Let your individuality shine! Recommended back-name ideas for class T-shirts at the sports festival

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

In the lead-up to sports day, it’s common for classes and friends to get matching T-shirts, right?

What kind of words do you put on the back of those T-shirts?

In this article, we’ve gathered recommended phrases for the back of sports day T-shirts—what we call “back names.”

We’ll introduce them in four categories: nicknames/titles, self-deprecating jokes, phrases that form a single saying when two or more people stand together, names of your faves, and famous quotes.

Find your favorite back-name phrase and make it a sports day to remember!

Famous Quotes (1–10)

Don’t think feel

This is a phrase spoken in the film Enter the Dragon and handed down as a line symbolic of Bruce Lee.

It means “Don’t think.

Feel,” and is often quoted as a call to value intuition and sensation.

It expresses a strong will: trust the effort you’ve put in so far, and then trust your instincts and throw yourself into it with everything you’ve got.

It’s a phrase that not only draws power from Bruce Lee’s dynamic presence, but also prompts you to reflect on what you’ve built up and rally your own strength.

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Anyone chickening out?

A rallying call to comrades—a phrase that checks everyone’s resolve as they head into battle.

It’s a line by Manjiro Sano from the manga Tokyo Revengers, used to fire up his crew, including the follow-up “Ain’t that right?!” If you cut it off at the question, it can feel like a direct call-out or even intimidation—that’s part of the point.

The words convey uniting as one to face hardship and the will to take down the opponent.

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If you give up, the game is over right there.

This is a phrase passed down as the words of Coach Anzai from the basketball manga SLAM DUNK.

When you feel like you’re about to be overwhelmed by the challenge in front of you, hearing it can stir up the courage to stand back up.

Because it’s a line from a sports-themed work, it fits perfectly with a school sports festival setting.

It reminds you to believe in yourself and never give up, and you can feel a gentle kindness within its toughness.

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In conclusion

We introduced some recommended words for the nickname on the back of your class T-shirts for the sports festival—did you find something you’d like to put on yours? Besides the suggestions, using that year’s buzzwords or adding Korean is also recommended.

Wear your one-of-a-kind T-shirts at the sports festival and strengthen the bonds with your class and friends!