Japan NT 2019 Women

Quote from sizzle

ai kurogo is injured

time for koga to shine (? or spectacularly fail to impress again)... hope'm wrong, rooting for jp still

miyashita's setting in the dom rep game is like flashback to a-game harukaaaaa PLAY HER MORE

What kind of injury?

I'm surprised Coach Nakata brought Haruka to the show but happy.

Quote from theloneracer

Seriously... Sorry. When I go there, a new window/tab does opened up but I closed that quickly and the page work fine. Flash isn't required so the video should at least show up.

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The only think I can think and recommend is an extension called ghostery as a backup to adblock.

Ghostery chrome extension link: https://chrome.google.com/webs…chcflejclcbmpeaniij?hl=en

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I'm loaded up with Ghostery and uBlock and all kinds of stuff, which is sometimes why things don't work. I can see the video on the page but any touches just popup crap. I did get to see the first one, where they serve at targets and then compare baby pictures and sleeping faces, from that N K Youtuber who just got busted again. (btw, I think it's this kind of stuff that gets him busted more than posting High School Championship matches, but I digress)

I even tried copying the entire source code into jDownloader to see if it could parse anything, but nada. maybe there's a geo block? I hope the other one will make it to youtube. It's the VS Arashi group, right?

Quote from danny91

What are you guys' thought about Japan's loss against Korea today? I'm at a loss for words. U20 managed to beat Korea in Korea, yet the NT lost to Korea in Japan. I no longer get the same excitement out of watching the NT, the U20 is much more fun to watch. I have so many questions after today. Where is the Kobata-Inoue system? I am not feeling the other libero Ms Nakada been using. Koga let me down. Where is Tashiro? I think skill-wise she is still better than Miya Sato, no?

Last but not least, is there any hope that Ms Nakada would resign after the WC? I keep telling myself that she would improve but after so many failed tournaments I no longer have any hope for her. Changing the head coach so close to the Olympics is a risky move but I see no good in having her as head coach for another year. Nothing will change so might as well take the risk.

Sorry about the rant I'm just too frustrated urgh

Well, that the U20 squad was more fun to watch than the present NT goes without saying

There's no hope Nakada will resign. I'm with you in having supported her, thinking things would improve. The 2018 WCh showed a glimmer of hope. Nakada seems very conservative. I've been saying for a couple years that Risa and Yuki are great, wonderful, awesome, but Japan will never win anything with them as their best players. But Nakada is sticking with them, understandably. Japan needs players to come along and be better than them. Koga looked like she might be that player.

Will Koga get a second wind in her young career? It seems not. She's the only player I've ever watched butt-stalker videos of. Not because I wanted to see her butt, but because I liked her so much I wanted to see what she was like in all the off-moments of the game. I've watched every single match she's played for the last few years, including NEC, and am very familiar with her face and body language. She seems lost to me for at least the past year. She's had some shining moments, to be fair. She should. She's a talented player. But the trajectory looks downward to me. Coach Nakada has to see this. She hinted at it in some interview I read, saying Koga is up against a wall and knows it. To her credit Nakada said Koga recognizes it and works extra hard in practice.

Will Kurogo be a new beacon of light? Seems like it, but is she going to be injury plagued? My hesitation about Kurogo is that offense is her only game right now. That's not the Japanese way, but she could improve. She's still quite young. Over the past year, since her breakout at 2018 VNL she's become very confident. That can rub off onto her defense if she wants it to, but she's got to want it. She's got to demand to receive serve. She can do it. Say what you will about Risa and Yuki but they are beautiful in that they want to get the offense part out of the way so they can get to the part they love: Defense. That's pretty unique.

I'm surprised Nakada went with Sato and Miyashita, but don't have a problem with it. Miya Sato improved a lot this past year. I'm happy with her. In the few moments Miyashita has seen, she's seems to be getting her confidence back. It is such a joy to see her appear out of nowhere and keep a ball alive. It amazes me how intuitive and quick she is, and fearless with her body. Maybe I'm weird in liking a setter so much for that kind of thing but it contributes a lot. Who are the setters we like? Takeshita and Nakamichi. They were nuts at defense. It has to be there. I think Tominaga showed she might be the best pure setter, but she's not a defensive player. Tashiro is somewhere in the middle for me.

I'm frankly speechless Kotoe Inoue is not here for the World Cup. Maybe Nakada is pissed at her for running off with Furry Hat to Romania?

