ||
| 2023 | X1 Super Div. B | 6th | 1 | 5 | 1 | Lost X1 Super Ranking match (Asahi Soft Drinks) 8–14 Lost X1 Super/X1 Area replacement match (All Mitsubishi) 17–31 |
Yasushi Nakagawa | |
| 2024 | X1 Area Central | 1st | 9 | 0 | 0 | Lost X1 Super/X1 Area replacement match (FujiFilm Ebina) 17–20 | Takashi Kubo | |
| 2025 | X1 Area Central | 1st | 9 | 0 | 0 | Won X1 Area East Japan Championship (Dentsu) 21–16 | Takashi Kubo | |
| Total | 249 | 68 | 2 | (1989–2025, includes only regular season) | ||||
| 24 | 27 | 0 | (1989–2025, includes only playoffs) | |||||
| 273 | 95 | 2 | (1989–2025, includes both regular season and playoffs) | |||||
Head coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Makoto Kaneji | 1989–1992 | 29–6 (.829) |
| Shigeru Saito | 1993–1995 | 21–12–1 (.618) |
| Motohide Takano | 1996–1999, 2019–22 | 46–10 (.821) |
| Kiyoyuki Mori | 2000–2016 | 154–54 (.760) |
| Tominaga Hajime | 2017–18 | 10–10 (.500) |
| Yasushi Nakagawa | 2023 | 1–7–1 (.125) |
| Takashi Kubo | 2024–present | 19–1 (.950) |
Current Import Players
| Jersey # | Name | Position | Years with the team | Alma mater | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #21 | Paul Morant | DB | 2025–present | Old Dominion University | X1 Area ROY (2025) |
Former Import players
| Name | Position | Years with the team | Alma mater | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Hawkins | CB | 2022–24 | University of San Diego | |
| Ian Park | LT | 2019–2023 | Northwestern University | 2x All X-League Area Team member (2019 & 2020) |
| Joseph Marton | DL | 2022 | SGS College | |
| Joe Mathis | OLB | 2020 | Washington | 2x All X-League Team member (2018 & 2020) |
| Dakota Torres | TE | 2019 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | |
| Max Look | CB | 2019 | Pacific University | All X-League Area Team member (2019) |
| Fred Wyatt | DT | 2019 | Northwestern University | |
| Derrick Bryant | LB | 2018 | University of Indianapolis | |
