Any coaching change for mao after worlds?

It is hard to believe that they'd continue the long-distance coaching relationship for the next 4 years. They didn't meet between CoR and Oly and she is going back to Japan again to practice for Worlds.

Potential coaches I could think of.

- Nobuo Sato wouldn't have female rivals of Mao if Yukari leaves competitive skating next season. Learning from Mr. Sato is good because his wife Kumiko and their daughter Yuka Sato also would back you up. But I think Mr. Sato is in Tokyo.

- Takeshi Honda teaches Dai parttime. Where does he live?

- Mao's original coach, Machiko Yamada, is based in Nagoya and is also associated with her Univ. But perhaps Ms. Yamada wouldn't want to travel with Mao all over the world for the next four years because of her age. Actually this may be the same for Mr. Sato!

- Mr. Nagakubo is known as a jump coach and he is now in Nagoya. He was kind enough to say that he could give Mao advice after 4CC. But I am not sure if Akiko and Mao could share a coach.

- I think that a jump coach who studies CoP seriously would be good for Mao. Shizuka Arakawa would be wonderful but perhaps too busy for many other things in her life.

- A former Olympian Mr. Yutaka Higuchi (Yukina Ota's coach) is an artistic choreographer whose students are known for beautiful skating. But he may be known more as an ice dancing coach. I used to skate in the same rink with him and he is the most respected coach. But his pupils were not really the best jumpers in the rink. Yet, I'd love to see him coreograph Mao's programs. He has real class. Yet, again he is in Tokyo.

- I wonder where Ms. Mie Hamada (Yukina Ota's original coach) is based now.

- Midori Ito also seems to be associated with Mao's Univ. I am not sure where she lives now though after the remarriage. Although she is a wonderful jumper, I am not sure how well she does as a coach. She is not really analytical or knowledgeable about CoP.

- A TV commentator and former olympian Ms. Junko Yaginuma may be a good one because she is very smart and calm and knows the system very well. But I have never heard how good she may be as a jump coach.

Mao + The Sato's sounds like a dream team to me .

No, I don't think so, as Mao's mom loves TAT (she has always wanted her daughter to be coached by this legendary Russian lady), and also more importantly Sochi will be held in Russia, the homeland & birthplace of her coach. And Mao seems relaxed with her, loves Russian food, and seems to feel at home in Russia. Lol, and don't forget she's studying Russian in order to communicate with her coach better. *smile*

That said, I really wish she could be coached part-time by that young Russian male coach, whom was the force behind her winning 2008 Worlds, and all her good results & athletic ability up to then. JMHO, of course.

Poor Mao, COP really messed her up big time, what once was good is no more under this new stricter COP. Therefore, we saw no more 3/3s nor triple lutzes because of the UR problems & the edge calls. COP became stricter the year before the Olympics, and she became the scapegoat, almost preordained by the COP to make sure Mao Asada wouldn't win. She just can't catch a break, first being only a few months too young to participate in the 2006 Olympics, and then the stricter COP rules about underrotations & edge calls a year before the 2010 Olympics. Hopefully one day her luck will change.

Bennett said:

- Nobuo Sato wouldn't have female rivals of Mao if Yukari leaves competitive skating next season. Learning from Mr. Sato is good because his wife Kumiko and their daughter Yuka Sato also would back you up. But I think Mr. Sato is in Tokyo.

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My first thought is Nobuo Sato. Does he live in Tokyo? But I think Takahiko practices at Chukyo Univ. rink, doesn't he?

Morning Glory said:

My first thought is Nobuo Sato. Does he live in Tokyo? But I think Takahiko practices at Chukyo Univ. rink, doesn't he?

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Isn't Mr. Sato based in Yokohama? So I kind of pressumed that Koz commutes, no?

Tokyo-Nagoya feels really far away for me though.

Wouldn't Mao have to actually have a coach to make a coaching change?
Maybe the topic shoud be "Will Mao get a real full-time coach?"

After TEB and then RostelCup many were screaming for Tat to be fired. It turns out Mao never spent much time training with Tat, does not always listen to her advice and Tat herself said she is only a "part-time consultant" to Mao.

I can understand if Mao does not want to train overseas. But there are some very good coaches in Japan and I seriously wonder if Mao doesn't like it better training without a coach?

TAT's behavior is absolutely disturbing. She claimed she wasn't Mao's coach when she was getting bad results, but she hogs the camera after Mao finally skates a clean short? What a Wagner thing to do. She looked disappointed and angry after the long program instead of consoling Mao. Clearly, she's not providing any emotional or technical support.
And Nadine, I don't think Mao feels at home in Russia. If she did, she'd have been training there. Her reluctance to relocate out of her hometown left her very few choices, hence stuck with this bizarre coaching situation. Given her preferences, I think Ms. Yamada is the best option with Kenji Miyamoto as her choreographer.