I hope Miwako Osanai gets a chance to see if she can break out. It happens to players who get the chance. It happened for Kurogo. (And happened for Hirose at the Asian Clubs) Miwako's got a great swing. Japan needs another breakout player. Bottom line is that most of the players in this squad aren't going to get any better. They need to either build a scary great chemistry and/or need an upstart or two to push them forward.

My Kingdom for a YOLO and a Coach Aihara

Having said all that I think Japan can achieve results with the current squad, more or less as it is. Top Dogs? Nope, there are too many other really good teams in the world.

Quote from samsara

You all are just talking about different realm then mixing the two

I think you are mixing the realms of "more fun to watch" and "better". The Japan Senior NT, for me, is more fun to watch than Serbia. That doesn't mean I think they are better.

See this post of mine. I went through each position, head to head, and asked if the U20 player was better than the Senior member. Every answer was (pretty much) No. And/but I did suggest I'd send (most of) the U20 squad to the WC with reinforcement of seniors, precisely to get them started on growing. Failing that I would have definitely sent at least a couple U20 players I think are ready to contribute:

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Short answer is: OP Yolo (aka Haruna Soga) and MB Shion Hirayama. (As adds, not necessarily replacements. Mayu Ishikawa is already a Senior NT member and she might get more playing time this WC than Nabeya or Koga).

As predicted Mayu Ishikawa is getting more playing time than Koga and Nabeya (so far). From watching these players closely I can see that Mayu Ishikawa is a heartbeat or two slow in reacting on defense. The balls are coming over the net more quickly and from players she is not used to playing against--her personal 'inner scout' isn't there yet. The only way to get it is to jump in the pool.

Little things: At the end of that match against Korea, Japan down 20-24, Ishikawa was at the serving line. She has shown a bit of a problem with service errors. That she was able to serve successfully at that point to bring Japan to match point 25-24 was HUGE for her growth. It will have lasting affect (or effect, I'm not sure, lol)

Now, consider this in relation to brahmin 's post just above. I agree with him that there's too much reliance on the left side --and, for me, it's less fun to watch.

Watching Japanese High School, College, and the U20 Squad it's remarkable how much they all use the right side in equal proportion, if not more, than the left side. It's weird, like they haven't figured out the difference between a MB and an OP, so the "mix the realms". My endless commentary on these pages with screen shots and long-winded descriptions shows what I mean. YOLO and Hirayama--you just don't know where they are going to attack from. They are both equally good at sliders, quick ones up the middle, and traditional OP attacks. How many players can you say that about?

Having said that, there's probably a reason top level pro teams don't fuck around like that with the right side, but I'd like to see it for myself to know why.

The Japan Senior NT is great. I love them to death but feel they are getting a little stale as a team. Mayu Ishikawa is a nice first addition but she's just like Yuki and Risa: skill and volleyball IQ. She's not a leader. (so far)

YOLO is what we need . She's built on hitting from the right side, and for me that's more valuable than a 6th OH who might be needed if the first five are having a bad day.

Nichika Yamada is a better blocker than Shion Hirayama, and a better server, but Shion brings a singular focus that is frightening in its appeal. And contagious. She's the one who has grown the most since the HS Championship a mere nine months ago (she was on the losing team under Coach Aihara), and that's what I want to see: Growth. As I've said, I don't think anyone on the Senior Team, with the exception of Miwako Osanai, is going to get any "better" over the next year, so my suggestion is to spice it up just a little more with new blood.

Quote from brahmin

I am guessing that Tashiro and Inoue just wanted to get back to their new club team. Okumura is also on that team as well, but chose to come back to the NT.

I hadn't even thought it might be player's choice. I thought that was something only Euros and Brazil did.

Quote from danny91

I love Soga. And we need these three (Soga, Yamada, and Hirayama) to join the NT. Out of the current MBs, I would only keep Araki. Akugatawa does not work and Mai seems just ... out of shape (?). She was good last year but after returning from Thailand she has regressed quite a lot. She just somehow cannot kill the balls anymore.

Today's gotta be Japan's best match so far in this tournament. The defense that they are known for is there today. Kobata undoubtedly Japan's best libero today. Every time she digs a ball I'm like "How?" LOL Hope she can evolve into the legend Sano. And I hope you were kidding about Kotoe Inoue's getting the cold shoulder from Coach Nakada sitenoise (love your profile pic of coach Aihara btw). But thinking about it, both Tashiro and Inoue missing from this tournament is fishy (?) or is there and official explanation for it that I missed?

