*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

 

Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/チーム・ブライアン-ブライアン・オーサー/dp/4062191733/

Source: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/3607241795?pn=1

https://weibo.com/6177279020/Na27Pbhv6

 

The man who led Yuzuru Hanyu to the top. The world's strongest figure skating coach reveals the story of meticulous strategy and heated battles. Includes a conversation between Orser and Yuzuru! The man who led Yuzuru Hanyu to the top.

The world's strongest figure skating coach reveals the story of meticulous strategy and heated battles.

Includes a conversation between Orser and Yuzuru!

 

Table of contents :

Introduction 

 

Prologue: Brian Orser & Yuzuru Hanyu - A Coach–Student Conversation

-In search of “Yuzuru’s skating style”

-The Ability to See a Program Through to the End

-Toward an Olympics where things go “as usual”

-Seeing Brian’s Happy Expression, My Frustration Turned to Joy

-Leading the advancement of figure skating

-Wanting to pass on what I learned from Brian

 

Chapter 1: Mr. Triple Axel

-Falling in love with figure skating

-The Epicenter That Changed Men’s Figure Skating

-The "Monster" That Is the Olympics

-The Drive to Take on New Challenges

-Attempting the Quadruple Jump

-The Only Canadian Champion to Compete in the Olympics

-A Mere 0.1-Point Difference In The Total Score

-“Orser, Still A Loser”

-Founding Stars on Ice

-Commentary

 

Chapter 2: Kim Yuna

-Talent That Left People Stunned

-Training through tears every day

-Shifting from Quantity to Quality in Training

-Rivalry with Mao Asada

-The Moment Yuna Smiled for the First Time

-Even the critical media fell silent

-Seeing herself in a Bond girl

-Pressure from the Korean Skating Federation and the media

-A secret plan for Vancouver

-A Strategy for Peaking

-The Olympics as just another “everyday” competition

-Not thinking of it as revenge for Calgary

-Parting ways with Yuna

 

Chapter 3: Yuzuru and Javier

-Adam and Christina: Two Experiences

-Javier, Full of Unexpected Happenings

-Yuzuru: Overflowing with Talent, but Unable to Control It

-Yuzuru's Aesthetic: Always Performing with Full Power

-Even with Two Skaters, I Alone Bear the Responsibility

-Record-breaking at Skate America 2012

-“I want to win two Olympics”

-The 2013 World Championships fought through poor physical condition

-A wonderful chemistry between two very different personalities

 Chapter 4: The Sochi Olympics

-Music that perfectly suits Yuzuru’s strength

-The Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka That Shifted the Balance of Power

-A gripping All-Japan Championships

-Treating the Olympic Team Event as a Separate Competition

-Team Brian takes the stage

-The gold medal was already decided during practice

-A silent hug with Patrick

-The free skate lacked a “magical moment”

 

Chapter 5: Team Brian’s Coaching

-The Lineup of Team Brian

-Presentation, Management, Motivation

-How to Work with Two Top Skaters

-Adapting to the Changes in ISU Requirements

-Approach to Improving Scores

-Off-ice Coaching

-How to deal with the media

-Mental Management

-A Community That Brings Fulfilment to Coaches

 

Final Chapter: After the Sochi Olympics, Towards the Future

-A Double Podium at the 2014 World Championships

-How the Programs for the New Season Were Decided

-A Time to Push Beyond the Limits and Try New Styles

-To Javier

-To Yuzuru

-My Mission

 

A Word from the Editor

Introduction

 

The Sochi Olympic season was truly an exciting one for me. My student, Yuzuru Hanyu (Yuzuru), won both the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the World Championships, and Javier Fernández (Spain) also earned a bronze medal at that same World Championships. Four years earlier, at the Vancouver Olympics, my student Kim Yuna (South Korea) had taken gold, and I was described as having achieved “back-to-back Olympic victories as a coach.” Having won two silver medals myself at the Sarajevo and Calgary Olympics during my competitive career, I came to be regarded as a “success” both as a skater and as a coach.

 

When both Yuzuru and Yuna won their respective titles, many coaches, athletes, and media outlets asked me, "How can you make your student win a gold medal?" Many people likely assumed that just by following my guidance, one could achieve a gold medal. In fact, after Yuzuru's victory, many top-level skaters from around the world rushed to request my coaching.

 

However, I don't believe my students' success is solely due to my efforts or any special technique I have. That notion is absolutely incorrect. I have simply been fortunate enough to encounter many exceptional people, spending every day with trustworthy and talented individuals. What I cannot forget, as people call me a successful coach, is to express my respect and gratitude to the many people who have supported these skaters before me.

 

Yuzuru, Yuna, Javier, and all the other athletes each started under various coaches who discovered their talents and helped them develop the qualities of top-tier athletes before they joined me. While Yuzuru's success rate with the quadruple jump improved after coming to Toronto, the ability and foundation for executing a beautiful quad jump were developed long before. If I were to take credit for making him capable of doing the quad jump, that would be a grave mistake. When Yuzuru, at 17, first joined me, his spins and jumps were already outstanding, and he had twice the passion of others. The contribution made by his previous coaches is obvious.

 

There was Nanami Abe, who coached Yuzuru until 2012, as well as the many coaches and trainers who worked with him, even if only for shorter periods, and the many people who supported him mentally. Thanks to all these people, we have the Yuzuru we see today. Yuzuru's gold medal is absolutely not just my accomplishment.

 

The same goes for Nam Nguyen (Canada). When he won the 2014 World Junior Championships, the first thing I did was send an email to his previous coach, saying, "A part of this championship belongs to you. Thank you for developing him to this point."

 

I was able to thank Nam’s former coach directly because he was also Canadian and we had met before. But when Yuna and Yuzuru won their Olympic titles, I never had the opportunity to thank their previous coaches. I do not even know how many coaches they had before coming to me, nor have I spoken with them. Yet all of those people had done excellent work with them before they ever came under my guidance. I absolutely cannot take all the credit myself.

 

On the day of the free skate at the Sochi Olympics, I simply happened to be sitting beside Yuzuru in the Kiss-and-Cry area while waiting for his scores, and I happened to be the one interviewed by media outlets from around the world.

 

Let me talk about my own days as a skater. Before I began training under Doug Leigh at the age of seven, I spent a brief period, between the ages of five and seven, training with a female coach. She skated beautifully and carefully taught me how to skate when I was still a child, making me fall in love with skating. Although I was very young at the time, I still vividly remember both her skating and the way she taught me. Even after Doug Leigh became my coach from the age of seven onward, those days with my childhood coach remained part of my memories as a skater, and I often look back on them with gratitude.

 

That is why, now that I have had the privilege of publishing a book in Japan as a figure skating coach, I must not forget to pay tribute to Yuzuru’s former coaches. Every one of them contributed to developing him into an Olympic champion.

 

I’m happy that skaters of all kinds, each with their own unique habits and styles, come to me. As I watch them and think about the training and lessons they’ve received, I realize just how much love and care has gone into nurturing them.

 

For every skater who has come under my guidance, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to their development. To help exceptionally talented young people like Yuzuru and Yuna come as close to success as possible, I observe which direction they are heading in and guide them accordingly. Looking at their success, I believe that their training life in Toronto created a positive chemistry with the talents they already possessed, allowing those talents to blossom. If I played any role in that process, it was simply to provide the environment and light the fuse that allowed their talent to erupt. That is all.

 

At the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club (hereafter the Cricket Club), where I coach, there are more than 20 other coaches working together as a team. Without any one of them, Team Brian could not exist. Each of them takes on an important responsibility. In this sense, the athletes' medals are not only my achievement but also the result of the efforts of their past coaches and the coaches at Cricket Club. This sense of gratitude lies at the very heart of what forms Team Brian.

 

I’ve only been coaching for eight years, and my skating journey is still far from over.

 

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported my students in the past. In particular, I intend to record my coaching journey as a way of paying tribute to the Japanese coaches who nurtured Yuzuru. It feels like my skating travel diary. It's like a diary of my skating journey. I hope the word "Arigato" (thank you) reaches everyone in Japan.

 

This book is based on interviews with Coach Brian Orser conducted in July 2014 at the "Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club" in Canada, and a conversation between Orser and Yuzuru Hanyu in August 2014 at the same location. The interviewer was Yoshie Noguchi.

Prologue: Brian Orser & Yuzuru Hanyu - A Coach–Student Conversation

 

About half a year after the Sochi Winter Olympics, in early August 2014, Brian Orser and Yuzuru Hanyu resumed their discussion about the next four years. About the next Olympic cycle, future goals, and future dreams. Through the conversation, the master and apprentice made a new resolution.

Note: Yuzuru Hanyu is referred to as Y, and Brian Orser as B in this text.

Spoiler

In Search of "Yuzuru's Skating Style"

—It’s been half a year since you won the gold medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics. First, could you each share what you would like to say to each other after the Olympics?

B: First of all, congratulations on winning the gold medal. You can still get even stronger, so don’t stop here, and let’s continue to improve together.

Y: Although it’s only been a short two years since I came under Brian’s guidance until the Sochi Olympics, we trained and communicated together, and that allowed me to make progress and show my abilities at the Olympics. When I first came to Toronto, there was a language barrier, but Brian was always able to understand what I was thinking and what I wanted to do. It’s really impressive how Brian, as my coach, always thought ahead and considered what I needed.

B: When Yuzuru first came to Toronto two years ago, he was already a talented skater. The first time I saw him was at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, and my first impression was that a really exceptional skater had appeared. When I saw him again at the 2012 World Championships in Nice, alongside Javier Fernández, he had already grown into a strong competitor. He was young and passionate, and he was definitely someone to watch in the near future. So, when I heard that he wanted to come here to train and join our team after that World Championships, I was really surprised.

Y: I saw Javier’s quadruple jump improve significantly during the 2010-2011 season, and his success rate went up. Whether in competitions or public practice, his quad jumps were very impressive. I heard he switched to train with Brian, so I thought there must be some kind of secret to it. Since the quadruple jump is my biggest weapon, if I could stabilize my quad jump, there would be a possibility of improving other aspects like my skating and expressiveness. That’s when I decided to train with Brian.

 

—After arriving in Toronto in 2012, I heard that you didn’t initially focus on the quadruple jump but instead started from the basics. Is that true?

B: In the spring of 2012, when Yuzuru first came to Toronto, I took him to various rinks around the city, and we skated together. This was actually an experiment. I had him try various footwork and connecting moves, and I observed his skating technique and the characteristics of his movements from different angles. I found that many of his techniques were quite random and changed depending on his mood. So I thought, if his technique fluctuates depending on his emotions, he won’t be able to jump consistently.

Y: As Brian mentioned, before coming to Toronto, my performance on the ice was a bit influenced by my mood that day. Even in my routines, things like speed and the number of crossovers were random, and I could feel it myself.

 

—So, did you start training from the basics because of that?

