Sota Yamamoto | Page 37 | Golden Skate

Sota Yamamoto

cornception

Rinkside
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?
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
According to this tweet and photo, Sota is in Nishinomiya? https://twitter.com/japaneseperson/status/1228526730194780162 How many coaches are there in that center, just Keiji's or are there more? I don't know much about that place unfortunately.

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).

I have no idea how Tatsuya has come by his injury, but it would be unrealistic to expect each and every skater in a training center to go injury free, not even top coaches manage that. I think it might have been something about the 3A, and as I have said multiple times, I think there is something wrong about the 3A in Howa because all of its skaters struggle with it. But that doesn't mean I am not grateful to the Howa coaches for guiding Sota, who needed extra caution after his injury, so that he's had no major injuries for the last three seasons. Major as in not preventing him from competing. As someone said, many skaters compete injured.
And I am not saying that it is the case with Tatsuya, but some skaters just don't manage to learn the hardest jumps. It might or might not be the coaches' fault.

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?

I don't know the data for multiple training centers, but skaters come and leave all the time. It would be interesting to compare the number of leaving students with Hamada and other Japanese coaches. The skaters you mentioned weren't producing results under Naruse/Kawaume and co., but are Haryua and Sora producing them now? And Rika H? And how come then that both Tatsuya and Yuhana became Japan's junior champions last season, is that just a lucky chance?
 

Giu

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Country
Italy
In Nishinomiya there are also Sonoko Nakano and Mitsuko Graham, the coaches of Kaori and Mai!
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
You may be on to something, Giu, because both Kaori and Sota are going to Coupe du Printemps whereas Keiji isn't.
The tweet has been deleted in the meantime, so it's all a mystery for now. Sota strikes me as a smart and cautious skater, so I don't believe he'd just leave Howa without a concrete idea of who to go to (saying just in case: I do not mean that as a jab at Shoma). I wonder if this is just meant to be a temporary thing, or if it is permanent.
 

Giu

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Country
Italy
You may be on to something, Giu, because both Kaori and Sota are going to Coupe du Printemps whereas Keiji isn't.
The tweet has been deleted in the meantime, so it's all a mystery for now. Sota strikes me as a smart and cautious skater, so I don't believe he'd just leave Howa without a concrete idea of who to go to (saying just in case: I do not mean that as a jab at Shoma). I wonder if this is just meant to be a temporary thing, or if it is permanent.

I don’t know but I find it unlikely that he will go to train under Keiji’s coach since they’re both contenders for the third spot in team Japan, same with Kazuki’s coach... But I wouldn’t worry too much cause in Japan they have a lot of good coaches... sure Nakano could be an option and also training with Kaori could do well for both of them... Last summer I predicted (and hoped) that Shoma was moving to Champery for good so we will see... :)
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
I think coach Nakano would be a good choice for Sota! They were able to foster a really nice friendship/rivalry between Kaori and Mai, so I think it's a friendly and supportive environment. Besides, I agree with Giu that training with Kaori would be interesting, as she's an elite skater and someone with a lot of experience in the international scene.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Thanks for telling us Kirara!
Goodness, I don't know what to say. As long as Sota's poor ankle survives and Hayashi doesn't force the sturdy Keiji's rigorous training schedules on the slender Sota, and spares his from the old fashioned music Keiji was skating to for years, then no issues for me I guess. I have to repeat to myself that Sota knows best. :cool14:
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
From what I read, Sota's rationale for the change was that he wanted to train with another top men - I assume means Keiji and Nozomu Yoshioka?
I think it's an interesting move, as he trained with Hayashi-sensei before, so I think the (re)adaptation would be relatively fast and they already know each other well.
Best of luck to Sota!
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
NGL, I'm going to miss his old coaches a lot. :[
Whoa, the bio also lists his old programs for 2018/19...?! I don't recall if it said In This Shirt and East of Eden before. I wouldn't be surprised if he returned to the old programs though.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Sharing this cute photo of Sota with Kazuki and Mitsuki in Nishinomiya, originally from Mituski's instastory: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESPDleZUEAEUJ4z?format=jpg&name=medium

I'm super disappointed Sota and the others from Team Japan aren't going to CDP. I hope for a European Challenger and some news in the meantime...

BTW, Sota and Kazuki will have a joint interview in Quadruple Axel that comes out next week! I cannot buy it though, already too much money lost on the CDP tickets and plane tickets :_( If anybody has it, I'd be happy to read a translated summary.

