Who Will Be Mao's New Coaches?

[Bennett]

Koz's dad is an advisor, not exactly a coach? Who is Yamada's star pupil nowadays. Is Midori working or assisting her in coaching at all. NOw I think Yamada/ Ito can be a posible team.

I do not know. Koz's dad wrote a newspaper article and it was copied and pasted on this board. In that newspaper, he put a signature, advisor at that Univ.

But I did see a clip in which he was coaching his son prior to Oly. I read in Miki's book that Koz's parents taught Koz in Nagoya and they went to Mrs. and Mr. Sato's near Tokyo every weekend (they brought young Miki to Mrs. & Mr. Sato's, too).

The story about Yamada and Midori is not a confirmed piece of info. But I just heard it elsewhere. And Yamada did say in a clip prior to Oly that she was in a situation where she was often seeing Mao practice and talking with her (but she did not sound like she was involved as a coach). On the other hand, Yamada has her own club in another rink. Her star student in Kanako Murakami.

I highly doubt if Yamada still wants to coach Mao again for four more years. It'd be really a lot of work to have a super star student like Mao. She could not always travel abroad with Mao even at that time.

I do not know if Midori coaches. I recall her coming back as a pro skater around 40 yrs old and trying 2A.

[rtureck]

I do not know. Koz's dad wrote a newspaper article and it was copied and pasted on this board. In that newspaper, he put a signature, advisor at that Univ.


I highly doubt if Yamada still wants to coach Mao again for four more years. It'd be really a lot of work to have a super star student like Mao. She could not always travel abroad with Mao even at that time.

I do not know if Midori coaches. I recall her coming back as a pro skater around 40 yrs old and trying 2A.

It is always a double edged sword of coaching world class star pupil. BTw, what are the arrangements of coaching fee in Japan? In the US e.g. I heard that a coach negotiates a % of the pupil's income in their contract e.g. 20% of the skaters earnings.

[Bennett]

It is always a double edged sword of coaching world class star pupil. BTw, what are the arrangements of coaching fee in Japan? In the US e.g. I heard that a coach negotiates a % of the pupil's income in their contract e.g. 20% of the skaters earnings.

No idea. I only know that I was charged between $25-$50 per 30 min as a lower level skater many years ago..... I read a magazine estimating $180 per hour for top coaches (so $90 per 30 min?) though. Who's paying who and how much is pretty much mystery. Unless Fumie came out, we did not know that she was out of sponsors for two years and using her own saving and faimly's saving to compete.

But Mao is the richest so finances would never be any problems for her.

This is totally random chat about the impression of mine without any confirmed info. But I actually just had an impression that Kurt might be interested in coaching Mao because he says what he likes about her and he was pretty critical about the music choice this season (like zombi coming out of a tomb or something scary, he said). Unless you feel a strong sense of attachment with love, you would not go that far to crticize how another great coach packaged her own student.

[rtureck]

No idea. I only know that I was charged between $25-$50 per 30 min as a lower level skater many years ago..... I read a magazine estimating $180 per hour for top coaches (so $90 per 30 min?) though. Who's paying who and how much is pretty much mystery. Unless Fumie came out, we did not know that she was out of sponsors for two years and using her own saving and faimly's saving to compete.

But Mao is the richest so finances would never be any problems for her.

This is totally random chat about the impression of mine without any confirmed info. But I actually just had an impression that Kurt might be interested in coaching Mao because he says what he likes about her and he was pretty critical about the music choice this season (like zombi coming out of a tomb or something scary, he said). Unless you feel a strong sense of attachment with love, you would not go that far to crticize how another great coach packaged her own student.

Oh no one is worried about whether Mao can finance her skating, and since she is the richest and if her coach gets a % of her earnings tht can be a little extra incentive for a coach.
By Kurt you mean Browning? He is a very busy person, but I had thought about Kurt Browning choreographing for Mao.

[Bennett]

Oh no one is worried about whether Mao can finance her skating, and since she is the richest and if her coach gets a % of her earnings tht can be a little extra incentive for a coach.
By Kurt you mean Browning? He is a very busy person, but I had thought about Kurt Browning choreographing for Mao.

I thought that that would be fun! Some contemporary cool stuff from him.

[berrycute]

I'd luv to see what John Nicks could do with Mao, particularly style wise, as his lady students have had some of the best refinement and pointed-toes I've ever seen. Yuka Sato I think is another solid choice, great jumping technique! But I suspect this is a bit of a pipe dream on my part, Mao seems so adamant that she will stay in Japan. It's a little frustrating really, she's limiting herself so much because of that!

[Bennett]

I think that the Japanese Skating Fed has had a long-time traditional belief that world-famous foreign coaches and choreographers are the best and send their skaters to foreign countries.
It does make sense in
that 1) Europe and North America have been traditionally strong in FS so that there are great coaches and choreographers out there.
that 2) Japanese coaches and choreographers do not become world-famous because foreign top skaters do not come to Japan perhaps because of language barriers and location (see Yuka Sato's popularity without those barriers), and
that 3) reputation scores are so important in FS.
But I think that they should now rediscover and better appreciate their own coaches and choreographers.

[rtureck]

I always thought Japanese fed send her skaters abroad b/c of over crowded rink conditions, and not enough coaches. Anyway I remember Arakawa who had to adjust to Callaghan, Tat, and Morosov in a short span of less than 2 yrs.


Berrycute, I agree pupils ofr John Nicks e.g. NNN, Cohen and Nikodinov all have lovely layback spins. How old is Nicks now? in his 70s?

[Mathman]

^ Nicks turned 81 last month.

[Bennett]

I always thought Japanese fed send her skaters abroad b/c of over crowded rink conditions, and not enough coaches. Anyway I remember Arakawa who had to adjust to Callaghan, Tat, and Morosov in a short span of less than 2 yrs.

The rink problems persist. But the situation somewhat changed after Chukyo Univ and Kansai Univ built rinks. The ones at Chukyo Univ are good not only because their high school students also can use them, but also they are designated as a national training center for FS.