B: Yes, it all started with having in-depth communication with Yuzuru. The key was to find a technique that suited him and then set goals. Everyone has different skating techniques and habits, and recognizing that is really important. Before focusing solely on the quadruple jump, we needed to solidify the basics, particularly his skating technique. I’ve found a suitable technique for both Javier and Nam Nguyen, so I began exploring “Yuzuru’s skating style.” In fact, even after two years, we’re still in the process of figuring it out, but sooner or later, he will need to master his own style.

Y: Although I trained in skating technique when I was younger, this was the first time I received a thorough re-training in skating technique after I transitioned to senior competitions. At first, it was very difficult. Actually, I still find it difficult even now (laughs). But I understand that the focus on skating technique will benefit me in the future, and it will also improve the overall program.

B: That’s right. This is where Yuzuru shines—he embraced the basic skating training. It may also be because he didn’t have another choice (laughs). At the Cricket Club, all the skaters undergo skating training led by Tracy Wilson. The differences in their abilities are clearly evident, and everyone has to work hard to catch up. Yuzuru also realized that he shouldn’t let his emotions affect his skating. By skating with other skaters, he deepened his understanding of basic skating techniques.

Y: It’s true. After coming to Toronto, I truly realized the importance of skating technique. It affects the stability of your skating, and it is related to the quadruple jump as well. I feel that both the take-off and timing of my jumps have improved.

 

—Besides skating technique, what other aspects are emphasized in your overall training?

B: My coaching style places a lot of emphasis on communication. The more talented the skater, like Yuzuru, the more important communication becomes. Some coaches might give orders like “You have to do this move like this,” but I believe every skater has already mastered different techniques, so it’s the coach’s job to adapt to each skater’s characteristics. So with Yuzuru, I don’t force him to jump in a particular way, but instead, we look for the jump that suits him best.

Y: It’s true. Brian and I discuss everything thoroughly. Even when practicing jumps, we record the jumps and then watch them together. He asks me, “How does it feel?” and I’ll answer, “It feels like this.” Then Brian will suggest, “How about trying it this way?” Through repeated discussions, my jump technique eventually took shape.

B: What’s important is the “good feeling.” Through training together, I realized that Yuzuru and I are quite similar in that we both care deeply about the feeling of the jump. The training method that works well for this type is to record the “good-feeling” jumps and analyze the videos objectively, looking for successful patterns. Things like breathing frequency, body condition, rhythm, knee usage, glide path, and posture during the jump—all these things need to be explored.

 

—I see, this is really a very theoretical approach to training.

The Ability to See a Program Through to the End

— What did you discuss after the first season ended and before the Olympic season began?

Y: We discussed how to adjust my condition so that I could reach my peak at the right time. In fact, before that, I had never deliberately adjusted my condition, and I didn’t know how to bring myself into peak form according to the competition schedule. Whether it was training, competitions, exhibition galas, or ice shows, I always gave everything I had. Especially in the season before I came to Brian, I participated in 60 ice shows during the summer break. In every single show, I performed my short program and free skate with all my strength. By the time that summer was over, I had already used up my peak condition.

— The Sendai rink had closed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake that season, so ice shows became a precious training ground for you..

Y: That’s right. At the time, all I could do was seize the opportunities available to me during the summer break and train as hard as I could every day. Brian was with me for the 2012–2013 season and noticed this tendency of mine. Before the Olympic season, we often discussed this issue together. Also, before the World Championships in the 2012–2013 season, I injured my knee and caught a cold, so we also discussed how to maintain my health throughout the entire year.

B: Yuzuru is the type who pushes himself a bit too hard. In jump training, he’d always want to do "just one more," then "one more after that". He’s that kind of fiercely driven skater. With Javier, unless you tell him, “Do that move one more time,” he won’t do it. With Yuzuru, I have to tell him, “No more practice for now. Take a break.” I’m actually the same type as Yuzuru. Once I start training, I practise without holding anything back until I’m drenched in sweat. Whether in training or competition, I always want to come first. I always want to be the centre of everyone’s attention. But if you train like that, when competition time comes, you find that you’re already completely exhausted. I wanted Yuzuru to understand this.

— In other words, you needed to plan properly and distribute your energy sensibly throughout the season, right?

B: That’s right. That was one point. Another issue we discovered during the first season was how to ensure that he could perform well in both the short program and the free skate. He would do well in the short program, but if he let his guard down even a little, mistakes would occur in the free skate. This was because the free skate required more technical elements, and there were also many more things to pay attention to. What I wanted Yuzuru to do was to prepare himself mentally by separating the short program from the free skate, and to concentrate on the free skate as if it were another competition.

Y: I struggled with that, especially during my first Grand Prix event of the season, Skate America.

B: At Skate America, he achieved the highest score of his career at that time in the short program, but his free skate was terrible. However, at the NHK Trophy and the Japanese National Championships afterward, both his short program and free skate performances improved in comparison. We made some good progress. But at the final competition of the season, the World Championships, we encountered problems with managing his recovery after injury and maintaining his health. His short program performance was extremely poor. Although he managed to push through the free skate on sheer determination, it left us with a huge challenge to address for the Olympic season. Therefore, when preparing for the Olympic season, we had many discussions about the pace of training and how to manage rest periods.

— And then the Olympic season began. During the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series, you competed against Patrick Chan (Canada) at three consecutive events. You must have learned a great deal from that.

Y: At the first event, Skate America, all I could think about was Patrick Chan. Rather than wanting to “beat him,” I had a much stronger feeling of wanting to “catch up with him.” Since it was the first event of the Grand Prix series, I wanted to see how big the gap between Patrick Chan and me was. The moment I started thinking that way, a good result was already out of reach. That was because I wasn’t concentrating my energy on my own performance. Instead, I was focusing my attention on someone else.

B: Exactly. Yuzuru was always very concerned about what Patrick Chan was doing, whether we were training in Toronto or at the Grand Prix competitions. Though, I was the same way (laughs). Our goal was to beat Patrick Chan and compete with his high Program Component Scores (PCS). But we weren’t impatient about it. Our plan was to gradually raise Yuzuru’s program component scores through the competitions over the course of the season, so that he would reach his peak condition right in time for the Olympics.

Y: First, I lost to him at Skate Canada in October, and I was extremely frustrated at the time. So, before the Trophée Éric Bompard in France in November, I changed my training approach. Previously, I had been dividing each program into sections of about one minute and practising each section separately. After that, I began practising the entire program from beginning to end with the music.

B: Practising the entire program in training was very meaningful. Yuzuru had always placed the main emphasis of his training on the 4S (quadruple Salchow), so whether he landed that opening quad successfully affected his mental state for the rest of the program. But through this kind of training, he gradually came to understand that a program wasn’t just about the 4S. He had to skate the entire program from beginning to end. Even if he made a mistake on the 4S, he still had to concentrate and finish the whole program. Of course, that focus needs to be there right from the start of training. And in order to finish an entire program, he also had to learn how to distribute his energy. That is, what people commonly call managing his physical condition. Together with Tracy, we put a great deal of thought into changing our training methods.

— And the results of that training were evident at the French event. Although you fell on the 4S, you skated very well afterward.

Y: I talked a lot with Brian after that competition in France. Although I fell on the 4S at the French event, I didn’t lose heart or become discouraged. I worked hard and skated all the way to the end, and then I received a very high score. Brian told me that scoring comes from the program as a whole, not just the opening 4S, and I agreed with him.

— That was how you were able to win the Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka. It feels like you matured significantly after the French event.

Y: Before the Grand Prix Final, it was simply training, training, and more training. As for why I hadn’t won at the French event, my own feeling was that although I had trained hard, I still hadn’t trained enough. My short program performance had been perfect, yet I still couldn’t beat Patrick Chan. It wasn’t a question of whether I landed my jumps successfully. There was still so much more for me to work on. That competition made me realise this. Afterward, Brian and the others worked with me to draw up a detailed training plan. Previously, I would practise the entire program with the music two or three times a week. We increased that to six or seven times a week.

B: That’s right. Every day, Tracy, Yuzuru, and I would put our heads together to plan the training. Some days we’d do two full free skates; other days, one short program and one free skate. Sometimes we’d try skating the free skate first, or incorporate segment-specific practice and multiple run-throughs with music in a single day, and so on. The training content was different every day, and we spent that entire week concentrating fully without letting up. If we had simply repeated the same training every day without any particular purpose, our preparation would not have been sufficient by the time the Olympics arrived. That’s why we carefully worked out a plan. We decided in advance what to do on each day of the week and what we needed to accomplish that week. Everything had to be decided beforehand.

— And the result was your victory at the Grand Prix Final.

B: Yes, the victory at the Grand Prix Final changed everything. Yuzuru’s performance wasn't 100% perfect in that competition, whereas Patrick Chan skated exceptionally well. Yet, even with that performance, Patrick Chan lost to Yuzuru. Yuzuru’s victory shocked the entire world. More importantly, it changed the landscape of men’s figure skating. The Grand Prix Final was an important competition before the Olympics, and we managed to put immense pressure on Patrick Chan.

Y: For me, the Grand Prix Final was the competition that gave me confidence. It made me feel that the training methods Brian and the others and I had discussed and developed after the French event were correct. I felt, “Yes, training this way is working.” The fact that I had improved through training, and that I could beat Patrick Chan even if he didn’t make any mistakes, gave me confidence.

B: At that rate, I was certain that Yuzuru would be able to reach his peak form before the Olympics. Looking at the entire world, Yuzuru was the only one capable of closing the gap with Patrick Chan’s exceptionally high Program Component Scores (PCS). The results of the Grand Prix Final conveyed a message to the media, judges, and figure skating fans: the Olympic competition would no longer be “Patrick Chan versus the top figure skaters,” but rather “Patrick Chan versus Yuzuru Hanyu.”

That was truly exciting.

Toward an Olympics where things go “as usual”

—After that, did you ever discuss things like your chances of winning at the Olympics?

Y: We didn’t really talk about anything in particular after that.

B: I think it’s very important to keep things as they are; there was no need to make any changes just because it was the Olympics. I know everyone thinks the Olympics are something special. But we were on the right track, so our discussions about the Olympics were more or less the same as for any other competition, focusing on things like what to practise at the official competition venue and the travel schedule. It was the same after we arrived in Sochi. He trained with Javier and went about his daily routine as usual. Whether he made mistakes during practice or had a really good session, everything remained the same as always. After that, just as he would for any other competition, all he had to do was get his condition right and save his peak form for the actual event.

Y: We mainly discussed the training content before entering the Olympic season.

B: Yes. The only difference between the Olympics and other competitions was the addition of the team event, which meant the skaters had to peak twice. The individual events began immediately after the team event, so we had to get him into peak condition once, let him relax and unwind immediately afterwards, and then bring him back to his peak again. We incorporated exercises to help him adjust his condition into our daily training during the Olympic season. Other than that, the basic training routine remained exactly the same as usual.

