NBA coaches like PJB will have their salaries paid by the Government. It is difficult for the NBA to exert authority over corporate team players, as the latter are loyal to their paymasters, and the corporations do not always see eye to eye with the NBA. Nevertheless, PJB, at least until COVID-19 struck, successfully prised the players away from their clubs for roughly 150 days per year for training at national camps/international tournaments. This actually worked out well for the corporate teams, because the successes abroad by Bird Japan reflected well on the image of the companies concerned.
Interesting to hear that because it's hard to make sense of how players are supposed to develop without their coach by their side. For example, if Nakanishi needs Momota to work on his smashing accuracy, how would he be able to do so if he could not design Momota's training program? I also wonder if the second best player is from a different club, wouldn't it make more sense for them to spar often to elevate both players' skills (eg. Viktor Axelsen, Anders Antonsen)? Taiwan national team for example does not have a coaching line-up, player's coaches are hired by themselves and the money most likely come from the company sponsoring them, so you have some players like Chou Tien Chen who opted to not have a coach. Of course my points may be irrelevant now given how good the Japanese team is playing but it does make me wonder.
As for me I am just happy that Momota has started playing again and there are signs of improvements. Loosing matches now and then after an accident that prevented him from playing for almost a year, is for me completely understandable. If he continues to loose to LZJ consistently for more than 7 matches then I would be concern. Tonight I will be watching Japan vs Saudi soccer qualifying for World cup. I am sad that Kubo and Ito could not play this time. Hope Minamino, Osako, Furuhashi or Onayu can do something. Wish all the best to Japan's national soccer team.
There are coaches, and often very good ones, at the corporate teams. NTT-East's Sato Shoji used to double as a coach for the NBA, and he is also central in coaching Okuhara, ... who has turned pro. Moreover, NBA coaches are in regular touch with (some?) corporate team coaches regarding the players' training regimens. This is certainly the case for Momota. I fully understand your point regarding regular training with 'second players'. Unfortunately, Tsuneyama and Nishimoto are not at the same level, even after Momota's accident. It would probably make more sense to start thinking post-Momota, and give up-and coming players the opportunity to train with him. This will do nothing for Momota, of course, but it would be an investment for the future. ... And the future is looking somewhat bleak in the MS category.
Was this interview taken after the SF match against Malaysia? There seem to have been problems in understanding the question, i.e., Whether Momota believes he can beat LZJ in his current form? But the final retort goes something like this: He (LZJ) played really well yesterday, and I don't think I can beat him the way I am playing at the moment. I will adjust my game and aim to win at the AE, where I lost last time. -------- It looks like the AE means a lot to Momota.
The way you put it now makes me wonder whether PJB is really communicating well with Momota. In his post-match interview, Momota admitted that he was not particularly tired in the game against SYQ but PJB contradicts his statement by giving his opinion that he thinks Momota is tired. I am not sure if this was something lost in translation or whether PJB speaks English but it's always interesting to see Jeremy Gan and Tan Kim Her giving (broken) English instructions to the players but the players do not usually respond. There seems to be a lack of communication and it makes me wonder should NBA have made the coaches learn some Japanese if they were to continue coaching in Japan. Whether Momota 'is back' now is a heavily debated topic in China with bilibili content creators coming up with tons of analysis videos. Also - is badminton racket design something frequently discussed in Japan? The Chinese are not particularly happy with the direction Yonex is taking by giving rackets more and more shuttle hold (by reducing grommet holes) and less head weight which makes the game 'too counter-attack based' and not entertaining to watch.
Sorry, I am not quite up-to-date with the debate on racquets. But when you mention fewer grommet holes, are you referring to the Astrox 88S? Or, are there more racquets where this is an issue? The Astrox 88S is actually my racquet of choice at the moment. But given my level of badminton, playing an entertaining game is not high on the list of priorities.
Do the players understand English at all? If they don’t, broken English or not still means absolutely nothing. So I don’t get how the coaches even gives instructions.
I am speaking about the 88S Pro and the latest 99 Pro. The old 88s is often lauded as the best doubles racket in China - it's nicknamed 'the racket with no negative review on the entire internet'. After the loss against SYQ, there's one member in this forum itself blaming Momota for opting for such 'control-oriented' racket (99 Pro), making him reluctant to attack more in the third set but of course that is more about him being irrational - he wanted Momota to win.
I was part of that discussion lol and it wasn't really blaming Momota. Stop taking simple conversation out of proportion. We simply said that the Voltric Z Force 2 could provide more power. And we were not even taking that seriously. It's like your name - just for fun. We do that here a lot and we recognise it between ourselves. If you stick to this thread for a long time you'll realise it too.
No, as far as I know, the players do not understand much. Momota tends to switch off altogether when it comes to the English, and even Okuhara, who seems to be studying a little, is still at a rudimentary level. Having said that, as PJB has a very good grasp of Japanese, he will certainly be able to communicate with the players. I see. I didn't realise that the Astrox 99 Pro has fewer grommets, too. I can fully understand that there may be focus on the racquet, but honestly speaking, I don't think it is the tool that is the problem here.
RANT: From all the feral discussions on this thread (espc regarding Momota vs LZJ) too many people are invested in their heroes (did someone base their self-worth on a stranger?) and their world-altering opinions which are 100% right cos you angry folks play the international circuit alongside them and know what the hell is actually going on behind the scenes with your illuminati insight and omniscience. Momota is still recovering and LZJ is still young as hell so all you offending folks ought to take chill pills. NOT RANT: Admittedly the Astrox series feels significantly lighter, the balance is not as solid as the older Voltric series..
It's quite interesting that PJB is contradicting Momota regarding fitness. Seems KM really doesn't want to let on about his below par physical shape or does think doing so would be making excuses. PJB naturally has to assume a different perspective as he has to plan training, recovery, and so on (and he probably also feels the need to explain the lack of silverware of late).
I think that Momota is generally quite candid about his physical condition. For example, he mentioned that he was tired when playing CTC. I doubt that he is covering up for anything; in his match against SYQ he obviously did not feel the same level of fatigue. However, as you mention, PJB's perspective on matters will be different. After a long hiatus, consecutive matches are probably going to take their toll, irrespective of whether the player says he feels OK, or not. I don't know if you remember Ogura Kumiko of OguShio fame, but on a news programme this morning, she also stated that, considering the lack of matches played by him, Momota will have been tired.
My observation is Momota was nervous when SYQ came in 3rd set smashing all the way. Qute good success rate. It also makes momota to change to higher speed which makes him uncomfortable and tired a little. You also notice momota made some mistakes; which is due to the pace from syq. The speed he injected also made him breathe differently and tiring. Normally a player makes mistakes when they are tired. So, I would say pjb was correct. Momota is not in a good state of mind when answering the tiredness question. Ego. Like frost said, Momota got a lot to learn from this match. Momota also gained weights from my observation, he needs to slim down 5% more. This is making him tired faster. When he slims down, his speed will be better and gives him more confident. Momota need to brush up on his netting and do more attacking. I did many complains on his red black coloured racket which is too light. He shd be using heavier 100zz type for more power. It makes a lot of difference at his level when he smash. It will be faster. Once he slims down and begins to net more, then he will be a tough nut to crack. The only fear you have is when you defend or lift too much. If you net more, you defend less. Simple as that. Now who needs coaching from me. Come.
