I remember to read somewhere Manabe specially asked the London team to join the training camp with this batch, sorta as mentors then share as much experiences/tips as possible. JVA even came up with a weird name for this "mentor team" that im unable to recall for now. So they were at the press conference for a reason
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They're called "Entourage from London"
Denso libero is illegally cute
You got a problem with that?
You got a problem with that?
If she sucks it'll definitely be a problem
Koga's interview from Nishi Nippon https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/n/922713/
Koga wants a more united team in order to have a shot at winning a medal. But I strongly disagree with her outlook.
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She also said of the Japan national team, "There is a limit to how much you can do with just the players on the court. It's important for the entire team to face the same direction. However, a truly strong team has a relationship in which they can say what they feel and what they want to see done. They don't have to be good friends."
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A team with merely good players is not a "real team" nor does it count as strong. Forming a bond is absolutely critical. Which is what makes the men's team united because Yuki Ishikawa as the captain values friendship and sees relationships extremely valuable. I sense none of that in what Koga said. Her statement sounds very cold, detached and just indifferent. The London and Rio squads have all formed longlasting friendships. I believe this is also a factor as to why USA and Brazil are unstoppable. They form true bonds with each other so the players know each others strengths and weaknesses and who they work better with. It's always different from a players pov and a coach's pov. There are things that only the players themselves are able to observe.
Quite disappointed with her statements so far. Not a very mature thought process of someone who is leading a team.
"However, a truly strong team has a relationship in which they can say what they feel and what they want to see done"
so like a demanding parent having unrealistic expectations? 
being open and communicating is obviously important but there's only so much you can say to someone but still not have any connection.
Display MoreKoga's interview from Nishi Nippon https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/n/922713/
Koga wants a more united team in order to have a shot at winning a medal. But I strongly disagree with her outlook.
__________________________________
She also said of the Japan national team, "There is a limit to how much you can do with just the players on the court. It's important for the entire team to face the same direction. However, a truly strong team has a relationship in which they can say what they feel and what they want to see done. They don't have to be good friends."
__________________________________
A team with merely good players is not a "real team" nor does it count as strong. Forming a bond is absolutely critical. Which is what makes the men's team united because Yuki Ishikawa as the captain values friendship and sees relationships extremely valuable. I sense none of that in what Koga said. Her statement sounds very cold, detached and just indifferent. The London and Rio squads have all formed longlasting friendships. I believe this is also a factor as to why USA and Brazil are unstoppable. They form true bonds with each other so the players know each others strengths and weaknesses and who they work better with. It's always different from a players pov and a coach's pov. There are things that only the players themselves are able to observe.
Quite disappointed with her statements so far. Not a very mature thought process of someone who is leading a team.
this sounds like she had some Karch juice 🤣🤣🤣
Display MoreKoga's interview from Nishi Nippon https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/n/922713/
Koga wants a more united team in order to have a shot at winning a medal. But I strongly disagree with her outlook.
__________________________________
She also said of the Japan national team, "There is a limit to how much you can do with just the players on the court. It's important for the entire team to face the same direction. However, a truly strong team has a relationship in which they can say what they feel and what they want to see done. They don't have to be good friends."
__________________________________
A team with merely good players is not a "real team" nor does it count as strong. Forming a bond is absolutely critical. Which is what makes the men's team united because Yuki Ishikawa as the captain values friendship and sees relationships extremely valuable. I sense none of that in what Koga said. Her statement sounds very cold, detached and just indifferent. The London and Rio squads have all formed longlasting friendships. I believe this is also a factor as to why USA and Brazil are unstoppable. They form true bonds with each other so the players know each others strengths and weaknesses and who they work better with. It's always different from a players pov and a coach's pov. There are things that only the players themselves are able to observe.
Quite disappointed with her statements so far. Not a very mature thought process of someone who is leading a team.
I don't think Koga is close to Mayu. I have actually never seen them interact with each other as in really interact not just on the court where they have to make signals. Koga is closest to Ishii and now she's gone. She's so much closer to Ishii Nagaoka and Shinnabe than the Toray duos. She may also be referencing past experience when Nakada made it a priority for her to support Kurogo. Idk there is a murky line between friendship and simply being teammates. But I agree that it's not a very healthy one.
You guys can rewatch all their VNL matches and you'll see just how vocal Koga is with the team more so than Araki. She does it naturally. She's not a moody bitch, not arrogant in the slightest with the newbies and she has never shown any strong negative emotion whenever they lose which is part of the reason she looked so good during VNL.