—You seem to have been in a very calm frame of mind. You also looked very consistent during the open practice sessions after arriving in Sochi, and you seemed to be in good shape. Next came the team event. What was it like for you?

Y: As for the team event, I approached it as a practice competition for the men's singles. It was my first time participating in the Olympics, so naturally, I felt a little uneasy. I kept hearing people around me say, “The Olympics are special.” Even for Brian, the Olympics he had competed in as an athlete were a special kind of experience. So I thought it would be good if I could experience for myself what exactly made them so special. As for my condition, I’d say I was at about 80% of my peak form during the team event.

B: The team event was a newly introduced discipline, so there was no precedent for the teams, the athletes or even the media to refer to. Everyone had to adapt as things unfolded, and Yuzuru handled it very well. Although he only competed in the short program, he still had to cheer on and support his teammates afterwards. I think he expended quite a lot of energy during the team event as well. That’s why it was important to help him relax afterward and give him a chance to unwind and release some of that tension.

Y: Exactly. There were only three days between the team event and the individual event, so we decided to take one day off to rest. I didn’t even see Brian that day. I just relaxed on my own and let both my body and mind recover. As for the short program in the individual event, the team event had given me confidence. I realized that if I could deliver a perfect performance on the Olympic stage at just 80% of my peak form, then there was nothing to worry about if I could bring myself to 100%.

B: The most important thing when preparing for the individual event is to relax. The atmosphere around you is very different once you move on to the individual competition. In the team event, you’re only competing against teams like the US and Canada. But in the individual event, there are coaches and officials everywhere, and the locker room is full of outstanding athletes. So we wanted to create an environment that felt just like any other competition, where Yuzuru could relax as much as possible.

Y: What left the deepest impression on me during those few days before the individual competition was how relaxed Brian was. I had assumed that both of us would inevitably be nervous at the Olympics, but he was just as calm as ever. That was exactly why I trusted him so much, and it allowed me to step onto the ice with peace of mind. If even Brian had been nervous or seemed unlike himself, that tension would have affected me too. But what I felt at the rink was simply, “Ah, it’s just like any other competition.” Brian had already coached a skater to Olympic gold, so there was a sense of security about him. He made me feel confident, as though I had someone dependable to lean on. When the competition began and I heard my name announced over the loudspeaker, I did exactly what I always did: shook hands with him, crouched down, tapped the boards, and then went out onto the ice. (laughs)

—And the result was a flawless short programme, earning you a score of over 100 points. After the short program, you must have discussed how to approach the free skate and what frame of mind to be in.

B: The biggest challenge at that time was the overall competition schedule. It was the same for all the men's competitors: the individual event came just three days after the team event, and there wasn't even a rest day between the short program and the free skate. Everyone was exhausted. The short program had finished very late the previous evening, and early the next morning, we already had free-skate practice. There was barely any time left to sleep. The quality of the ice was another issue. The ice felt different during morning practice than it did during the evening competition, which made things even more difficult for the skaters.

Y: After the short program, there was a press conference. By the time it finished and I got back to my room, it was already past midnight. I probably slept for only about four hours before getting up for morning practice.

B: That was because the short-track speed skating events had been scheduled for the afternoon, right between figure skating's practice sessions and competitions. As a result, figure skating practice had to take place very early in the morning, while the evening competitions finished very late. Hopefully, at the next Olympics, the organizing committee will arrange the schedules so that the two sports don’t overlap in this way, either by separating the events or scheduling them at different times.

Anyway, putting the scheduling issues aside, the fact was that none of the skaters were in peak condition going into the free skate. Even under those circumstances, Yuzuru continued to perform well during the open practice sessions, earning high praise from those around him and building up some great momentum. It’s also important to make an impression on the people around you, earn their praise, and use that positive momentum to turn things in your favor.

Seeing Brian’s Happy Expression, My Frustration Turned to Joy

— You mean that the momentum had shifted in Hanyu’s favor, is that right? Since no one had fully shaken off the fatigue from the short program before heading into the free skate, what kind of day was it for you both?

Y: On the day of the free skate, I felt that something was wrong from the morning’s official practice session. My body felt very heavy. But during the run-through with the music, I successfully landed both the 4S and the 4T, so I thought perhaps I was just a little nervous. Brian, how did things look from your perspective?

B: I couldn’t tell if your body felt heavy, but the rhythm of the six-minute warm-up before the competition felt very strange. It wasn’t just Yuzuru; Javier and the other skaters all seemed a bit off. It was as if whenever one skater prepared for a jump, another would happen to be in their path, forcing them to change direction and preventing them from executing a high-quality jump. The skaters kept getting in each other’s way. I think that’s why Yuzuru felt like his body was heavy.

Y: Yes. Five of the six skaters gathered in the same place at the same time. The six-minute warm-up was absolutely terrible. I can’t remember what happened at all; I really couldn’t get anything done. It was extremely chaotic.

B: Actually, whether the six-minute warm-up goes well or not has no practical significance, because it isn’t the competition itself. So, I made a point of staying calm and composed, showing no signs of concern. Yuzuru sometimes pays too much attention to the six-minute warm-up. When it goes well, he becomes especially happy, and he may end up being too relaxed during the competition. Yuzuru has this tendency to place too much emphasis on the six-minute warm-up. This is something we need to work on in the future.

— After the six-minute warm-up ended, Javier was the 19th skater to compete, meaning he was the first skater in the final group. Daisuke Takahashi was 20th, Yuzuru Hanyu was 21st, and Patrick Chan was 22nd. That was the skating order at the time.

B: Javier actually didn’t want to skate first, but that’s the spot he drew, so I had to be by his side. After the six-minute warm-up, I temporarily entrusted Yuzuru to his personal physiotherapist, Mr. Akira Kikuchi. Once Javier finished his performance, I went straight to Yuzuru without even looking at Javier’s score. As I ran down the hallway, I changed out of my Spanish team jacket and put on my Japanese team jacket. I thought that if I ran toward Yuzuru, I might convey a sense of panic and nervousness to him. So, when I saw him standing at the end of the hallway, I immediately slowed from a run to a walk, putting on an appearance of being completely calm and unhurried.

Y: So that’s what happened. After the six-minute warm-up, I first went to the training room with Mr. Kikuchi. But there were a lot of people in that room: four skaters, along with federation staff, coaches, and others, about 15 people in total. Under those circumstances, I did some jogging, massage, muscle stretching, and other activities.

B: Yes. The room was only about the size of a small conference room. When I went in and saw so many people crowded inside, my nerves tightened, and I was taken aback. Yuzuru was already listening to music and concentrating, so I didn’t say anything to him.

Y: Brian, was there actually anything you wanted to say to me at that moment?

B: No. At that moment, I felt that, as a coach, I shouldn’t try to change anything. Yuzuru was listening to his music, and everything was just as usual. That was enough. Yuzuru has his own routine, and I shouldn’t interfere with it. We only needed to exchange glances. That was important.

Y: Yes, yes. We made eye contact at the time. Putting on my skates, doing this, doing that, and then, “Okay, it’s time to go out”—all of that was communicated through eye contact. Having Brian there really helped me remain calm. Although we had only been working together for two years, Brian understood my pre-competition routine very well. He knew how I performed in competitions where I did well and those where I did poorly, in both the short program and the free skate. He also understood the circumstances under which I might not perform well. That said, I wonder: from Brian’s perspective, was I truly as focused as I seemed back then?

B: I think you were quite focused. It was just that after the six-minute warm-up, there was a gap of about 30 minutes, and during that time, a strange force seemed to emerge from within you. Yuzuru was in a state of using his concentration to forcibly suppress his intense inner anxiety. So I wanted him to get back on the ice as soon as possible and return to his usual state. I thought that once he was back on the ice, everything would be fine.

Y: Indeed, Brian’s experience as a coach helping skaters win gold medals played a major role, and his experience as a skater winning medals at two Olympic Games also played a huge part. Brian knows me very well. If anything is wrong, he’ll definitely tell me, and I trust him.

B: That was good. I watched Yuzuru finish all his preparations, and then it was time for him to take the ice.

— You fell on the opening 4S (quadruple Salchow) of the free skate, but quickly readjusted and successfully landed the 4T (quadruple toe loop).

Y: I think that comes down to what I learned at the French event (Grand Prix de France). At the French competition, before the event, the 4S was clearly more consistent than the 4T, but I made a mistake on the 4S during the competition. The same thing happened at the Olympics: the 4S was very consistent before the competition, but I failed to land it during the actual performance. It was very similar to what had happened in France. So, just as I had at the French competition, I thought that as long as I performed the next elements well, everything would be fine and I would get a high score. But then I also made a mistake on the 3F (triple flip), which really caught me off guard.

B: Exactly. I didn’t expect Yuzuru to make a mistake on the 3F. At the Calgary Olympics, I wobbled on the landing of my 3F and ended up winning only the silver medal, but my mistake was a very small one. So I was really quite surprised that Yuzuru made a mistake a such a relatively straightforward jump.

Y: True.

B: In any case, even though he made mistakes, Yuzuru persevered through the free skate to the very end and won the competition fair and square. Looking at the event as a whole, everyone made mistakes, so it wasn’t exactly an outstanding competition. When I think of the Olympics, I imagine everyone putting on wonderful performances and congratulating one another. But that kind of scene didn’t happen at these Olympics. Even though Yuzuru made mistakes, he didn’t give up and skated all the way to the end. The other skaters, on the other hand, gave up at certain moments.

Y: When my score came out, I thought I had no chance of winning the gold medal. So when it was confirmed that I was the champion, I was surprised. More than anything, I was frustrated that I had made a mistake on the 4S and hadn’t been able to skate the free program well. I hadn’t been able to fully demonstrate everything I had worked so hard for in preparation for the Olympics. In short, I was very frustrated. I couldn’t feel happy at all, and Brian must have realized that when he saw my expression. All I could think about was, “I’ll definitely land the 4S at the World Championships.” But after it was confirmed that I was the champion, I saw Brian’s expression. He was very happy for me. When I saw Brian’s smiling face, I finally thought, “Oh, I won. That’s great!”

B: You felt happy because I was happy?

Y: Yes. At the time, I didn’t feel happy at all myself. It was only when I saw how happy you were for me that I finally felt, “Wow, I really won!”

B: Objectively speaking, of course, this wasn’t the kind of victory we had envisioned. The free skate was far from perfect, which is a shame, but a win is a win. That’s why I told Yuzuru, "You won under these circumstances, and you should be proud of yourself. It might take some time for that to sink in, but you are the undisputed Olympic champion."

— Afterward, Yuzuru was so swamped with interviews that he didn’t have a chance to speak with Brian.

Y: That’s right. There were so many interviews; I didn’t get back to my room until nearly dawn, and it wasn’t until the following evening that I finally had a chance to talk to Brian. During dinner, I told Brian, “It’s because you guided me that I’ve come this far. You helped me improve and grow. I’m truly grateful to you.” I also kept saying, "I have so many regrets"—especially since my short program had gone so well. During our time in Sochi, Brian was genuinely happy for me, which left a deep impression on me.

