Takahashi splits with Morozov

[inskate]

I have noticed that as well. (...) Maybe they think they don't really need a coach... it's just a formality and they need someone to choreograph the programs.?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't really agree with this. (I agree with what bluerose said about JSF, though!)

Mao left Rafael very abruptly

She is jus a 17 year old girl who was forced to leave her family and friends behind when there was no ice time for her in Japan. Now, when a new rink was built, it is no surprise that she prefers to stay close to her family. And she could hardly ask Rafael to just give up all his other students.

Fumie seems to change coaches at least once a season.

Well, not really... She used to work with Nobuo Sato, but not only he started to have too many responsibilities as a coach (working with Yukari Nakano, Takahiko Kozuka an others), but Fumie, just like Mao, had troubles with having enough ice time. She went to USA, where she worked with Vasiliev. Then she met Zhulin there and he created some programs for her. She enjoyed working with him, so she moved with him to Russia. She is still working with him...

Shizuka was working with Terosova until Morozov became the "in" choreographer/coach.

Actually, I think that until Shizuka's success Morozov was mostly known as choreographer... He coached some dance teams and Kevin van der Perren, but it wasn't until Shizuka when he really became known as "champion maker".
I think it's surprising that Shizuka switched away from Tarasova, her previous season was disastrous and she needed some change. It certainly worked well for her. How is her decision different from those made by Michelle, Sasha, Brian, Johnny, Kimmie, and many, many other skaters who decided to change coaches?

Miki is back and forth between Morozov and somebody in Japan.

All of the Japanese skaters who are students and who have foreign coaches - Miki, Daisuke, Nobu - have coaches in Japan with whom they still work (Yuko Monna, Utako Nagamitsu, Noriko Oda). That's because they are students and they have to show their faces at their respective Universities sometimes... And I doubt that their coaches could just travel with them every time, leaving their other responsibilities behind.
I don't really remember about other skaters, but I think Nobu spent more time in Japan than in Canada with Barkell... He was just visiting him for a few weeks at time, learning new things, then going back to Japan and polishing them while working with Noriko.

 

[moviechick]

Who has Morozov NOT worked with? Honestly, it seems like the guy is everywhere these past few years. When and why did he become so sought after?

 

[Buttercup]

Plus, Dai sticks to technically challenging programs... He didn't back off from challenging two quads and two 3A.
Joubert, on the other hand, prefers to play safe and usually it works. Plus when he's injured/sick, he usually just withdraws without spoiling his wins record.

That's just not true and it's mean-spirited besides. While Joubert has, in the past, scaled down his tech when he was ill/injured (e.g. his foot injury a few weeks before 2007 Worlds, which left him unable to train some of his jumps prior to the event), he takes his responsibilities to compete very seriously. He did withdraw from TEB this past season after becoming ill with a virus (described at the time as causing low blood pressure, elevated heart beat and extreme fatigue), but that's about it. Here's part of the comments he made after withdrawing from TEB (taken from a thread here at GS):

It is with a heavy heart that I announce my withdrawal from Trophée Bompard today. Since returning from Quebec City I have been suffering from an illness that still has to be diagnosed and whose prognosis still has to be determined... Hopefully, you will understand my disappointment... I am aware of the impact my withdrawal has (for the organizers, public, media and EB)... As World Champion, I am more than anyone aware of the responsibility of promoting my sport and the responsibility towards its supporters. In my career of more than 15 years, I have been forced to withdraw only three times from an event.
But today, in my current physical condition, I am definitely not able to participate in an international competition. I am sick and, now, most of all, I have to become healthy again. After recovering my health, I will take care of myself and work even harder to give my best when I return to the ice which I wish will happen as soon as possible.

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18074

He had all sorts of medical issues this year, looked really ill at Euros and must have known he wouldn't be able to defend his title there, and he still went. If you want to criticize a skater, at least take the time to get your facts right. Besides, it's not necessary to make accusations against one skater in order to make another one look better. As for quads, I don't seem to recall you having problems with Daisuke's decision not to do one in his SP to begin with. In fact, of the top guys, only Joubert and Lambiel did quad combos in the short at Worlds (though Ponsero, Voronov and Abbott also went for quad combos).

Who has Morozov NOT worked with? Honestly, it seems like the guy is everywhere these past few years. When and why did he become so sought after?

I think it was after his work with Yagudin (while still with TT) in 2002.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Who has Morozov NOT worked with? Honestly, it seems like the guy is everywhere these past few years. When and why did he become so sought after?

It was the 2002 Oly gold medalist, Alexei Yagudin. Morozov rekindled the Sonia Henie toepick footwork which thrilled audiences way back when. Some people imagined it to be Toe Dancing. Anyway he put dance steps in Alexi's footwork as well and that was what made Morozov a much sought after choreographer. Kwan followed with her 2003 Worlds which ignited the demand all the more.
I do not know his technical prowess as a coach.