Bennett said:

Isn't Mr. Sato based in Yokohama? So I kind of pressumed that Koz commutes, no?

Tokyo-Nagoya feels really far away for me though.

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You're right. He is based in Yokohama. But I read an article in which Takahiko said he practiced at the same rink with Mao. Umm...confused, sorry.

All good points, and I agree, well Mao has four years to get it right, and I wish her much luck! I want to see her & my other favorite, The King, skate in Sochi in 2014! *crossing fingers for them both*

It's not like Mao bombed in Vancouver... we'll have to see first if Mao believes anything is wrong with her situation From what I've read, it was Mao who was determined to put in three triple axels and it seems to me that she was willing to risk failure in the early part of the season tto get those jumps right for the Olympics. Personally, I really dislike what TAT has done for Mao in terms of presentation. mao is s great skater so in my opinion she pulled off the choreography in both of her programs. Even so the music and choreo were no fun to watch and didn't suit her style at all. But who knows if Mao feels the same way?
I do wish she would change her coaching situation but it's not clear to me that Mao wants to.

Would love for her to go to Mr. Sato or better yet, go and work with Yuka in the states. However, I have a feeling she'll be homesick again.

I'm sorry but TAT is sucking the skating life outta her. She's too talented to stick to gloomy music! I want the light and delicate Mao back!

Has anyone else noticed that the Russian coaches who have left to coach in the Unitied States and elsewhere (ie. Marina Zoueva for example) have outstripped their counterparts back in mother Russia with the success of their athletes? Could this be that the expat's have embraced the CoP system and expanded their technical/artistic base more abroad and taken chances, opportunites to develop more diverse skaters?

It appears that Russia and its skating program is functioning in the past - relying on tricks like the quad or costumes and flash/dash rather than concentrating on CoP requirements, enhanced overall skill development and creating a better overall athlete.

I kind of wish Mao would stay with Tat, but I wish Suzuki Akiko's coach, Nagakubo Yu (I think it's read) would be her second coach in Nagoya. For me, that would be ideal.

I really want Mao to go back to Lori Nichol and Arutunian. That's when she was magical. Can Arutunian move from Lake Arrowhead to LA at least? I think that was the problem. Mao and Mai got pretty bored and lonley living in the woods.

Nobuo Sato might be a good idea. He focuses more on the basics and that's what Mao needs right now.
Yes Sato teaches in Yokohama but Mao can commute from Nagoya on the bullet train. It takes about an hour I think. and when she is at home, she can take lessons from Kozuka's Dad. That's what Kozuka does.

She can't go back to Arutanian because their relationship ended on a sour note. He was not that supportive of Mao. :disapp:

miki88 said:

She can't go back to Arutanian because their relationship ended on a sour note. He was not that supportive of Mao. :disapp:

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so? she can still try and see if he will take her back.

ks777 said:

so? she can still try and see if he will take her back.

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He bascially abandoned her right before 2008 4CC. I don't think Mao would go back to him. People are blaming her for leaving him but it's the other way around.

I believe it was her choice to stay in Japan and train after the japanese national until 4cc. You do know that coaches don't get paid if they are not coaching.. He couldn't leave Lake arrohead and just to go to japan to coach her.. until 4CC.. because he has other students.
Mao really should have gone back to Lake Arrowhead or should have invited Arutunian to come to Japan and put him on Salary or something. He probably would have lost his students back home though.

ks777 said:

I believe it was her choice to stay in Japan and train after the japanese national until 4cc. You do know that coaches don't get paid if they are not coaching.. He couldn't leave Lake arrohead and just to go to japan to coach her.. until 4CC.. because he has other students.
Mao really should have gone back to Lake Arrowhead or should have invited Arutunian to come to Japan and put him on Salary or something. He probably would have lost his students back home though.

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But they both agreed that he will come coach her in Japan for the 4CC. He promised to come to Japan but then he didn't come and apparently didn't give a reason. There may have been some misunderstanding but this is what Mao's mom says in an interview that was published in her yearly fanbook. And in Japanese cutlure, it is very important to keep your promises and Arutanian broke it so he lost the trust of Mao and her family. I haven't read what Arutanian have said about their break, but this is Mao's side of the story, so I don't think she was entirely (if not at all) at fault here.

maybe he was going to go to 4cc but since Mao decided to stay in Japan to train for a few months and Arutunian needed to get new students to make living? I have taken lessons and I know the coaches don't make that much money. Maybe that's why he didn't want to go to 4CC and lose his students? Maybe he already knew Mao and her family planned to go back to Japan sooner after because the new ice rink was ready? I don't know her side or his side but you are not hearing the whole story from one side for sure. All I am saying is that Mao was magical when she was with him. I would love to see "her" again!