- Joined
- Apr 30, 2019
re. 7 - I don't see Sota's lady coaches in such dark light. We don't know what caused Yuhana to lose her 3A, do we? It could have been injury, or it could have been puberty/growth. Anyway, while I disagree that Sota's 3A is 'ugly', there's something off about this jump for the entire Team Howa. But is it really the fault of the lady coaches? Nagakubo sensei was a good coach, but it was under his tutelage that Sota got his double injury, and his quads were much less stable than they are today. Whatever you think of the Naruse/Kawaume tandem, they managed to keep Sota injury free for three seasons now (or at least with no major injury that would prevent him from competing) Ryuju has issues with quads and 3A and often splats on them, but he's had those even back then under Nagakubo. Rika Hongo started getting UR calls while still with him, and only lasted in top form during her 'Carmen' season. We can hardly speak of Tatsuya's season when he wasn't able to compete for a part of it due to an injury. All in all, Howa seems to be a center with a great and nurturing environment, I just wish they find a jump coach soon. And even that would not be a guarantee when it comes to Sota and 3A because of his long-time apprehension of the jump, doubled by the fact that it caused his injury.
3. No I don't see Howa's coaches in a dark light, I trust that they are good people and are probably warm or even loving as you say. The problem is, simply being a good person doesn't make you a competent coach, and their students have been held back as a result. I will not excuse Nagakubo for Sota's injury, but neither has Sota been completely injury-free under his current coaches, knowing that he had an injured left foot during NHK that affected his performance there. And if you argue that they are capable because they kept Sota from serious injury, how would you excuse Tatsuya's current injury that YOU mentioned to have prevented him from quads? (quads he was training in hopes to have by Nats 2018 too, and he hasn't succeeded thus far, so it is hardly just a matter of injury).
Yuhana might have lost her 3A over puberty (note: she was not injured), but her 2A definitely still has enough room for her to regain the triple if they worked on it properly. She could do it before, it should be easier for her to find it again, instead Mana who started learning way after she did is now landing it in competitions while Yuhana is still trying in vain.
Plus, as I said before, Howa's problem isn't just with jumps. Let's not even talk about the actual PCS score, which should not be subjective at all given that there are clear criteria in the rulebooks--objectively, https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/rules/sandp-handbooks-faq/17596-program-component-chart-id-sp-2019-20/file Yuhana, Kinayu and Tatsuya just do not have the SS, TR, even IN and PE of other top Japanese skaters. Yuhana for example is a powerful skater, yet without multidirectional skating, precise edge control, or polished body movement. Even Sota, the best PCS skater at Howa, has glaringly empty programs. The way they handle their skaters, they can't catch up with the rest of the field. This is also reflected in how they have their skaters go senior only when they are or almost ineligible for juniors, past their peak, as contrasted to others especially ladies who go senior at 15/16.
While I won't blame Ryuju and Rika Hongo's performances on Howa's current team alone, fact is Nagakubo coached Akiko Suzuki from anorexia to a Worlds bronze medal, and even on Sota you can see how much he improved under his tutelage. Have Naruse and Kawaume proven themselves capable of anything similar? It's undeniable that Rika stayed with Nagakubo to the end, whereas after the new team took over, she left, Rin left, Mana left, Haruya Sasaki left, Sora Maeno left. Coincidence?