Shoma is going coachless this season

[Wyliefan]

Without a main coach, that is. Takeshi Honda will be his jump coach. https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1150642264235921408?s=19

(This was already in the Shoma thread, but I thought it might deserve its own news thread. Mods, please delete if you think it's redundant.)

 

[Jarrett]

That doesn't sound good but at least this isn't an Olympic season.

 

[feraina]

Without a main coach, that is. Takeshi Honda will be his jump coach. https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1150642264235921408?s=19

(This was already in the Shoma thread, but I thought it might deserve its own news thread. Mods, please delete if you think it's redundant.)

Multiple skaters his own level... not many options besides Rafa and Cricket Club. Nathan and Vincent have weird training situations due to college. It’s not a bad year for him to have an unorthodox training situation considering two of his three major competitors are doing the same.

I’d like to see him with Rafa. I wonder why there’s no noise about that possibility considering rafa’s new rink has space. Does Rafa worry that if he takes on Shoma the chance of Nathan coming back full time will be even lower?

 

[olympic]

Multiple skaters his own level... not many options besides Rafa and Cricket Club. Nathan and Vincent have weird training situations due to college. It’s not a bad year for him to have an unorthodox training situation considering two of his three major competitors are doing the same.

I’d like to see him with Rafa. I wonder why there’s no noise about that possibility considering rafa’s new rink has space. Does Rafa worry that if he takes on Shoma the chance of Nathan coming back full time will be even lower?

Bold mine.

I think though that both Nathan and Vincent have an advantage and it's not a direct apples-to-apples comparison. Nathan still retains his long-time coach and is just not physically w/ RA due to his studies. Nathan understands RA's expectations and had developed / mastered his technique before moving away, so there is a synergy there that I'm not sure exists w/ Shoma, who does not really have any strong ties right now. Vincent is presently mastering technique and has made moves to perfect it further, like spending time w/ Hamada in JPN, but like Nathan is moored to his team. Shoma is incredible and but for Yuzu, would be an incredible #1 skater for JPN or any country right now, but I think he needs someone to perfect his technique [the 4F is an example]

 

[Orm Irian]

Well, better coachless and happy than accepting a bad fit because you think you have to and spending the season unhappy, I suppose! He certainly seems willing to trust himself and his instincts. I wish him well, and I hope he comes through the experiment safe, sound and successful by his own definition of success.

 

[kittyjake5]

Shoma did say an an earlier interview that he may go coachless this season.

Honda will be his jump coach. Good move.

Honda has been Daisuke's technical coach for years and not only helped him get his jumps back after the knee injury but
improved Dai's jumps overall. He also works out of Kansai Univ. along with Utako Nagamitisu (Dai's coach).

This is getting more and more interesting.

 

[Polaris]

I guess Camp Eteri didnt do it for him.

There are very few options for him, so it is a tough situation.

I don't get why he doesn't just stick with his old coaching team if he hasn't located a new one yet, than go coachless.

 

[Colonel Green]

I guess Camp Eteri didnt do it for him.

It sounded like this was always the plan, or most likely outcome, based on his statements before he went to Eteri's summer camp.

Now, why exactly he's chosen this approach, I have no idea.

 

[Enchanted]

I guess Camp Eteri didnt do it for him.

There are very few options for him, so it is a tough situation.

I don't get why he doesn't just stick with his old coaching team if he hasn't located a new one yet, than go coachless.

Because he has already announced he left his old team, it might be difficult to return. Especially, if it’s only until he finds a coach better suited for his current situation.

 

[Madhatter]

That doesn't sound good but at least this isn't an Olympic season.

If he did it now, he'd have 2 full seasons to get used to the new coach and new coaching. And then the Olympic season. Will next season - if it happens - be enough?

On the other hand, if he indeed wants to train alongside "peers with multiple quads" Russian coaches are his only options because I seriously doubt Raf or Orser will agree to take him on. Or does Shoma know something we don't, namely that Hanyu's planning to retire next season, and wants to join TCC after that?

 

[just tuned in]

Well, better coachless and happy than accepting a bad fit because you think you have to and spending the season unhappy, I suppose! He certainly seems willing to trust himself and his instincts. I wish him well, and I hope he comes through the experiment safe, sound and successful by his own definition of success.

Coming in late to this discussion. Why was he unhappy with Machiko Yamada? I am sad because I thought they looked happy. Who is the one now coaching Vincent?