Joe

 

[NatachaHatawa]

Even though I knew that Morozov was going to work with Oda, I'm still surprised by this news. He fitted Dai like glove.
However it isn't the first time that Morozov has worked with his pupil's rivals.
I understand Dai's concerns, although it is a shame because they made one hell of a team. He's probably worried that the quality of Nikolai's work with him will go down because of his collaboration with Oda. Although I believe that Nikolai is extremely professional, I understand Daisuke. I remember when Morozov worked for Plush the LP he created for Brian (with whom he had already worked several times before) was dreadful. I hope and I believe that this had nothing to do with the fact that he was choreographing for Evgeni but I know Brian didn't feel comfortable with the situation; it must be the smae for Daisuke.

 

[Coach]

My gutt tells me that Takahashi & Morozov split happened or at least was in process prior to Morozov taking on Oda.

Also, I speculate that we may see TT working with both Takahashi & M. Asada, sicne she been granted official/approved JSF coaching status as they work towards 2010. Got to give to TT - she has way to bring out Olympic wins.

 

[inskate]

Buttercup, you misunderstood me completely. I don't think that going safer is wrong, and generally I do not like quads all that much. My favourite male skaters are Nobu and Jeff (only recently Daisuke's becoming my third favourite), who have not had much success with quads in competition at all. I would much prefer if Daisuke attempted only one quad in his program, but concentrated on performance more.
If there's one thing about Brian's "going safer" that bothers me, it's not the lack of quads, but the lack of combos in LP.

I did not imply that Joubert faked his injuries, or something. If the tone of my post sounded condescending to him, I apologize, it wasn't my intention. I admit that I've been biased against him since GPF 2006 in Russia, which I attended and sat pretty close to Brian during the men's LP. The way he mocked Daisuke during his skate made me want to escape from the arena. I just don't have much admiration for the athlete who mocks a fellow competitor. Constant moaning about the results doesn't make me a big fan, either. But that's just my personal opinion. I'm not saying Brian is a bad skater or an irresponsible athlete, or that his choices were not wise (I think they were usually smart), it's just his personality that doesn't appeal to me all that much.

Also, I speculate that we may see TT working with both Takahashi & M. Asada, sicne she been granted official/approved JSF coaching status as they work towards 2010. Got to give to TT - she has way to bring out Olympic wins.

I wouldn't be much surprised... Though I wonder how would it work for Dai. He worked with Tatiana already and his season with her was a bit of a letdown.

My gut tells me that Takahashi & Morozov split happened or at least was in process prior to Morozov taking on Oda.

Maybe not exactly prior, because apparently the decision to coach Nobu was made somewhere around Worlds (and Morosov must have suggested working together even earlier), but after Worlds Daisuke in an interview was speaking about what kind of new programs he would like Morozov to create for him... And also just before Worlds Morozov said that he wants to coach Daisuke not just to gold medal, but to make a legendary skater, like Plushenko or Yagudin, out of him. It didn't sound as if they were planning on splitting, or at least that they never made the suggestion out loud.

But I also have a feeling that Dai might have been considering a change before. Although after Worlds he spoke about still working with Nikolai he also said that one day he would like to try other choreographers, like Nichol and Wilson.
He also wanted a coach just for himself, but Nikolai has other skaters and probably would be unwilling to dump them.
I got an impression that Daisuke was eager to try something new, but hesitated because he and Nikolai had a good working relationship, and maybe he didn't want to split with him suddenly and leave him without an elite skater to coach (Miki is injured, and Adam's still in Juniors). But when Nikolai became interested in Nobu Daisuke might have thought that it is a good time to make the switch, leaving all the parties satisfied.

And one more thing: I was just Googling for articles about Morozov, and I found out that last season Johnny Weir wanted to work with Morozov, but Nikolai had too many responsibilities as a coach already.
http://fsnews.ru/page-id-335.html
If last off-season he refused to coach another skater, there must have been something that made him ask Nobu to work with him now. As NatachaHatawa said, he is very professional and I doubt he made his decision on a whim.
All of the people involved - Nikolai, Dai and Nobu - probably took their time to think things through thoroughly. We just don't know much about why they made the decisions they made because firstly, they would probably like to keep some things to themselves; and secondly, what little was spoken about the matter, the press reported in so many versions that it's difficult to guess which version is true.

 

[Buttercup]

If there's one thing about Brian's "going safer" that bothers me, it's not the lack of quads, but the lack of combos in LP. I did not imply that Joubert faked his injuries, or something. If the tone of my post sounded condescending to him, I apologize, it wasn't my intention.

Fair enough - and I agree, Brian needs to get more high difficulty combos into his LPs, assuming he's healthy. Obviously we each have our favorites and (let's be diplomatic ) less favorites. I just thought that the accusation of withdrawing from competitions just to preserve his wins record was a bit harsh (not to mention untrue). Thanks for clarifying what you meant.

