During one informal game, a tall boy in yellow rounded third base, pushed aside his slower teammate and scored ahead of him, an act that would be normal for taxis on Dakar’s hectic roads, but one that is against the rules in baseball.

Image Labibide Francois Thiabre, 8, running for the ball on a field without grass in Dakar, Senegal. Credit... Jane Hahn for The New York Times

Along with smiles, there is discipline. The boys must retrieve their errant throws. Before each practice, they remove rocks and trash from the field.

“If you don’t pick up, you can’t play,” said Mamadou Bassirou, 13.

At times, the practices are a hot mess of linguistic and cultural misunderstandings. Ogawa speaks some French, but the players prefer Wolof, a local language. He calls out “strike one” and “strike two” in accented English, and the boys mimic him. They ask him if Japan is the same as China, and if everyone knows karate.

Babacar, who has never heard of Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, either, has barely mastered throwing and catching, but he patriotically discusses his potential as a future professional.

“I want to go abroad,” he said through an interpreter. “I want the name of Senegal to be celebrated.”

Ogawa and a volunteer in another city instruct 50 children between them. Since 1970, more than 235 baseball volunteers and 54 softball coaches have been sent abroad, according to JICA. Six baseball instructors are working in four African countries: Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Senegal. There are currently no JICA softball volunteers in Africa.