 

[Colonel Green]

On the other hand, if he indeed wants to train alongside "peers with multiple quads" Russian coaches are his only options because I seriously doubt Raf or Orser will agree to take him on. Or does Shoma know something we don't, namely that Hanyu's planning to retire next season, and wants to join TCC after that?

Orser was ready to take Jin before the latter decided he didn’t want to go, so I don’t think he’d have an issue taking Uno.

Raf, I don’t know what his (and Nathan’s) thoughts would be.

Who is the one now coaching Vincent?

Mie Hamada.

 

[Madhatter]

Orser was ready to take Jin before the latter decided he didn’t want to go, so I don’t think he’d have an issue taking Uno.

Hanyu and Jin on one rink is world of difference from Hanyu and Uno on one rink. This time Hanyu might actually be seriously against it, and even if not, I doubt Orser would sign up for all the scrutiny and political s**tshow that would come out of having God Hanyu and Silver Shoma, Japan's #1 and #2, train together. Seriously, Jin would have been peanuts as far as the causes of ulcers go. And I think Orser's been around the block enough to know it.

But if I'm wrong, I want front-row seats and buckets of popcorn to watch that drama.

 

[Tavi]

Coming in late to this discussion. Why was he unhappy with Machiko Yamada? I am sad because I thought they looked happy. Who is the one now coaching Vincent?

I don’t think he has ever said he was unhappy. He did say that both of his long time coaches encouraged him to make a change.

 

[TAHbKA]

Oi. Really hope it works for him

 

[Sylvia]

Who is the one now coaching Vincent?

Tammy Gambill and Mie Hamada (I posted an article link in the U.S. Men's thread yesterday that has more info).

 

[Tinami Amori]

That doesn't sound good but at least this isn't an Olympic season.

I see it differently. Leaving a long time skating coach is like a divorce. One needs time to think before entering a new relationship.

Besides, it seems more gracious for a big-name skater leaving a big-name coach, to give it time, rather than "a day after the divorce go out with a new mate".

 

[Madhatter]

I see it differently. Leaving a long time skating coach is like a divorce. One needs time to think before entering a new relationship.

Besides, it seems more gracious for a big-name skater leaving a big-name coach, to give it time, rather than "a day after the divorce go out with a new mate".

More "gracious" and more risky, and your forced simile doesn't work. Sport is not actually a marriage, a coach is not a mate, and unlike marriage, the Olympic cycle has a very short expiration date. It's better to get a coach earlier and have 3 years with him/her before Olys than go coachless for a year and have only 2 years with a new coach before Olys.

A better simile is a job. It's extremely risky to quit your job before finding an offer of employment elsewhere. You risk ending up unemployed and not earning money. Or medals.

 

[Tinami Amori]

A better simile is a job. It's extremely risky to quit your job before finding an offer of employment elsewhere. You risk ending up unemployed and not earning money. Or medals.

I am not sure what you mean by using a term "smile". But a job analogy to me is even less applicable than marriage. Shoma is not looking for a job. He is looking to "hire", and plenty of coaches will work with him at call.

I still think that his old coach would be more hurt if Shoma went from one to another in a short time. "Needing time to be alone and to think" feels much better to the one who is being left behind than "I left, but found something new right away".

 

[Madhatter]

I am not sure what you mean by using a term "smile". But a job analogy to me is even less applicable than marriage. Shoma is not looking for a job. He is looking to "hire", and plenty of coaches will work with him at call.

I still think that his old coach would be more hurt if Shoma went from one to another in a short time. "Needing time to be alone and to think" feels much better to the one who is being left behind than "I left, but found something new right away".

I meant "simile" not "smile".

Yes, he's not looking for a job. You can see yourself how stupid those similes are. Though yours was stupider than mine, in my humble opinion.

To all accounts Shoma was advised by his coaches to search elsewhere, and if that's indeed the truth, there isn't any hurt involved. And frankly even if there was any hurt involved, nope, going without a coach for a season just because it might hurt the former coach less is just plain stupid. Shoma's not doing it in order to spare his former coach's feelings but because there' are no good options for him at the moment.

 

[Tinami Amori]

To all accounts Shoma was advised by his coaches to search elsewhere, and if that's indeed the truth, there isn't any hurt involved. And frankly even if there was any hurt involved, nope, going without a coach for a season just because it might hurt the former coach less is just plain stupid.

Whatever happened, both sides are gracious and elegant people, as most of the social behavior in Japan.

 

[MacMadame]

Except it's not really like a divorce because having a coach is not like marrying someone. Going to a new coach can be very invigorating, in fact, because you are being exposed to new ways of thinking about things and often the "aha" moments come more often, at least at first.