My hopes for Sota in the upcoming weeks and months:
- to survive Hayashi methods of training without injuries
- to have nice programs! I don't care for the majority of programs that Keiji has been getting. I wouldn't like for Sota to get such boring, predictable, run of the mill, old fashioned stuff. Keep being original, Sota!
- to be invited to an ice show!
- to remain unfazed by Keiji's meticulous face and hair care. A bit too much for me. I like Sota the way he is, so I hope he won't pop up in a photo a few weeks from now, wearing light brown hair and drawn eyebrows or something like that. *shudder*
- I really wonder how and if Sota's skating can improve under this coach. No opinion for now, but I am very curious. Sota must have had a very good reason to go to Hayashi so I wonder what he can offer Sota.
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
BTW, Sota and Kazuki will have a joint interview in Quadruple Axel that comes out next week! I cannot buy it though, already too much money lost on the CDP tickets and plane tickets :_( If anybody has it, I'd be happy to read a translated summary.
Me too! :luv17:

- to remain unfazed by Keiji's meticulous face and hair care. A bit too much for me. I like Sota the way he is, so I hope he won't pop up in a photo a few weeks from now, wearing light brown hair and drawn eyebrows or something like that. *shudder*
LOL this made me laugh :laugh2: I agree Keiji's style wouldn't fit Sota, not in terms of appearance nor in skating. I hope Sota can get settled with Hayashi-sensei, but within his own style :pray:
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Thank you so much for sharing! What a sweet interview, I really like the four boys' interaction.
It looks like multiple things led to Sota's departure, and I doubt we'll ever learn the full truth. But he could well have felt he was stagnating (well, his scores were) so looking for a stricter male coach makes sense.

There are a further few snippets from Quadruple here in this blog, possibly, but I am unable to translate: https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12582696556.html
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
It's been a while. Sota doesn't make things easy for his fans, avoiding social media: so, these blog entries are the best I could find.
- https://ameblo.jp/shelley39/entry-12587351475.html - photos from the after-Nats banquet where Sota seems in a good mood and poses with his friends Kazuki (photos near the bottom of the page), Taichiro, Mitsuki and others. Also, the photo from the skating order draw shows he's still very much a Yuzuru fan - his eyes are glued to his idol, lol.
- https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12588107659.html - also banquet photos, but also a gif of Sota skating in Nishinomiya (from Keiji's since-deleted video, just a few seconds long). This blogger took notice of Sota munching on something in the banquet photos, and took the time and care to collect photos and screenshots of an eating Sota. Some hilarious expressions there ^ ^
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Thanks for finding out these photos, Kirara! The one on the roadside looks very interesting. This could be somewhere in Nishinomiya, right? AFAIK, Sena is based in Hyogo and he's in that picture... That would mean the photo is a recent one. Sota looks very much grown up in it. How the time flies...

I also found out this cute fanart online:
- an eating Sota with his mouth so full I doubt's he'd cram a single mouthful more in It's a very accurate rendering of a screenshot from a 'Spoken' episode on a 15-year-old Sota. It starts with the prophetic words 'Yoku asobi, yoku tabe, yoku nemuku naru' - 'He plays/enjoys himself a lot, he eats a lot, and he's often sleepy'. Some things don't change :biggrin:
- one other artist drew a happy young Sota looking forward to his meal: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EU1N9ZLUYAYhiqn.jpg I think they nailed his likeness perfectly!
- I have no idea what this technique is, but it's cool! Looks like engraving to me... Nobunaga Concerto


There's also this piece of news: https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12590192825.html It's the upper part of the blog entry, but only in Japanese and google translate did its usual non-informative work, so I have no idea what it's about. No idea if 'Nishioka Ana' is a TV show or a person, but if they like Sota-kun, then that's good :biggrin:
 

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
There's also this piece of news: https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12590192825.html It's the upper part of the blog entry, but only in Japanese and google translate did its usual non-informative work, so I have no idea what it's about. No idea if 'Nishioka Ana' is a TV show or a person, but if they like Sota-kun, then that's good :biggrin:

The first part of the blog update is about sports announcer Mr. Nishioka's recent Instagram Q&As where he answered questions from sports fans. Out of nearly 700 Q&As she showed us three Q&As that interested her:
Q: What was your first impression of Sota? Nishioka: His skating skills are great.
Q: If you were a figure skater what would you like to excel at? Nishioka: Skating skills.
Q: What is your most favorite element? Nishioka: Spread eagle (LOL).

Then she draws a conclusion that Sota is Mr. Nishioka's favorite skater. She jokingly admits her conclusion is self-serving and it's like an old Japanese saying 我田引水 which literally means "Every miller draws water to his own mill."

I feel it's great that fans remain optimistic and look on the bright side especially in this difficult time across the world.
 

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
Sota and Keiji's coach Hayashi was arrested for driving without a license.
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20200418-00000088-dal-spo
Translation:

Yusuke Hayashi, a 42-year-old coach of the Japanese team of the Pyeongchang Olympics in figure skating, was arrested by the Amagasaki Kita Station of Hyogo Prefectural Police on the 18th on suspicion of violating the traffic law. He is suspected of driving without a valid driver’s license.

He was suspected of driving without a license when he was questioned by the police for failure of stopping before the stop line at an intersection in Amagasaki city on the 14th.

At that time the police issued a traffic ticket to him, who had shown the officer his driver’s license which appeared to have a valid expiration date. However on the 15th Hayashi called the police station and stated that he was without a valid license and after confirmation of his license status the police arrested him on the 18th.

Hayashi had his license revoked in January 2017 due to a traffic violation, but he had previously submitted a lost report a few months before the revocation and had his license reissued. In accordance with the traffic regulations he was supposed to return the license once it was found. Police say they are investigating how his driver’s license was held before and after his license revocation.
 
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