Japan Women's NT 2021

    Quote from staccato lightning

    List of players that are expected to retire by the end of the season

    How did you pull all that outta your butt at once :)

    Quote from voly

    kurogo retiring at this stage? bye then.

    Toray #1 is, by design, their oldest player. So, not the Kurogo

    Inoue did well in the NT during her younger years but with the new coach it would be better to start training a younger libero alongside Kobata. I'm not familiar with any of the new gen liberos.

    Quote from Karl

    Inoue did well in the NT during her younger years but with the new coach it would be better to start training a younger libero alongside Kobata. I'm not familiar with any of the new gen liberos.

    Kobata ruined Kotoe's career :box:


    A few retired players have mentioned Toray's Mizusugi flatteringly. She made wide roster.

    Mark my words:


    the Kurogo is going to stumble around for a couple years and pull a Koga come Paris



    :read:

    Crisis in Volleyball. Takeshita's OP ED.

    https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/849436


    Takeshita conveyed her frustration


    Did you feel the heat in volleyball this time?


    The men's team reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 29 years at the Tokyo Olympics, which concluded on August 8, and finished in seventh place. On the other hand, the women's team was eliminated from the preliminary round for the first time in 25 years since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.


    "The men's race was interesting because it gave me hope, but the women's race was tough."


    Takeshita herself takes these words very seriously.


    "To be honest, there is sense of crisis. The women's basketball team that won the silver medal looked fun to watch, and they had a great unity. But it wasn't just fun. The basketball players practised so hard, their team and results were the result of their desperate efforts. The women's volleyball team worked just as hard, but why were the results different? For the sake of the future of the volleyball world, I think it's important to look back on this situation and see how we can give feedback."


    When results are achieved, they are praised; when they are not, they are criticized." She understands this pain better than anyone else. That's why Takeshita, out of love for volleyball, dared to be harsh in her reflections on the Tokyo Olympics.


    The reality was that the women's volleyball team had won one game and lost four in the preliminary round. The women's volleyball team fell extremely short of its goal of winning a medal, but Takeshita sensed the signs even before the tournament.


    When I looked at the 12-member team," she said, "I wondered why there were four middle blockers and so few outside hitters. In fact, there was no reserve for Kurogo, so there must have been a lot of pressure on her, and Koga got injured. It was certainly unexpected, but the outside players have a lot of work to do on offense and defense, so they should have been able to anticipate that situation.


    Maybe Erika Araki and Haruyo Shimamura, are veterans, so the staff might have been concerned about their physical strength for a series of games. But they had proven themselves to be calculable players in the Nations League just before the tournament. I didn't understand the reason for this lineup.


    Takeshita understood from her own experience as a coach in Himeji and from having seen many coaches as a player that you need to have extraordinary mental strength to be able to fight. That's why she has a lot of feelings for Kumi Nakada, "She was more committed to the Olympics than anyone else, so I'm sure she's suffering from a sense of responsibility,"


    Coaching Staff Changes

    At the same time, however, I have many doubts. Why did the coaching staff change every year in the Japanese national team, which builds trusting relationships, the accuracy of its combinations, and the way it should fight as a team over the years? If I were in the position of a coach or a player," Takeshita questioned in a strong tone, "it would be impossible for me."


    "The coach, players, and the staff all need to have a sense of unity to be able to fight. There was no explanation as to why the coach in charge of training suddenly became the coach of the top team in the first place. The players on the field may have had more doubts than those of us who were watching. In terms of tactics, there must have been some differences compared to the previous system. We may have accepted that as 'inevitable,' but it would have been good if the players had been more assertive in saying, This is what I want to do. When you look at the articles that were published during the tournament, you can't help but wonder if they were properly questioned."


    Takeshita pointed out an article that was published after the fourth game of the preliminary round against South Korea, which she said bothered her

    Cont.


    "Koga will be the central figure. She has been weak and fragile in the past, but this time she has completely broken out of her shell. She will undoubtedly lead Japan's women's volleyball in the future. Momii is also far better than me in terms of height, qualities, and what she possesses (this translated weirdly so idk). I'm looking forward to seeing how she will take this experience and grow. But I am better at defense"



    ------------------

    Ok this is article is actually longer than I thought. There's still 3 more pages to go including observations on the men's team. I'm bad at summarising stuff so if you guys wanna go ahead and read the full article yourself feel free.


    She did mention Matsui so I guess the setter battle will be between Matsui and Momii


    Lastly like Sakoda said on Nishi Nippon, Takeshita agreed that when she went to the venue to watch them, she did not sense any kind of unity within the team.

    so the male commentator that said this was the worst olympic team wasn't exaggerating. that's as tragic as it goes. even if they applied what usa did and asked players who they wanted to play with nakada could not have made that happen because there was no consistency and lots of injuries

    "There was no explanation as to why the coach in charge of training suddenly became the top team coach in the first place."


    What/who is that about? Who is this "coach in charge of training"? I didn't think Lovebunny was a training coach. Is she going back to Ferhat? Or is it about Nakada? I don't think she would dis on Nakada

    Quote

    As for the same Opposite as Kurogo, Shima Mikoto of PFU is also a spiker with very good abilities.

    Oh yeah, baby :drink:



    Mikoto is an odd bird. Very quiet, but methodical. She has a funny gait, like she's wearing a brace to keep her neck straight. It's a little uncomfortable to watch. She's only played those off ramp tournaments like Eastern Zonal and Universiade, where she has always played OP (that's why it will be interesting to see what PFU does with Melissa. They moved Mikoto to OH in Summer League). She comes from a good podium finishing University, Juntendo, where she was master OP. Her reception is standard level. I'm a fan


    [Edit} I also think it's cool she seems to have chosen #35 and wants to live with it. There's probably a reason, but it's random to me now so I like it :thumbup:

    Quote from sitenoise

    Mikoto is an odd bird. Very quiet, but methodical. She has a funny gait, like she's wearing a brace to keep her neck straight. It's a little uncomfortable to watch. She's only played those off ramp tournaments like Eastern Zonal and Universiade, where she has always played OP (that's why it will be interesting to see what PFU does with Melissa. They moved Mikoto to OH in Summer League). She comes from a good podium finishing University, Juntendo, where she was master OP. Her reception is standard level. I'm a fan


    [Edit} I also think it's cool she seems to have chosen #35 and wants to live with it. There's probably a reason, but it's random to me now so I like it :thumbup:

    When did she start? I don't recall seeing her last season. How tall is she?