 

[Orm Irian]

Coming in late to this discussion. Why was he unhappy with Machiko Yamada? I am sad because I thought they looked happy. Who is the one now coaching Vincent?

I wasn't meaning to imply that he was unhappy with his former coach, sorry; I was thinking about the possibility that he'd end up choosing someone who he didn't quite click with because of the pressure to have some/any coach by the time the season started.

 

[Sylvia]

Copying over @MINAM's article link & summary (thank you!) from the Japanese news thread re. Shoma Uno:

Here's an article in Japanese.

"I'm not in a hurry to find a new coach. This season, I'll probably be by myself. No concerns, I believe I can do it alone"

He will be training at Chukyo univ, and take jumping lessons from Takeshi Honda (from the clip I saw, Honda was seen at the rink side, sometimes talking with Uno) Uno will be joining Stephan Lambiel in Switzerland for around 2 weeks in September.
"I want to be near skaters who are landing more than one type of quads. Hopefully, I can train with world-class skaters"

Shae-Lynn Bourne will choreograph his SP, with David Wilson doing the FS. It's the first time for Uno to be working with non-Japanese choreographers on competitive programs. Choreo will be done in August.
"This season's program will be like an exhibition program"

ETA:

Coming in late to this discussion. Why was he unhappy with Machiko Yamada? I am sad because I thought they looked happy.

Yamada (Midori Ito's coach) hasn't traveled to international competitions in a while; Mihoko Higuchi was the woman who accompanied Shoma to his internationals as his coach/choreographer (and smiled a lot in the kiss & cry).

 

[aftershocks]

Does Rafa worry that if he takes on Shoma the chance of Nathan coming back full time will be even lower?

Raf a worrier? Especially about such imaginary fan-created shiite?

Shoma is obviously doing what he feels is best for himself at the moment. What's the point in obsessing over why he made this choice, and what you think should happen instead?

ETA:

I’d like to see him with Rafa. I wonder why there’s no noise about that possibility considering rafa’s new rink has space.

I guess it's you who wishes for Shoma to train with Raf, but that's not up to fans making 'noise.' Both parties must first be interested and at least one party must make an overture. Were such a development to happen, it would have zip to do with Raf's 'new rink having space.' The other part of this is, Shoma has been a top, very direct competitor to Nathan for years. I personally do not see Raf being interested in helping out such a direct competitor to Nathan, which is not to say nothing similar hasn't happened before in separate situations.

Mikhail Kolyada took some training from Raf last summer, but Kolyada has not exactly performed like a top rival to Nathan in recent years. If Kolyada could ever find his competitive mojo and calm his nerves, he has the potential to slay everyone with his prodigious, textbook tech abiities and his budding, dance-like aesthetic. However, what-ifs always abound in this sport, without ever becoming a reality.

 

[aftershocks]

I don't get why he doesn't just stick with his old coaching team if he hasn't located a new one yet, than go coachless.

It will definitely be interesting to see how the upcoming season progresses for Shoma. Who might accompany him in the kiss 'n cry? Maybe he will throw in the towel and settle on a new coach before the season is out. Shoma may even already have a planned strategy in mind.

Notwithstanding that this is Shoma's choice and he can make his own decisions, from what we've previously seen in this sport, going coachless has never worked out well. As others have already pointed out, Nathan did not go coachless last season. He has Raf's technique in his bones and in his muscle memory, and he regularly checked in with Raf throughout the season, as well as spending crucial one-on-one time under Raf's hands-on training in a rink before major competitions.

 

[Vash01]

Shoma is so talented! It’s a shame he cannot find the right coach.

 

[Japanfan]

Notwithstanding that this is Shoma's choice and he can make his own decisions, from what we've previously seen in this sport, going coachless has never worked out well.

My response exactly.

It's better to get a coach earlier and have 3 years with him/her before Olys than go coachless for a year and have only 2 years with a new coach before Olys.

ITA. But if this is a mistake, skaters, like all paper do have the right to make mistakes and 'live and learn', just like everyone else.

 

[VGThuy]

We have seen some instances where a coach who does still care about a student but sees them stagnating or growing frustrated encourages them to move to another coaching base to see if that can help. I wish him all the best.

 

[Japanfan]

Without a main coach, that is. Takeshi Honda will be his jump coach. https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1150642264235921408?s=19

When did Takeshi become a jump coach?

I thought he was still commentating. He was during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver - I ran into him having a ciggie outside the arena.

And jump coach seems an odd choice for him, given that he was such as artistic skater.