Feature Story | 5-Oct-2026

OUS soccer team’s use of generative AI in sports and team management

Student-athletes at Okayama University of Science are using Google Gemini as a “thinking partner,” expanding its use from individual learning to student-led team operations

Okayama University of Science

Generative AI seminar for OUS soccer team — **image:**
Professor Tsunehiro Hayashi of the Faculty of Management leads a generative AI seminar for
members of the Okayama University of Science soccer team. The initiative encourages
student-athletes to use Google Gemini as a “thinking partner” to reflect on their own challenges and
deepen their thinking.
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Credit: Okayama University of Science

Okayama University of Science (OUS) is exploring how generative AI can support student-athletes not only in developing their own thinking, but also in managing and improving their team.

An educational and team-management initiative using Google’s generative AI tool Gemini within the OUS soccer team was recently featured in a two-part series on the offi cial “Gemini - Google AI” note channel.

The initiative began in February 2026, when Professor Tsunehiro Hayashi of the Faculty of Management held a generative AI seminar for members of the OUS soccer team.

Rather than using Gemini simply as a tool for obtaining answers, students were encouraged to use it as a “thinking partner” to articulate their own challenges and deepen their thinking. Students have applied generative AI to areas such as understanding their own play and soccer tactics, self-analysis, and goal setting, with an emphasis on using AI to support their own thinking.

The initiative has since expanded beyond individual players to team operations. Students themselves are responsible for a wide range of activities within the soccer team, including team administration, match operations, data analysis, training, accounting, player registration, public relations, and community engagement. They are now exploring how generative AI can help them identify problems, improve processes, and develop solutions across these areas.

The initiative has also evolved from faculty-to-student instruction into student-to-student learning. Students took the lead in organizing a second generative AI seminar, sharing what they had learned and helping other team members explore ways to use the technology.

Google Gemini’s two-part feature presents these developments from two perspectives. Perspective 1 focuses on how generative AI can help players develop the ability to think for themselves, while Perspective 2 looks at how students are applying generative AI to team operations and management.

University sports are not only an opportunity for students to improve their athletic performance. They can also provide a practical learning environment in which students identify problems, collaborate with others, make decisions, and take responsibility for running an organization.

OUS will continue incorporating emerging technologies, including generative AI, into education and extracurricular activities, with the aim of helping students develop the ability to use AI appropriately while thinking, making judgments, and taking action for themselves.