B: Yuzuru wasn’t satisfied with his own performance, and I completely understood how he felt. Even so, I wanted him to know: "You are an Olympic champion, and I am proud of you." I wanted Yuzuru to accept that he truly deserves the title of Olympic champion—to stop blaming himself and just enjoy the moment. I knew he would come to realize this in time, so I wasn’t worried. I had to head back to Toronto to prepare for the World Junior Championships, so I left before even seeing the medal.

Y: Yes. I also returned to Japan first and then went back to Toronto. It was at the Cricket Skating and Curling Club that I finally put my gold medal around Brian’s neck for the first time.

Leading the advancement of figure skating

— After the Olympics ended, your motivation didn’t seem to drop at all. You went on to compete at the World Championships and won the title, maintaining that momentum.

B: The World Championships held after the Olympics are a really difficult competition. Even Yuna Kim found it hard to summon the motivation and drive to compete again after winning the Olympic title. I experienced the same thing myself. After the Calgary Olympics, deciding to compete at the subsequent World Championships was a difficult decision. But I decided to compete because I wanted to prove my worth, and I delivered the finest performance of my competitive career before retiring. If you can’t achieve a good result at the World Championships, then the medal you won at the Olympics would have been for nothing. That’s why it takes courage to compete at the World Championships immediately after the Olympics. So, after becoming Olympic champion, Yuzuru had the courage to compete at the World Championships right after the Olympics, and that makes me very proud of him.

Y: From my own perspective, it was precisely because I couldn’t deliver a perfect performance at the Olympics that I was able to work even harder at the World Championships—and win the title. Of course, my short program at the World Championships didn’t go very well, and I also felt a great deal of regret over the mistakes in my Olympic free skate. Even now, after the World Championships have ended, that regret has become the driving force that motivates me to work even harder as I look ahead to next season.

— Now that you’ve won both the Olympics and the World Championships, you’re heading into the off-season and beginning preparations for the next four-year cycle. How are you feeling in terms of motivation, and what are your goals?

Y: Having won gold medals at both the Olympics and the World Championships, I think I’ll feel a kind of pressure in the coming seasons that is completely different from anything I’ve experienced up to now. I’m curious to hear Brian’s thoughts on this.

B: I think the most difficult and pressure-filled challenge is defending the Olympic title four years from now. Yuzuru still carries the regret of the Sochi Olympics, and I’m sure he really wants to deliver the best performance of his life at the next Olympics. That will probably become his biggest goal. Every season is another step forward on the road to the Olympics. Whatever life experiences you go through, they can all contribute to your growth. So I believe that as long as Yuzuru stays motivated, he’ll continue to improve.

— So, rather than focusing on the result four years from now, it’s more important to recognize how you grow as a skater in each season?

B: Some athletes struggle greatly with finding the motivation to push themselves again after achieving a major victory. But Yuzuru is already full of drive. My role, then, is simply to help him prepare what he needs for the upcoming World Championships in Shanghai. Javier, on the other hand, is currently lacking a bit of motivation, so I need to find ways to encourage him. For Yuzuru, the primary driving force is his own desire to keep improving. Beyond just winning individual competitions, what truly motivates him, and what he finds most meaningful, is exploring just how far he can elevate the level of men’s figure skating. This, in turn, is directly tied to the effort he puts in.

Y: I feel the same way. It’s not that I’m “leading the progress of figure skating,” but rather that "I want to keep challenging myself with new things." Just as I used to chase after Patrick Chan, there are now skaters who want to chase after me. And, of course, Patrick will be making his comeback as well. So, for example, if I were to add two quadruple jumps to the second half of my program, or attempt something that no one had ever done before, then naturally other skaters would try to challenge themselves to do the same thing. As a result, the overall standard of figure skating would rise.

B: It’s precisely because rivals exist that everyone pushes one another, competes against one another, and improves together. Because Brian Boitano (USA) was there, I wanted to become stronger, so I worked harder. And because I was there, Boitano raised his own standard even higher. Yuzuru has grown under Patrick Chan’s influence, and Patrick, in turn, will likely become a stronger skater through the influence and inspiration he receives from Yuzuru. By encouraging and inspiring one another, rivals can continue to improve together, moving forward without being held back by past glories.

Y: Exactly. I won’t become complacent. My desire to “become stronger” serves as an inexhaustible source of motivation. From now on, a new generation of skaters will continue to emerge, and the competition will only grow more intense. Just as I have gradually grown over the past four years, more and more skaters will move up from the junior ranks to the senior level. Perhaps, over the past four years, Patrick and the other skaters found the development of young skaters like me a little daunting. But as for how I feel now, I don’t find young skaters intimidating at all. Of course, young skaters will continue to grow and improve, and I’m the kind of person who thinks, “The more young skaters improve, the more I can turn their progress into motivation and work even harder myself.”

B: I’m the same way. At the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, I placed seventh in the compulsory figures, but I finished first in both the short program and the free skate, so I suppose I won about 70% of the competition. After Scott Hamilton (USA), who won the title, retired, I was far ahead of the other skaters starting with the 1985 season. However, I never lost the motivation to keep working hard. I enjoyed my own continued progress and the challenge of trying new things, while working toward the Calgary Olympics. For the three years starting in 1985, I was consistently able to land the quadruple toe loop (4T) in training.

— You successfully landed a 4T in training in 1985, which was 30 years ago. There’s even video footage of it.

(The interviewer shows Hanyu a video of Orser successfully landing a 4T)

Y: That’s amazing! Brian actually landed a 4T too. (Watching the video) The speed is amazing! The approach, the three-turn entry—it’s the same technique I use!

B: Yes. I was always competing with Josef Sabovčík (Czech Republic), and we could both land the 4T during official practice sessions.

Y: That’s what it means to keep challenging technical elements that no one has successfully landed in men’s figure skating before. Brian, you’ve experienced the same feelings I’m experiencing now. Whether or not to attempt the jump in competition is another matter, but the feeling you had back then when practicing the 4T must have been the same as what I’m experiencing now when practicing the 4Lz and 4Lo.

B: Yes. I wanted to raise the competitive standard of men’s figure skating, so I challenged myself with the 4T. However, under the old scoring system, mistakes were penalized heavily. Even if you attempted a high-difficulty jump, you ran the risk of ending up with a lower score instead. At the Olympics, even if I had been the only skater attempting the difficult quadruple jump, a fall would have made winning the title impossible. At the time, my success rate on the 4T was about 50%, which made it very difficult to take the risk of including it in competition.

Y: Right. Even under the current scoring system, minimizing mistakes throughout the program will become increasingly important. Over the past four years, I’ve still made quite a lot of mistakes on my 4S and on jumps in the second half of my programs. Raising my success rate to the level of skaters under the old scoring system may still be a difficult goal, but I believe the expectation over the next four years will be “a performance with absolutely zero mistakes.”

— So, we’re entering a world of high-level skating where a completely clean performance, with absolutely no mistakes, is the basic requirement?

Y: Exactly. It’s not just a question of whether I can deliver a clean performance without mistakes; the entire sport is already moving in that direction. Patrick Chan, for example, is certainly capable of delivering error-free performances. He already delivered a perfect performance at the 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard in France. I believe figure skating is entering an era in which skaters must incorporate high-difficulty jumps while also delivering completely clean performances without mistakes. How I can continue to develop as a skater so that I can deliver such performances will be my most important goal over the next four years.

B: Exactly. I agree 100%.

Y: Yes. For example, executing the flip and Lutz with the correct take-off edges, and improving the quality of jumps, spins, and footwork—all of these are important. The quality of the entire program matters. There shouldn’t be any elements that warrant deductions. It’s also important to consistently earn positive Grades of Execution (GOE) of +2 or +3 on every technical element.

B: Exactly. You understand it very well. You have to keep up with the current scoring system and, above all, make sure you earn positive GOE. If you do that, you’ll ultimately be able to win. You need to execute high-difficulty technical elements with machine-like consistency. Yuzuru is currently training the 4Lz and 4Lo to boost his motivation, and that’s beneficial, but there are other areas where he needs to improve even more.

— In what areas, for example, could Yuzuru grow further?

B: The areas where he most needs to improve are the precision and artistry of his performances, so fundamental skating skills and an understanding of performance are very important. Over the next four years, I hope Yuzuru will enjoy the process of discovering his own unique style and exploring a way of skating that is completely different from what he has done up to now. And it’s perfectly fine if some programs don’t quite work out. Even Yuna Kim had a couple of lackluster programs—her 2008 short program, set to a waltz, really didn’t suit her style and was quite unsuccessful. The following year, her classical piece also fell a bit short. Yet, it was precisely those setbacks that led her to explore and eventually create her unparalleled "James Bond (007)" program for the Olympic season. Over the next four years, it’s important that he not be afraid of failure and instead challenge himself with music in different styles.

Y: Brian gave me the same advice, too. This year’s short program, set to Chopin’s "Ballade No. 1," leaves a completely different impression from last year’s short program.

B: Yes. Compared with last year’s, this year’s short program takes a completely different direction. We initially debated whether to refine the style of last year’s program, but in the end, we chose a completely different path—and I believe it’s been a huge success. Having seen the performance at the Fantasy on Ice show in Toyama this July, I’m confident that this could become an even better piece than Parisienne Walkways.

Y: I’m happy about that, too. Plus, we’ve changed the choreographer for the free skate to Shae-Lynn Bourne, and it feels completely different when I skate it. I hope I can deliver a program that gives the audience a completely different impression, too. As for the free skate music, I was the one who suggested skating to "The Phantom of the Opera" this season, since it’s a piece I’ve wanted to skate to ever since I was in elementary school. Now that the Olympics are over, even if it might be considered a "shortcut" (in the sense that it’s a relatively easier piece to skate to), I figured it’s better to just go with the music I truly want to perform (laughs).

B: He’s changed the choreographer for the free skate, and it’s important to keep trying new things like this. Who knows, there may be further changes next season, too. Of course, there are skaters like Javier who get along particularly well with David Wilson and therefore ask the same choreographer to work with them every year. But Yuzuru is different. Whether it’s David Wilson, Jeffrey Buttle, or Shae-Lynn Bourne, Yuzuru is the type of skater who can adapt to any choreographer and continue discovering new possibilities. As he works toward the PyeongChang Olympics, it would be wonderful if he could gradually discover which choreographer suits him best.

Wanting to pass on what I learned from Brian

— So, looking at the long term, what goals have the two of you set?

Y: Do you think I’ll still be skating eight years from now?

B: Another four years after that? That would be amazing! When I was still competing, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it to a third Olympics. But eight years from now, you’d only be 27, Yuzuru, right? I retired at 26, so from a physical standpoint, it might not be impossible.