She may not be as warm or well-spoken with her remarks, she sounds very much like someone in turmoil in these interviews. But I do sense that she also values the team as a whole regardless of whether they get along or not. That's what I think she's tryna say.
Yamagishi should level things out she's very ~motherly and knows how to handle situations when it gets outta control.
Btw here's the link to the livestream (not free) for the upcoming Red & White match happening after VNL and before WCH
Koga's no dreamer, nor is she a nursery school teacher who wants everyone to "just get along"
I love vibe teams. There's nothing better, but that's not what the reality is right now. Maybe it blooms over the next few years, IF THEY WIN anything
Koga knows the game better than anyone else on the team and the other players, the reasonable ones anyway, know that. That's why she talks and why others listen. The most important part being the opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Mayu and Uchiseto are smart players too, but when have we seen either one of them say much during a match?
This is all juicy stuff. It may or may not produce results, but I think it's brilliant. And Yamagishi as deputy captain was the right move. She's the people person. We have a dynamic duo on our hands 
If she sucks it'll definitely be a problem
She could be the sleeper win for the NT ... if she makes final cut and gets playing time around Yamagishi. She was a major highlight of the V.League season. Quick and intuitive
Her little tweetbox interview: seems cute AND aware -- though I have no idea what she is saying 
Would be an interesting lineup:
*this may be a free article for the time being but sometimes sanspo closes articles that get good traffic.
Manabe set the goal of becoming the best in the world in four areas: serve, serve receive, spike receive, and fewest goals conceded. This time, the five areas he wants to dominate are serve, serve receive, dig & assist, fewest number of runs, and "unity". Statistical figures for serve, serve receive, and goals scored are released by FIVB for each international tournament. In that ranking, the team set a specific goal: Six players in the top 10 in serve and three in serve-receive.
His focus is on digs and assists. A dig is a spike receive. The second one is usually called a "toss" or "connection" to the third spike, but the coach introduced the concept of "assist," which is not found in volleyball.
In soccer and basketball, an assist is given to the player who made the pass immediately before the scorer. Similarly, when a player scores with a spike, the player who tosses the ball is given an assist point. Of course, this is not in the official records, so the Japanese teams come up with their own figures.
If the setter can lift the toss in a good position from a good receive, it is easy to score a point. However, when the setter raises the dig, or when the dig deflects and the toss becomes a two-tiered toss, how can the ball be supplied in a way that makes it easier for the attacker to hit? This is one of the concrete forms of meticulous volleyball that Japan needs. The coach said, "(Depending on the result), it may be better for a non-setter to win the two-tier toss."
The coach spoke of "unity" that cannot be expressed in numbers, citing the example of Mizuho Ishida, who continued to support the team even after being left out of the squad just before the London Olympics, and said, "Invisible strength is also necessary. The concept of assisting, which is "service to one's fellow teammates," may be a starting point for the creation of invisible power."
In the women's basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics, Rui Machida led Japan to the silver medal by becoming the top assister with a new Olympic record of 18 assists in a single game in the semi-finals. Will there be another player like Machida to support the team's breakthrough? "Although it will not be an official record," said Manabe, "I would like to win the coach of the year award."
bruh...
The coach's policy of motivating his players by setting clear goals has given rise to hopes, however slight they may be, that a repeat of the success of 10 years ago may happen again.
This is off topic, but I’ve always found it strange assists aren’t recorded internationally. Digs too
it's interesting to see him talk about receive, when their best receiver (Kobata) is not playing.
Was she not called because she's retiring? or did she retire because she was not called?
He's disgustingly self-absorbed.
This "invisible power" which sounds like a pseudo-unity term for the lack of the team's friendship probably. And is Manabe burying his Rio team? The Rio team was not as clever but they weren't a bunch of weaklings either. Granted the middles were the worst and Miyashita fell too short of a genius that he so wanted her to be at that young age.
What makes this team any different?
He's disgustingly self-absorbed.
This "invisible power" which sounds like a pseudo-unity term for the lack of the team's friendship probably. And is Manabe burying his Rio team? The Rio team was not as clever but they weren't a bunch of weaklings either. Granted the middles were the worst and Miyashita fell too short of a genius that he so wanted her to be at that young age.
What makes this team any different?
I'm guessing because the stars of Rio post- the 2 Saoris are still active: Miyashita, Ishii, Nagaoka, Arisa Sato? he also had Yamagishi and Uchiseto as backup then too and now Airi is back
It's kinda funny that he learned from Plak that the word BREAK by itself doesn't mean shit so he finally used the term Breakthrough for the NT and it's all thanks to Plak lol
