Article: Daisuke Takahashi

[Dodhiyel]

Thanks a lot for the article link, Geesesk8. I think it's a very, very good one, full of facts that give us Daisuke Takahashi's skating history, and also highlights the successes Nikolay Morosov has had with other Japanese skaters recently.

I have marvelled at how much Morosov has done for Takahashi, even though I have been very appreciative of Morosov's talents for a long time, ever since I saw him skate a program with Emily Nussear that he had choreographed. It was clear then that he knew how to make the most of what a skater could do at an early stage in their career, and it has become clear over the years that he is capable of maximizing a skater's appeal at any stage in their career. He is very good at showcasing a skater's strengths and disguising or de-emphasizing their weaknesses.

In the cases of the Japanese skaters with whom he has worked recently, there were problems of confidence, of feeling the pressure too much to repeat a success, or of just nerves, and Morosov has shown himself to be good medicine for a bad case of nerves. Arakawa, Ando, Takahashi: there is no way the improved performances of all three can be coincidental. I think the talent and the willingness to work hard were always there, for all three, but they needed the kind of confidence Morosov was able to help them develop. Because of this, Morosov is now not only a talented choreographer in my view, but also a talented coach.

 

[Bennett]

Did Shizuka have a nerve issue before? She has always looked extremely calm and mature to me.

 

[discoduck]

Shae-Lynn Bourne, but they have divorced. She is still skating professionally, right? Has he married to anyone else after that?

Not that I know of but it's only Monday. I'm sure there will be more rumors about him by the end of the week.

 

[Dodhiyel]

Did Shizuka have a nerve issue before? She has always looked extremely calm and mature to me.

During the season after she had won Worlds, Shizuka did appear to have a confidence problem, perhaps because people expect so much of the World Champion. I saw her perform at a rink show during that period, and the lack of confidence was really visible. That was before she chose Morozov as her coach. After she worked with Morozov, the change was remarkable; she then appeared to be skating at the level of her full potential.

Coaching styles can differ greatly. Sometimes a change of coach can have seemingly miraculous effects; also, skaters can respond very differently to the same coach. I guess it's a question of finding the coach that fits one's individual needs at a certain point in one's skating career.

 

[sillylionlove]

Not that I know of but it's only Monday. I'm sure there will be more rumors about him by the end of the week.

LOL....Disco would like one of those rumors to be about her......come on admit it...you know you do!!

 

[discoduck]

LOL....Disco would like one of those rumors to be about her......come on admit it...you know you do!!

Well my birthday is Wednesday so there is always hope.

 

[Bennett]

During the season after she had won Worlds, Shizuka did appear to have a confidence problem, perhaps because people expect so much of the World Champion. I saw her perform at a rink show during that period, and the lack of confidence was really visible. That was before she chose Morozov as her coach. After she worked with Morozov, the change was remarkable; she then appeared to be skating at the level of her full potential.

Coaching styles can differ greatly. Sometimes a change of coach can have seemingly miraculous effects; also, skaters can respond very differently to the same coach. I guess it's a question of finding the coach that fits one's individual needs at a certain point in one's skating career.

It seems to be that she struggled the year after winning the title because she was not sure if she wanted to continue and because she had boot problems or injuries or something. Then the insufficient training seems to have affected her, perhaps both physically and mentally.

But during the olympic year, I don't think that she had nerve issues. She worked very hard during the summer and was confident. She struggled mainly for not getting enough points. She switched to Morosov who is better at COP than TT, which helped her win. But she seems to be pretty self-assured. As I heard her talk she just didn't sound like average 24 year old. I think that Morosov helped her more technically than emotionally.