Y: But I don’t want to—I don’t want to keep skating for another eight years (laughs). I want to focus all my energy on these next four years and then bring my competitive career to an end.

B: That’s perfectly fine, too. Let’s take it one step at a time—four years at a time, or even year by year—and then decide what comes next once these four years are up.

Y: Yes. But now that I’ve become an Olympic champion, I’m being treated like a celebrity, and there are also expectations from the media and fans. How should I approach life as a competitive skater now that I’ve become an Olympic champion?

B: Take Yuna Kim, for example. She continued competing for four years after winning gold in Vancouver, but your situation is completely different from hers. She had expended all her mental and emotional energy at the Vancouver Olympics. So the four years that followed, leading up to Sochi, didn’t seem to be a particularly enjoyable time for her. By the Sochi Olympic season, it was clear that skating had become more of an obligation. But you, Yuzuru, still have a tremendous passion for figure skating after winning your first Olympics, and you’re still young as an athlete. For you, the Sochi Olympics were simply the beginning of your career as an elite figure skater. Besides, you really enjoy training and competing, don’t you? As long as skating doesn’t become an obligation, you’ll be fine.

Y: Brian, did you feel any pressure after your first Olympic experience?

B: It wasn’t entirely pressure, you know. What I hope is that, over the next four years, Yuzuru will work hard as a competitor while also enjoying the fun of being a star. That’s my advice as someone who was also treated like a star. Yuzuru has a wonderful family, and he never forgets to treat others with humility, so I don’t think you’ll have any problems. I really like Yuzuru’s sense of humor, and I also love the relationship between Yuzuru and his family. Growing up in a good family, surrounded by love, is something I think is extremely important. And Yuzuru has an older sister who loves him very much. I have two brothers and two sisters myself, and all of us have been supported by so many people. Yuzuru has a very close relationship with his family, and I think his personal charm is connected to that as well. Both Yuzuru and I were born to wonderful, loving parents, and we both have a home we can always return to. That’s the greatest blessing in our lives. So even if he’s treated like a star, Yuzuru won’t change. I think that, when it comes to pressure and expectations, all you need to do is accept them, embrace them, and enjoy moving forward.

— Hanyu, have you given any thought to what you might do after the Olympics four years from now?

Y: If I were to retire four years from now, I’d first like to take part in ice shows. I’m also very interested in becoming a coach.

B: That’s wonderful! You should come here to Toronto and take over my work. If Yuzuru and Javier were to take the reins at the Cricket Club, that would be absolutely perfect!

Y: If I do decide to become a coach, I might start by teaching short-term courses, something like the summer camps here in Toronto. Since I’ll definitely be participating in ice shows, I wouldn’t be able to work with the same skater every day. But having worked so hard to become an Olympic champion, and having had the good fortune to learn from such an excellent coach as Brian, I want to do my best to pass on what I’ve learned here, including the way of thinking, to future generations of skaters.

B: Whether you’re still competing or have already retired, maintaining balance is key. As long as you keep a good balance between your skating, your personal life, and your family, you’ll be just fine. For my part, I didn’t fully commit to coaching until I was 44, when Yuna Kim became my first student. I spent the 17 years prior to that performing in ice shows, and I’ve only been a coach for eight years. So, Yuzuru, there is absolutely no need for you to feel anxious right now about what kind of work you’ll do in the future.

Y: Yes. But even after I retire, I really want to pass on to more people what I’ve learned from Brian. I clearly remember the inner struggles I went through both before and after winning the Olympics, and how Brian understood me and helped me work through those emotions. Those memories are incredibly precious to me.

B: I’m happy to hear you say that. My guiding principle with Yuzuru is the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yuzuru is in a stage of growth; nothing is broken, so there’s no need for fixing. There’s no need to impose strange theories on him or make changes blindly. The reason is simple: I never view athletes as experimental subjects, but as human beings. Of course, I’d be thrilled if Yuzuru won another title, but what makes me even happier is seeing how his life and way of thinking have evolved through our daily interactions. If I can guide him toward a rich and fulfilling life—a life not just as an athlete, but as a human being—then I am deeply satisfied as a coach.

Y: As expected, Brian is someone who is always thinking about what he can do specifically for me. He doesn’t just go along with what I want to do; he makes sure not to interfere with my ideas, while also thinking about the jumping technique, training plans, and ways of managing my condition that would suit me best. And it’s not just me. For every skater, he looks for and establishes an approach that works best for that individual. That’s one of the wonderful things about Brian: he is always thinking about what he can do specifically for each skater. On top of that, Brian is genuinely a wonderful person who always makes an effort to understand me and cares about me. That’s why, if I become a coach in the future, I want to be just like Brian.

— Thank you. I hope the bond between coach and student will grow even stronger, and that the two of you will continue moving forward together.

 

* Chapters 1–2 omitted, as they don’t focus on Yuzuru. I don’t have the original text, but if anyone can provide it, I’d be happy to help translate those sections too

Chapter 3: Yuzuru and Javier

3.1 Adam and Christina: Two Experiences

Spoiler

Toward the end of the period when Yuna and I were aiming for the Olympics, Adam Rippon, a superstar from the junior ranks, joined Team Brian. He had already won the 2008 World Junior Championships and was at the stage where he was preparing to transition to the senior level. Moving an athlete from juniors to seniors in the spring involves enormous changes. With Adam, we needed an approach different from the one we had taken with Yuna.

At the senior level, skaters need to skate with far greater power and speed than they do at the junior level. Adam had to improve in every area, but he was a hard worker, so he trained intensely. He took skating lessons from morning until night.

Adam also had technical problems with his triple Axel. Correcting jump technique in a skater who has already accumulated considerable experience and developed established habits is always difficult. However, we went back to basics and reworked every single step of his jump entry, and we succeeded in correcting the problem. He won the 2009 World Junior Championships and the 2010 Four Continents Championships, then finished sixth at the World Championships that March. I think he made a fairly successful transition to the senior level.

However, Adam was the type of skater who tended to struggle a little under pressure in competition. Just as we were about to bring in a mental coach to help him develop his mental strength, he left the Cricket Club. It was disappointing that we never got the chance to see how that approach would work. As of 2014, Adam's best result remained the sixth place he achieved when he and I went to the 2010 World Championships together. I would have liked to coach him a little longer and help him develop his mental game. That lingering regret eventually led me to collaborate with a psychologist to develop a software application for mental training—but I’ll tell you more about that later.

The next young talent who gave us a valuable learning experience was Christina Gao, a gifted junior skater. She was only 15 and small in stature, with an even more youthful physique than Yuna had when she came to Toronto at the age of 15. As it turned out, we even had to navigate the challenges of "growing pains." As female skaters go through physical development, typically between the ages of 15 and 18, their centers of gravity can shift, causing them to lose their balance and struggle with their jumps. Supporting Christina through this difficult phase, while she was also experiencing the physical discomfort of growing pains, was an incredibly meaningful experience. We spent a great deal of time together, continually encouraging her and sharing many tears along the way.

Christina skated alongside Yuna every day. At the 2009 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Yuna finished first, while Christina placed third in the junior competition. It was an exciting competition for Christina, and she looked delighted when Yuna embraced her.

Christina was also a wonderful girl who listened attentively and had an excellent attitude toward learning. Her parents also placed great importance on education and wanted her to grow not only as a skater but also as a person. She could perform five types of triple jumps, up through the triple Lutz, but she also understood that she could never become Kim Yuna.

Just as she was getting through her growing pains and her jumps were beginning to come back, Christina achieved something remarkable: she was accepted into Harvard University at the age of 17. She had been studying incredibly hard, making the most of every spare moment between skating sessions and on weekends. She had discovered how to make her own life shine, finding her own path to happiness and achieving success on her own terms. She moved to Boston, where she continued to balance her studies at Harvard with her skating. Even today, whenever I see her at a competition, I feel proud of her.

3.2 Javier, Full of Unexpected Happenings

Spoiler

In the summer of 2011, after Yuna and Adam had both left, Tracy, David, and I were experiencing what you might call an “empty nest.” Then, quite unexpectedly, Javier Fernández arrived at the Cricket Club from Spain.

At that time, Javier had lost sight of his goals in skating. His previous coach, Nikolai Morozov, traveled around the world for training, moving from place to place—sometimes to Italy, sometimes to New Jersey in the United States, and sometimes to Moscow. Constantly traveling with him was difficult for Javier, and it made it hard for him to concentrate on skating.

I had watched Javier compete against Adam at many competitions. Although I was amazed by his talent for quadruple jumps, he was careless about just about everything and seemed not to care at all about his own rough-and-ready ways. At the time, I had judged him to be a skater who couldn’t maintain good physical condition and therefore wouldn’t pose a threat. In a way, though, knowing his weaknesses made me think he would be easy to coach. “All I have to do is get him to stop being so sloppy,” I thought. Little did I know that the next three years would be an incredibly demanding experience—a journey of "parenting" filled with constant, unexpected twists and turns.

At first, he said he would arrive in July, but he was late, and it was already August by the time he showed up. There was no particular reason for the delay. Perhaps it was just because he was Spanish. Even now, I remember the day in August 2011 when he first appeared in my office. I looked at my watch, then at the calendar, and said, “Better late than never. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” At that moment, we somehow began to trust each other. Javier’s eyes were sparkling, and I could tell that his lateness didn’t mean anything particularly significant to him. Perhaps he was simply relieved that I hadn’t scolded him. He immediately started asking me questions about everything, from finding an apartment to figuring out how to manage his daily life. Just like that, I had suddenly acquired a son who needed a great deal of looking after.

That evening, although it was already late, I drove Javier to David’s house downtown, and we began working on his programs. We sat on the balcony, ate, and listened to music. When we asked him, “What kind of skating do you want to do?” Javier simply replied, “I don’t know.” The three of us threw out all sorts of ideas, and by the end of that evening, we had chosen the music for both his short program and his free skate. We began choreographing them the very next day.

Both programs were filled with meaningful movements. Rather than relying on choreography that strayed from the essence of figure skating, they were carefully crafted, with purpose behind every movement. Once given such programs, Javier was able to showcase a rhythmic performance that fully leveraged his skating skills. Tracy was delighted. “Javier can actually skate well, and he has a real sense for it,” she said.

Providing a skater with excellent programs and training is usually where an ordinary coach’s job ends. But Team Brian went further and took care of Javier in every possible way.

Javier was good at almost everything, but his inability to stay focused for long was a real problem. After just ten minutes on the ice, he would say, “Well, that’s enough skating for today,” and seem perfectly satisfied. He simply couldn’t get through a full 50-minute session. In the end, I listened to Javier’s input and had him draw up a training schedule. Whenever he tried to leave the ice in the middle of a session, I would stop him and say, “You haven’t finished this yet,” or “You need to work on that until this time.” I made sure he completed everything on his schedule.