Mayu is Coach Nakada's saving grace this tournament. Can't imagine how Japan would do without her. Girl is a beast despite her height. I'm not sure Nakada's calling her to join the NT is because she saw something in Mayu, or she was just looking for someone to replace Kurogo while she's injured, but for whatever reason she must be glad she made the call. Girl is top scorer today against USA with 23pts. I hope she goes through a growth spurt tho. 171cm is just simply too short.

Last words, I missed Takeshita. And I would love for Coach Nakada to let Miyashita be in the starting lineup, maybe against the weaker team. She seems to have slowly gained back her confidence. Defense-wise she the best out of the setters (maybe just after the liberos) and height-wise she has the advantage over Miya Sato (<- I'm still not feeling her, not hating, I just love Miyashita more haha)

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I've always felt a little bad not including Nichika along with YOLO and Shion when dreaming about who I'd like to see move up. I think I just didn't want to be greedy . I got great vibes from Nichika the first time I saw her play in the 2018 Asian Clubs, which is before I ever heard of any of her U20 teammates.

I read in an interview with Nakada that one of her most important considerations on who to call up is: Who's not going to make mistakes? That's probably one reason she hangs on to Sarina Koga. And probably why she picked Ishikawa above the other U20 players. Of course there are other considerations, too, but, as much as I grumble a little every now and then about Ishikawa she strikes me as a smart, reliable player, and she's playing with confidence in a tournament that should scare her. "Young, Talented, and Used to Winning"** goes a long way. I don't think Japan can or should count on her being their best scorer, though. 171cm is a handicap she'll never overcome and better coaches than USA coach will figure her out.

Japan needs a scorer, a closer, for those moments (often at the end of a match) when creativity gets lost and everything goes to hero ball.

I'm fully on board the Kobata/Inoue train and doubly happy about it because they started out with a lot to prove to me because they replaced Arisa Sato. They have won me over completely. Yamagishi is demonstrating she's got some chops. Maybe all she needs is more time on court at this high level. It does a lot for a player. One of the things that separates her from Kobata and Inoue in my mind is that she seems like she has an attitude of: "Okay, girls, I'm here to help. You can count on me". That's all fine and good, but Kobata and Inoue are out there like: "Okay kids. I decide who gets the candy". That kind of attitude doesn't come easy and it takes time to develop.

Speaking of Arisa Sato, I'm just watching a little bit of the Block Round of the Empress Cup (or something like that) on V.League TV. It's Prestige Aranmare against Ligare Sendai, the new team Arisa is working and playing with. Lovely to see her on court again. She's also the 'acting director' at this time because whoever was in that position just resigned. I don't know if that means she's the Head Coach or the General Manager. Translations are weird, but I think "Director" is GM and "Supervise" is Head Coach.

I'm fine with Miya Sato. She's another one who enjoys greater love from me for climbing her way out of my doghouse. I miss Miyashita like crazy but understand there's some things she needs to work on and work through. Even in the short amount of time she's been on court she's showed me a couple of those "Holy Smokes! Where did you come from?" defensive maneuvers. I don't know who will end up as setter in Tokyo or how much Nakada (or whoever is the coach) will use the VNL as a testing ground to find out, or as a tool to hone the chosen ones. I'd like to see Saitama's Misaki Inoue get a shot if there is still any question. Nanami Seki is a bright youngster but I don't feel stable with her yet.

** hat tip to sloth for that

Quote from brahmin

Kantoku in Japanese is director, which is manager (in baseball terms). Actually for Japanese volleyball, this would be the head coach.

Sato is a player-head coach at this time, while they look for a new head coach.

When I look at the Japanese team, who is the leader of the team? I want the ball now person. It is Kurogo. There has not been one since Saori Kimura. Even then when she was captain, it was a different feel. Saori was not a normal leader, more like a mother hen. In 2010 Araki was the captain and she led well.

Thanks for clarifying that.

Maybe you can say why this team that Arisa is working with appears to be a "Pro" team in their 2nd year but didn't get into V2. Whereas this other new team Brilliant Aries appears fully corporate and made it into V2. Seems like it should be the other way around. Brilliant Aries should be playing in some business league and Sendai in V2. Isn't that what this new phase was supposed to bring about?

I think Iwasaka is a fine captain, but she's no leader of the team.

Japan won their last match with Yuki and Risa as their top scorers They'll never do that

That last match against NED was totally Yuki's game but Yurie looks cooler