Yamato Blog - 2016/12/28: Nationals is done. (Source)
We’re done with Nationals. All seven of our skaters had their own showing.
Miyahara Satoko’s objective was to win.
Being focused on the placement was something on our minds in the rigorous preparation. In any other case, that may not have been something to consider…
In the case where winning was nearly a given, that added pressure she placed on herself was something she was able to overcome and win.
In a skating sense, we are not “satisfied,” “convinced,” nor “moved” by the performances here. It’s not just in figure skating. It’s nearly impossible for all athletes to be “satisfied” and “convinced” and to move an audience and win in all competitions. Of course, that would be ideal, but reality is not that simple. For two-time national champion Miyahara, winning was her number one priority at this competition. To achieve that, she put in a huge amount of time into her preparation. And so, from a goal-achievement perspective, I am “satisfied.”
In defending her title, she completed the three-peat, where there true value. She has competed at the World Championships twice now, and with the win here, she can now prepare for her third appearance to compete with the world’s best.
Coming in fourth place overall was Honda Marin, and as last season’s reigning Junior World Champion, she could not let the berth slip away from her. She came in third at Junior Nationals this year and wasn’t able to skate at the Junior Grand Prix Final. Dealing with a bout of influenza, she didn’t have enough time to train so there was a huge worry so to see her getting a Junior Worlds berth was a relief. I really am unable to gauge when it comes to Marin. I have no idea if an angel or the devil will appear out there on the ice. In this case, she exceeded expectations, and results-wise, an angel came with blessings. Still, not necessarily having a good run every time—that’s figure skating. Regardless, she’s a very charismatic skater with so much untapped potential.
Shiraiwa Yuna fell behind at 17th place following the SP but was able to make a recover to sixth place overall. Although many will focus on the unfortunate incident with her gloves during the spin in the SP, we also can’t ignore the previous mistake on the double axel. Prior to that, her jumps were very good so the mental focus slip at that jump is something to reflect on.
The incident with the gloves was something we could not have foreseen. Landing the double axel, even with the gloves situation, would’ve given her a more favorable result. From my standpoint, it was a SP with unluckiness that could’ve still happened in the future.
Prior to the free, I didn’t give her any technical advice, I just told her, “Make sure you move up 10 places! You have the ability.” Last season, she came in fifth place and competed at Junior Worlds with Marin so she wasn’t going to let this competition end like this. As a result, she moved up 11 places, exceeding what I wanted from her, and earned a place at Junior Worlds. She showed me she could achieve her goals and meet my expectations. Now, she has to work on managing the pressure of contending for medals and skate the SP like she did with the freeskate here.
In 15th place was Hosoda Ayaka, whose goal was to get into the Top 15, so she did just that. Coming in the Top 15 came help with the next season’s qualifications so that placement was the best outcome for her. As a fourth-year university student, it could also be her final Nationals so I wanted her to do well here. She’s typically a really hardworking skater, and she’s also a skater who gets the strictest words from me (laughs). She got the luckiest draw by skating first in the short program, and said to me, “Thank you, Coach. Because of you, I’m ready to get up for early mornings.”
Hosoda is typically sets up the mood for Miyahara, Marin, and Shiraiwa, and here she was able to set up the team’s mood at this competition—and the other skaters followed suit with their results.
Anyway, at this year’s Nationals, Nakamura Shu skated last in the SP. In the ladies SP, Hosoda skated first. On Friday, I was up for 6:20 morning official practice until 9:00 in the evening. Pretty much the same thing on Saturday. I may have set a new record for time spent at the rink.
I’ll talk about the men next time.
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