Even more difficult was his chronic lateness. If left to his own devices, he would sleep all day and simply fail to show up at the rink when it was time for practice. One day, I called him, and he answered in a sleepy, mumbling voice, “Mmm… hello?” I asked, “Where are you, Javier? You aren’t still in bed, are you?” He replied, “I’m up now.”

It was already past noon! I couldn’t fathom how he could stay asleep for so long. Back when I was a competitive skater, I was already on the ice by 5:30 in the morning. Whenever I got angry, Tracy would step in to calm me down, saying, “It can’t be helped. I have two teenage boys of my own, so I know exactly what it’s like.”

I soon realized that phone calls alone wouldn’t budge Javier, so from then on, I started driving over to pick him up every morning. You’d be hard-pressed to find another coach anywhere in the world who would go to such lengths to look after a skater. I would even show Javier my own skates and shout, “There’s a flood coming! We have to get out of here! It’s an evacuation alert! We’re leaving for the rink in five minutes!”

After that, I decided to stop getting angry more than necessary. When Javier didn’t train properly, I would instead show him how disappointed I was, saying things like, “It makes me sad and disappointed when you don’t put in the effort.” As soon as he realized he had disappointed me, Javier would suddenly start working hard. Getting angry at him didn’t make him train. After all, children generally don’t study harder just because their parents scold them, do they? In fact, when I was a child, my mother never got angry when I brought home poor grades. But I could see how disappointed she was. Looking at her, my heart would ache. I’d feel a sense of guilt and think, "Oh no, what should I do?"—which would then drive me to study. Sometimes, guilt can actually serve as a powerful motivator.

I imagine Javier’s previous coaches had simply become angry and frustrated with him because he had no sense of planning or organization. I don’t think they ever really tried to help him at a more fundamental level. Before addressing his technical skills, he needed to learn the mindset of an athlete and the satisfaction that comes from setting goals and achieving them. What Javier really needed was a whole team of people who would take him under their wing.

How was I able to go to such lengths for Javier? First and foremost, it was because I believed in him. I went into battle with Javier and joined him in the trenches. It was cold and frightening in there, the challenges seemed endless, and we were exhausted every single day. But once you’ve decided to fight alongside someone, you can’t simply retreat from the front lines. You’re in it together, for better or worse. Javier was the kind of person who, if you pushed him into a valley and told him to climb back out on his own, would probably just settle down and live in the valley. So instead, the whole of Team Brian jumped into the valley together. Tracy, David, and I were all right there with him. That sense of unity changed Javier.

At Skate Canada in October 2011, his first Grand Prix event of the season, Javier finished second. Once he realized his own potential, a sense of responsibility suddenly began to emerge. He rented his own apartment and started organizing his daily life according to a structured schedule.

Then, just two months later, he finished third at the Grand Prix Final. It was the first time a Spanish skater had won a medal at a major international competition organized by the International Skating Union (ISU). Javier, with childlike delight, exclaimed, "Wow! I’m third in the Grand Prix Final? Third in the world? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Javier has world-class athletic ability and an extraordinary gift for quadruple jumps. With just a little instruction, he can master almost any technique. Once he became interested in skating and learned to concentrate, he would occasionally reveal glimpses of his tremendous potential. After all, he is capable of landing three quadruple jumps in a single program. As a coach, moments like these are incredibly exciting to witness.

At the World Championships in Nice that followed, he finished ninth. His weaknesses were still evident, but my conviction never wavered. I was certain that this boy would one day win a medal at the World Championships or the Olympic Games.

3.3 Yuzuru: Overflowing with Talent, but Unable to Control It

I received a request from Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan following the 2012 World Championships. I was quite surprised. After all, he was a rival who was on par with Javier in terms of results, and at just 17 years old, he had finished third at the World Championships and was in excellent form. Under normal circumstances, a skater would not choose to train under the coach of a direct competitor at such a time.

I first met with Yuzuru in Japan. I still clearly remember what he was like back then. He was very introverted, just like Yuna Kim. I asked him, “Why do you want to do this?” He simply replied, “I want to go to Toronto and train with you.” That was enough for me. I understood that he trusted me.

It was a pleasant surprise. He was young and extraordinarily talented, with a somewhat wild and free-spirited side that could really showcase the technical finesse of Team Brian. I had high hopes for him. Having two male singles skaters encourage and compete with each other would be very beneficial to the team. As soon as I returned to Toronto, I said to Javier, “You know Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan, right? It seems he wants to come here.”

Javier replied, “That’s great.” I asked, “He’s your rival, are you sure that’s okay? He replied, "It’s no problem at all." Javier didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to think it was wonderful that such a prominent skater wanted to join us. I had worried that Javier might feel betrayed or disappointed, thinking that I was going to coach another skater and neglect him.

I also made sure to tell Javier, “I won’t cut corners. I’ll coach both of you properly. Having a competitor come here will be a great source of motivation for you.” If it had been Yuna, things probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. She needed to be treated like a special princess. Women’s feelings can be difficult to understand. But with male skaters, especially Javier and Yuzuru, there wouldn’t be any problems.

Yuzuru arrived in Toronto in May 2012. We got on the ice and tried out various movements and skating elements. It was a really exciting time.

The first time I saw Yuzuru compete was at the Nebelhorn Trophy, during the first year I worked with Javier. Yuzuru won the competition. He was extraordinarily talented, but he also seemed somewhat unable to control himself. To put it bluntly, he was rough around the edges; to put it more positively, he was untamed. His skating was a little rough, and his control was weak enough that he would make mistakes in his footwork and transitions. But I really liked his spirit. Yuzuru had an enormous passion for figure skating. He loved skating and performing jumps.

With only two years left until the Olympics, we had just one season to test things out and prepare his programs for the Olympic season. To help Yuzuru’s skating and overall performance come together as effectively as possible, we decided to preserve his individual style rather than make a whole lot of changes. His wild, untamed nature wasn’t something that could simply be erased. I felt the best approach was to retain that wildness while teaching him how to control it.

We commissioned Jeffrey Buttle for the short program, and the music chosen was the blues piece Parisienne Walkways. In this program, Yuzuru’s raw, rugged quality, somewhat imperfect posture, and free-spirited nature actually worked to his advantage, giving the performance a distinctive charm. When that wildness isn’t properly controlled, it can come across as rough or crude. But when it is controlled well, it becomes composed and expressive. The goal wasn’t to change his performance style, but to guide him toward understanding this subtle distinction.

David Wilson choreographed the free skate. Together, we watched many of Yuzuru’s past competitions online to identify his strengths and the type of skating style that suited him. We then selected a few pieces of theatrical music that we thought he might enjoy, ultimately settling on Notre-Dame de Paris.

3.4 Yuzuru's Aesthetic: Always Performing with Full Power

At Team Brian, all training must ultimately return to the fundamentals of skating. No matter how skilled a new skater may be at jumping, they must return to the starting point: basic skating skills. Although Yuzuru is highly agile and has mastered a wide range of techniques, he, too, needed to go back to the basics and retrain his skating from the ground up.

Tracy and I both felt that Yuzuru had considerable room for improvement in his Program Component Scores (PCS). What he needed was skating that appealed to the judges and earned the recognition of experts. What truly moved the judges was not simply the successful execution of jumps.

Judges are deeply impressed when they see exceptionally brilliant skating and exquisite edge work. Even if a skater like this makes a mistake on a jump or even falls, their score will not necessarily suffer. What truly makes a difference to their score is the kind of skating that reflects a deep passion for the sport: accelerating naturally on one foot, executing beautiful steps along curved edges, and so on. That was the kind of passionate skating I wanted to teach Yuzuru.

Yuzuru also had issues with stamina. Because he had asthma and lacked physical endurance, he could not afford to waste energy while skating. I believed that rather than trying to build up his stamina, it would be better to teach him how to skate without expending unnecessary energy. That was the right approach. There was no need to change his physical capabilities through futile muscle training and aerobic exercise. As long as he mastered exceptional skating skills, he would be able to complete his programs smoothly.

To glide across the ice without wasting energy, a skater needs to use the knees flexibly, maintain stable balance, and transfer power to the ice effortlessly. Until then, after completing a jump, Yuzuru would push and kick his way across the ice to reach another corner before attempting the next jump. However, by mastering superior skating skills, he can transition seamlessly from one jump to the next. Such skating technique is essential if one intends to incorporate two quadruple jumps into a program.

Tracy was in charge of the specific skating drills. She came up with a variety of edge-work exercises. Before moving on to full-program practice, we went back to the basics, focusing on individual spins and fundamental steps while correcting the way the entire body was used.

Most skaters think that proper edge work simply means correcting the movements of their feet. But that’s not the case. The upper body is involved too—in fact, the entire body plays a role. When the upper and lower body are used properly together, correct edge work comes naturally. To help Yuzuru truly understand and feel this for himself, we worked on a wide variety of drills, continuing this training right up until the Olympics began.

Strengthening his basic skating skills also helped stabilize his jumps. After joining Team Brian, Yuzuru's quadruple jumps became more consistent. The secret behind this was the improvement in his skating technique.

Why does improving one’s skating skills lead to better-quality jumps? The key factor is balance. Let's talk about the blade. Imagine the approach before takeoff. If you place your body firmly over the blade and maintain control of your center of gravity, you can execute a jump with the same timing and the same body position every time. However, if your balance is unstable and your upper and lower body are wobbling, you’ll take off from a different position each time, resulting in inconsistent, haphazard jumps. No matter how much you practice, you will not improve. Unless you can consistently maintain balance between your feet and upper body, you will never truly master your jumps.

As I mentioned earlier, Team Brian clearly places great importance on skating skills. I explained their importance to Yuzuru, and he understood and accepted everything. After giving it some thought, he would say to me, “I want to practice this step a few more times. This step is going to take some time.” An impatient young skater who lacked patience and only wanted to work on jumps might have left Team Brian at that point. But Yuzuru understood and agreed with our approach. He was a very receptive and sincere student.

The first competition I attended with Yuzuru was the Finlandia Trophy on October 5, 2012. The first competition with a new skater is always interesting because we get to observe each other. I watched Yuzuru’s pre-competition routine, paying attention to what he did during warm-ups and how his mental state changed as the competition drew closer. In other words, I wanted to see how he handled the pressure. As for the results, his short program didn’t go particularly well. However, he landed his first quadruple Salchow (4S) in the free skate, and it was a fantastic performance.

What I learned about Yuzuru at this Finlandia Trophy was that he had trouble pacing himself. He collapsed onto the ice the moment his performance ended. Since this was his first competition with a new program, I didn’t mind that he had exhausted himself completely. It’s only natural that competing would be more tiring than regular training because of the added pressure and nerves.

Even so, Yuzuru was far too worked up throughout his performance, even taking into account the fact that it was a competition. He seemed to put every ounce of his energy into every single movement. In a program, there are moments when all you need to do is strike an elegant pose, breathe smoothly, and then continue skating. But such things simply didn’t exist in Yuzuru’s vocabulary. He gave everything he had to every element, as if he had to maintain a dramatic intensity from beginning to end.