 

[blue dog]

It was the 2002 Oly gold medalist, Alexei Yagudin. Morozov rekindled the Sonia Henie toepick footwork which thrilled audiences way back when. Some people imagined it to be Toe Dancing. Anyway he put dance steps in Alexi's footwork as well and that was what made Morozov a much sought after choreographer. Kwan followed with her 2003 Worlds which ignited the demand all the more.
I do not know his technical prowess as a coach.

Joe

I remember reading somewhere that Morozov had his triples up to the lutz. This article below states that he skated singles until he was 18...

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071025&content_id=35314&vkey=ice_news

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I remember reading somewhere that Morozov had his triples up to the lutz. This article below states that he skated singles until he was 18...

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071025&content_id=35314&vkey=ice_news

Thanks blue dog - I should use icenetwork for news and background more often.
He does indeed do everything including advising skaters with currly hair to straighten it.

His choreography, for me, doesn't vary much, and I am nevr surprised that anyone of his skaters looks different than the other. JMO. It has nothing to do with how well that goes over the judges.

Joe

 

[blue dog]

Thanks blue dog - I should use icenetwork for news and background more often.
He does indeed do everything including advising skaters with currly hair to straighten it.

His choreography, for me, doesn't vary much, and I am nevr surprised that anyone of his skaters looks different than the other. JMO. It has nothing to do with how well that goes over the judges.

Joe

Perhaps it's not the choreography people go to him for, but to get their "second wind?"

What is most interesting about both Arakawa and Ando is that both were considered "finished" by many in the skating community before they went to Morozov.

Maybe Michelle and Sasha should go to him?

 

[vlaurend]

What I find interesting is that it seems that Japanese skaters do not have any loyalty to any coach, let it be non-Japanese coaches or newly adopted Russian/American coaches. To me, it seems as if they bounce around to whomever is coaching 'the flavor' of the time.

For example, Ms Yamada develops all these skating phenoms and then they migrate to someone else... WHY is that?

Honestly, I would suspect that the Japanese federation is behind all of these decisions and the skaters just go to whichever coach they are told. Does anyone know for sure whether any of these Japanese skaters actually decided on their own to train overseas or switch coaches without the encouragement from their federation?

 

[NatachaHatawa]

Honestly, I would suspect that the Japanese federation is behind all of these decisions and the skaters just go to whichever coach they are told. Does anyone know for sure whether any of these Japanese skaters actually decided on their own to train overseas or switch coaches without the encouragement from their federation?

It does seem strange. Especially as Dai and Morozov seemed to get on so well, they really were a team.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Maybe Michelle and Sasha should go to him?

Michelle did in 2003 and won her fifth World Championship.
Sasha went to Dave Wilson and won a Silver Oly.

I know how fans of Michelle and Sasha get over their possible comebacks, but I am more realistic as most people are. Their era is over.

Joe

 

[blue dog]

Michelle did in 2003 and won her fifth World Championship.
Sasha went to Dave Wilson and won a Silver Oly.

I know how fans of Michelle and Sasha get over their possible comebacks, but I am more realistic as most people are. Their era is over.

Joe

I was JOE-king, Joe.

 

[Tonichelle]

Maybe Michelle and Sasha should go to him?

they already did... and they didn't have their best moments with him

 

[Mathman]

... and they didn't have their best moments with him

Although, Michelle had a pretty good "Morosov moment" with Aranjuez at 2003 Worlds.

 

[blue dog]

they already did... and they didn't have their best moments with him

Oh wait that's true! He choreographed Tosca for her.

Notice one thing about Morozov, though--when he reuses music for his skaters, it's almost always the same cut.

Kwan's, Yagudin's and Langlois/Archetto have cuts that begin with the very end of the opera, then cut into E Lucevan Le Stelle, then back to the end, then back to the really soft part of E Lucevan Le Stelle, then back to Floria Tosca throwing herself off the balcony, then the end.

But MM is right--Michelle did win her 5th world title with him.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

blue dog - Morozov did the footwork for mK in Aranzez and brought the house down. you should have been there in DC.
He did not do the entire choreographed program. I think her brother-in-law did everything but the footwork sequence.

Did she get a bigger ovation than Zhen and Zhao? Hard to sayhe

he he, it wasn't a balcony for Tosca. It was a castle, and she did it with a scream. I foget the translation at the moment but it is memorable. You would have too, if your boyfriend just got shot dead, and the police were after you.

I mostly remember Irina's Tosca. She tried but ......

Oh, vise d'arte; vise d'amore.

Joe

 

[Tinymavy15]

Oh wait that's true! He choreographed Tosca for her.

Notice one thing about Morozov, though--when he reuses music for his skaters, it's almost always the same cut.
.

maybe he just plays the same CD for whoever comes to him for choreography.