As a result, he would be out of breath when performing his jumps, and it would become difficult to tell which parts of the program were meant to be the highlights. A performance is more compelling when it has variations in pace and intensity. As his coach, it was my job to identify the moments in the program where he needed to remain calm and composed.

But Yuzuru wasn’t that kind of skater. He was still young, and giving everything he had from the beginning to the end of a performance was his own aesthetic. So I thought to myself, “That’s just the kind of skater he is. I should accept him as he is.”

With only two years left until the Olympics, I did help Yuzuru become a little more composed and measured. But deep down, I thought, “Learning to vary the pace and intensity of his performance can be a goal for the next four-year Olympic cycle.”

3.5 Even with Two Skaters, I Alone Bear the Responsibility

For Team Brian, what made this Finlandia Trophy even more significant was that it was the first competition in which I accompanied both Yuzuru and Javier at the same time. However, there was only one of me. Before the Olympics, the most important thing I needed to learn myself was how to oversee both of their practices, warm-ups, and competition performances.

Both were elite skaters, so they were often assigned to the same group or to adjacent groups. They would go to the changing room together to put on their costumes and skates. This was no different from when I accompanied just one skater. Even the six-minute warm-up was easier to manage than I had imagined. Sometimes, the two of them would attempt quadruple jumps almost simultaneously in different parts of the rink. The key to observing both at once was to watch their approaches and entries into the jumps. You could tell whether a jump had been successful at the moment of take-off, so I did not need to watch the landing before turning to look at the other skater. Occasionally, I would miss a jump, and I would simply admit it honestly.

“Yuzuru, I missed that one just now. How was the 4T?”

When Yuzuru replied, “It was good,” I would say, “OK, then go ahead with the 4S.”

The six-minute warm-up was full of tension, but both of them were dependable—or rather, they had become dependable. Through their daily training sessions in Toronto, they had grown accustomed to having me watch over them both at the same time. Neither expected me to focus exclusively on them during those six minutes, and I, in turn, never found myself favoring Yuzuru or Javier over the other. The Olympics were expected to follow the same arrangement, so both of them needed to get used to it.

What mattered most was how I handled things when it was time for them to compete. Once a skater took to the ice, I had to be there by the boards. The moment the skater’s name was announced, we would shake hands and look into each other’s eyes. This was a very important moment. For that reason, if the two skaters were scheduled to compete one right after the other, I would not accompany them to the kiss-and-cry (K&C) area to wait for their scores. The K&C area was a little like a celebration after a job well done. Of course, I wanted to wait for their scores with them and share in their joy, but both of them understood the situation, so it was fine for them to wait there on their own. All I needed to do was make sure they both knew that I had given them everything I had and that I had devoted an equal amount of love to each of them.

Even so, coaching two top male skaters at the same major competition made me realize more than ever how important it was to emphasize to them, “Since I’m looking after both of you, each of you needs to become more mature and self-reliant.” This was different from looking after Javier on his own. And for Yuzuru, too, I imagine it must have felt different from being coached by a Japanese coach.

I hadn’t considered bringing in another assistant coach to share the supervision duties. With the Olympics approaching, I had to shoulder this responsibility myself, so I needed to get used to the situation. I had to learn firsthand about both skaters’ pre-competition routines and habits, understand what kind of advice to give them, and figure out how far away I should stand while observing them. These were all things I needed to learn through my own experience.

In fact, these were not things I could fully grasp after just one competition. The circumstances vary from one event to the next. I had once thought that Javier was someone I needed to accompany from start to finish, but I discovered that, surprisingly, he was perfectly fine with being left to his own devices. Yuzuru, on the other hand, might appear perfectly capable of managing on his own, but without his Winnie the Pooh tissue box cover by his side, he looks rather lonely. These were the kinds of things I discovered as I learned to manage both of them through competition.

Looking after both of them at the same time also led me to discover something very interesting. Their personalities and behavior were completely different, and so were their approaches to the six-minute warm-up. If Javier made a mistake on a quadruple Salchow (4S), he would not attempt it a second time. He would simply save it for the actual competition. When he made a mistake, he could usually figure out the cause himself and keep it in mind for the competition. Sometimes Javier would identify the problem on his own, while at other times I would offer a suggestion, such as, “You’re rotating your shoulders too early.” However, Javier would not repeat the jump during the warm-up, so he would not dwell on the mistake.

In fact, I knew that even during his regular training sessions, Javier could successfully land only three or four quadruple jumps in a single practice session. That was why I told him not to attempt too many jumps before the actual competition. Quadruple jumps require intense concentration and consume a great deal of energy, so I didn’t want him to exhaust himself during the warm-up. What mattered was landing them cleanly and confidently in the actual competition. Javier understood himself very well in this regard. His attitude was essentially, “Even if I make a mistake during practice, all that matters is landing it when I compete.” He possesses a rare kind of boldness and an ideal, relaxed mindset.

Yuzuru, on the other hand, was the type who could only feel at ease if he landed his jumps successfully during the six-minute warm-up. Even though it was only a warm-up, he felt that he had to perform well. In reality, there was nothing wrong with making mistakes during practice, so I felt that learning how to manage his energy more effectively was something he still needed to work on. If he could understand what he needed to do during the warm-up and how much was enough, his future competitions would become easier to manage.

A warm-up is exactly what the name suggests: it is simply about “warming up the body.” I’ve told Yuzuru this countless times. All he needs to do is get a feel for the ice, check the timing of his take-offs, and find his rhythm. The way your body feels and moves during the actual competition is completely different. Moreover, depending on the skating order, there may be a thirty-minute wait between finishing the warm-up and taking to the ice to compete. By then, everything can feel entirely different again.

When I was still competing, I was exactly the same type as Yuzuru. I felt that I had to land every jump successfully during the warm-up. And as “Mr. Triple Axel,” I couldn’t feel satisfied unless I landed my 3A during the warm-up, either. Looking back now, I realize that I was only putting unnecessary pressure on myself. Watching Yuzuru has made me truly understand that.

3.6 Record-breaking at Skate America 2012

At the short program of Skate America, the first Grand Prix event of the 2012–2013 season, Yuzuru achieved a record-breaking score of 95 points. This proved that the hard work he had put in during his first six months with Team Brian was paying off, successfully revealing a brand-new side of him. Although he was only 17, his skating had a remarkable maturity and composure. I was thrilled to see him growing and progressing toward the goals he had set for himself.

However, he made repeated mistakes in the free skate, placing third in that segment and finishing second overall. The result was hard to believe. Just one month earlier, at the Finlandia Trophy, he had delivered such a brilliant free skate, demonstrating how capable he was. Naturally, I had expected him to perform just as well in the free skate here.

At the time, my intuition told me this was a major oversight that couldn't be ignored. After the competition, I found it difficult to sleep, desperate to figure out exactly what had gone wrong. I also discussed various possible causes with Yuzuru. Generally speaking, it can be difficult to manage your emotions after a strong short program performance. You cannot simply think, “That was fantastic! I did a great job!” and allow yourself to feel satisfied with that. But this time was different. Yuzuru had clearly not let his guard down, yet he still performed poorly. Why?

In fact, Yuna Kim and I had experienced something similar before. If I remember correctly, it was also at Skate America. During the 2009–2010 Olympic season, Yuna set a new world record in the short program at Skate America. She held a 17-point lead over the skater in second place, but then made several mistakes in the free skate, finishing second in that segment. Although she still won the overall title, the thought that this could have happened at the Olympics—well, it was a chilling prospect.

The reason for what happened back then was an insufficient off-ice warm-up. Since Yuna Kim was the last of the six competitors to skate, she took off her skates after the six-minute warm-up and ended up waiting in the corridor for more than 30 minutes. Furthermore, she had left her sneakers in the locker room and brought only a small yoga mat with her. Perhaps because she had scored so highly in the short program, she had relaxed and let her guard down, failing to bring all the equipment she needed. As a result, she sat on that little yoga mat for more than half an hour. I knew she needed to keep moving around to stay warm, but her sneakers were in the women's locker room. In the end, her body cooled down, and she fell on her jumps. I deeply regretted not having paid closer attention. I should have gone to retrieve her shoes, regardless of the fact that they were in the women's locker room.

As I recalled that incident and compared it with Yuzuru’s situation, I began to see the problem. Yuzuru's case was the complete opposite: he had overdone his off-ice warm-up. During his usual practice sessions, Yuzuru did not warm up particularly intensely. But at Skate America, he spent an entire hour jumping, running, and doing various exercises, leaving himself somewhat fatigued. What's more, after finishing his short program the previous evening, he had even gone running that night. Perhaps his short program had gone so well that he tried to calm himself down by exercising excessively. After that competition, I looked into this possibility more closely.

When we are in a different state of mind from usual, we tend to behave differently as well. As a result, we can end up in a state unlike our normal one and make mistakes. After that experience, I made a quiet promise to myself: before the Olympics, I would establish a set off-ice warm-up routine for Yuzuru.

It was a very meaningful competition: after achieving the highest score in history, Yuzuru went on to deliver a disappointing free skate. With two years still to go before the Olympics, we made the most of every competition as an opportunity to get to know each other better. We weren’t competing simply to win, but to identify areas that needed improvement and make the necessary adjustments. Yuzuru and I were already on the same page about this approach.

3.7 “I want to win two Olympics”

At the NHK Trophy, the second event of the Grand Prix series, Yuzuru delivered a spectacular performance. Since the competition was held in his hometown of Sendai, and in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, he had a strong desire to give everyone hope and courage through an outstanding performance. He was not competing for himself, but for the people of Tohoku. His passion and dedication led to a perfect performance. I thought this was a wonderful source of motivation. Of course, from Team Brian’s perspective, winning the title also meant qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. Since the next competition would be the Olympic test event in Sochi, it was an opportunity we wanted to experience in advance.

There were two objectives in participating in the Grand Prix Final in Sochi. The first was to deliver an outstanding performance, but the second, and arguably more important, goal was to “begin to become aware of the Olympics.” It didn’t matter exactly what form that awareness took. What mattered was experiencing the unique sense of inspiration that the Olympics evoked, beginning to feel that the Games were becoming a reality, and, through participating in the Final, “flipping the switch” that would awaken an Olympic mindset.

Although the Olympics were still fourteen months away, we were already at the beautiful venue in Sochi, breathing in the air of this foreign land. Olympic merchandise and other related items had already begun appearing on the market, and little by little, we started to feel, “Ah, this really is the Olympics. How amazing!” At that moment, the athletes’ perception of the fourteen months ahead would shift from “There’s still a long way to go” to “It’s starting soon.” Suddenly, those fourteen months no longer seemed like such a long time.

One day before the competition, the two of us went for a leisurely jog along the coast. We alternated between jogging and walking, stopping to stretch our muscles as we chatted along the way. Yuzuru told me a great deal that day. Most notably, he declared, “I want to become the Olympic champion in Sochi, and then I want to become Olympic champion again at the next Olympics in South Korea.” I hadn’t asked him about it; he had brought it up entirely on his own. He wanted to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals.

I told him, "That’s wonderful." Perhaps he was likely feeling the surge of excitement that comes with knowing the Olympic Games would be held here in 14 months. But I was happy, and a little surprised, that Yuzuru could speak so openly and honestly to me about his ambitions. At that moment, I made a vow to myself that I would do everything in my power to help him realize his dream.

At the end of December 2012, I attended the Japanese Figure Skating Championships for the first time. I had heard beforehand that it was an intensely competitive event, but I had never imagined it would be quite so electrifying. I was absolutely astonished by the exceptionally high standard of the top-level skaters. My first thought was, “Is this really a national competition?” In both the women’s and men’s singles, every skater who finished in the top six or seven was of a caliber capable of reaching the podium at the World Championships.

Daisuke Takahashi, the king of Japanese men’s figure skating, delivered a brilliant performance, and Yuzuru also gave an outstanding performance of his own. In the end, it was Yuzuru who claimed the title. This was Yuzuru’s first Japanese national championship title, and I felt immensely proud to be there with him and share that moment. In Japan, just as in Canada and the United States, winning a national championship can be even more difficult than becoming a world champion.

Of course, there were also difficult moments. Daisuke Takahashi was the one who ushered Japanese figure skating into its golden age. Yet now, Yuzuru, representing the new generation, had won the title. Yuzuru himself seemed somewhat conflicted, and he didn’t appear to be genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart. I had experienced something similar myself, albeit from the opposite side. I was a pioneer who helped lead the way in Canadian figure skating, winning the Canadian national championship eight consecutive times. Then Kurt Browning came along, and a generational shift was inevitable. After Kurt and I had both retired from competition, we went on to work together professionally. That’s how the process unfolded.

Daisuke Takahashi had the charisma befitting a leader, along with a wonderful personality that had earned him a large following. He deserved to be respected, appreciated, and admired for all that he had accomplished. Even so, the moment when one generation gives way to the next will inevitably come. Thinking of Yuzuru’s future and his potential to become Japan’s true leading figure, I told him that while he should rejoice in his victory, he must never forget to respect the pioneers who had paved the way before him.

At the time, Yuzuru had only just turned eighteen, and perhaps he had not yet fully grasped what it meant to shoulder the responsibility of representing Japanese figure skating. For that very reason, I, as his coach, had to take a firm stance. If he was to win the Olympic title the following season, then naturally, he also had to establish himself as Japan’s leading skater. The moment when one generation gives way to the next is inevitably complicated for everyone involved. It was a conflict that Yuzuru would have to confront and resolve sooner or later.

3.8 The 2013 World Championships fought through poor physical condition

A difficult winter followed the All-Japan Championships. Perhaps it was Yuzuru’s first experience of Toronto’s bitter cold. He came down with the flu and was in poor physical condition, and he also suffered an injury. He spent three weeks off the ice and arrived at the World Championships in Toronto, Canada, having done virtually no training. When athletes compete without adequate preparation, they may feel anxious—or rather, anyone would feel that way. They can fall into a negative mindset, thinking, “I really hope I can skate well.” But athletes need to approach competition with the firm resolve to give everything they have. Without that proactive determination and willingness to take the initiative, it is difficult to perform well.

Yuzuru skated his short program in a very poor mental state and made mistakes, leaving in ninth place. He was deeply disappointed and angry with himself. It was the first time I had ever seen him so angry.

Javier also struggled in his short program, finishing in seventh place. As a result, neither he nor Yuzuru made it into the final group (the top six) for the free skate, so both were scheduled to compete in the second-to-last group. At that point, I told them, “Anything can happen now.” Even though they weren’t in the final group, they could still earn excellent marks if they skated well. On the other hand, some skaters who were not quite at their level had made it into the final group instead. Those skaters might feel nervous, or they might become excited and get carried away by the occasion. So I told them, “Just focus on skating your own programs well. Let the skaters who come after you try to catch up. Your results will be good.”

Both Yuzuru and Javier approached the free skate with a positive attitude, and both earned high scores. After they had finished skating, I sat in the corridor watching the scores from the final group come in, and I watched as their rankings kept climbing. In the end, Javier finished third and Yuzuru fourth. Given the circumstances, Yuzuru’s fourth-place finish was already an outstanding achievement. He helped Japan secure three quota places for the Winter Olympics. He had fulfilled his mission. Although he was personally frustrated that he had failed to reach the podium, the outcome could certainly be considered a success. Meanwhile, Javier won his first World Championship medal, an unprecedented achievement for Spain.

After making mistakes in their short programs, neither of my two skaters gave up. They persevered to the very end. I was proud of their determination and their never-give-up spirit.

This World Championships provided us with crucial insights as we looked ahead to the Olympic season. In particular, we gained a better understanding of Yuzuru’s mental strength and how he would cope with unexpected setbacks that left him underprepared, such as illness or injury. Taking four or five days off because of a minor illness is something anyone might experience, and athletes can usually get through such a setback by drawing on the foundation built through regular training. But this time, Yuzuru had been away from the ice for three weeks—a long and significant gap in his preparation. He entered these World Championships facing profound uncertainty, with no clear idea of what lay ahead or how things would turn out.

Yet, this situation also highlights something fundamental about Yuzuru’s personality: he has an internal ‘switch’ that, when he is pushed to the brink, unleashes an immense surge of power. I believe this experience helped him recognize once again the kind of person he is and his astonishing ability to fight back in the face of adversity.

Through this competition, one of the most important things we learned was about Yuzuru’s personality and what motivates him. As we approached the Olympic season, this became an important insight to keep in mind.

3.9 A wonderful chemistry between two very different personalities

Having spent an entire season working with both Yuzuru and Javier, I came to appreciate just how different their personalities were.

We took part in every competition we had entered. As athletes, we naturally want to deliver outstanding performances at every event, but the feedback we gain from these competitions is just as important. The point of competing so often isn’t simply to produce our best performances every time. If there were a surefire way to guarantee peak performance, we could just show up for the Olympics and leave it at that. But, of course, that’s not how it works. To give everything we have at the ultimate events—the Olympics and the World Championships—we need to go through the competitions along the way.

Yuzuru, however, wanted to win every single competition, giving his all at each one. Since the season is long, this meant exhausting himself too early, making it difficult to maintain a good balance during the second half of the season. Learning how to manage his energy and pace himself throughout the season was an important lesson, especially when it came to balancing his efforts between the Olympic team event and the individual event.

Javier, on the other hand, had a good sense of his own rhythm and knew how much energy to expend at each competition. Knowing that he couldn’t stay tense all the time, he tended to be quite relaxed at the beginning of the season, which sometimes helped him achieve good results. However, during the second half of the season, he would become overly tense and still hadn’t quite learned how to manage that tension.

Yuzuru may also have been affected by social media and the mainstream media. Even when he simply had a competition where he wasn’t at his best, the media would scrutinize every detail, criticizing his performance, his program, or his quadruple Salchow (4S). The intense attention surrounding his 4S, in particular, placed enormous pressure on him. If he fell during the six-minute warm-up, he would become even more conscious of the fact that “everyone has seen me fail.” Japan is a country where the media wield considerable influence.

Javier, by contrast, was completely unfazed. If he fell during practice, it was no big deal. He would simply lie there on the ice, and when I said, “Javier, get up!” he would stare at his skate, pretending to wonder whether something was wrong with it. He really was such an amusing kid.

It was a good thing that the two of them had such contrasting personalities. Javier was carefree and easygoing, while Yuzuru was intensely driven. Together, they created wonderful chemistry. For Javier, competing with Yuzuru helped him stay more focused during training. For Yuzuru, whenever he pushed himself too hard, Javier was like a soothing balm, helping him relax and regain his peace of mind.

“Team Brian is the best!” That’s exactly what I thought during the season Yuzuru joined our team.

Chapter 4: The Sochi Olympics

4.1 Music that perfectly suits Yuzuru’s strength

When does the Olympic season begin? The answer is: at the very moment the free skate at the World Championships the previous year comes to an end. So, after the World Championships in London, Canada, Yuzuru needed to return to Japan as soon as possible for a thorough examination of his knee. Japanese skating fans must have been looking forward to the ice shows, but Brian’s team had already switched into Olympic mode.

Yuzuru returned to Toronto in April to begin working on his programs. From the very day he returned from Japan, he was already in a completely different frame of mind, which took us all by surprise. He was already fully focused on the Olympics. Seeing Yuzuru, everyone at the Cricket Club truly felt, “Ah, so this is what the Olympic season is like.” A strong contender for the gold medal doesn’t think about anything other than the Olympics. The first thing on his mind when he wakes up in the morning is the Olympics, and the last thing he thinks about before going to sleep at night is the Olympics. He thinks about the Olympics while training and while eating. It’s difficult to change this state of mind, and in fact, it’s better not to. It was a good start to the season.

Selecting music for an Olympic season is crucial, and Yuzuru and Javier each took a different approach to the process. In Yuzuru’s case, his short program from the previous season, Parisienne Walkways, had earned the highest score in the world. It was such a fantastic program that we simply couldn’t come up with a better idea. We listened to lots of different pieces, but no matter what we tried, we kept coming back to the same thought: “The original is still the best.” So, after discussing it with Yuzuru, we decided to keep the same program. We asked his choreographer, Jeffrey, to make a few changes so that Yuzuru would feel something fresh when skating it, while the audience and judges would also be able to see something new.

Of course, using the same program for two consecutive years carries the risk of the judges growing tired of it. However, I did the same thing myself at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, using the same short program I had performed the previous year. I really loved that program, and it placed first in the short program for two consecutive years. Yuzuru adopted the same strategy. As it turned out, Patrick Chan also used the same short program for two consecutive years. That’s what a "winning program" is all about.

Deciding on the free skate music proved difficult and took quite a bit of time. It wasn’t just a matter of David’s and my opinions; Yuzuru is the kind of person who clearly expresses his own views, so we made sure to take his wishes into account as well. We had him listen to several pieces, and then I told him, “Yuzuru, this is your program. It’s the program you’ll be practicing every day and performing at the Olympics. If you don’t like a piece of music, please don’t hesitate to say so. Just tell us honestly that you don’t like it.” Yuzuru was very straightforward in his response: “I don’t want to skate to this music.” If he had held back and chosen a piece he didn’t actually like, only to tell us halfway through the season that he wanted to change the music, that would have been a much bigger problem. In the end, we didn’t settle on the music for his free skate until sometime after May.

While we were searching for another piece of music, David suggested, “How about Romeo and Juliet?” Since Yuzuru had already skated to a Romeo and Juliet piece by a different composer, we had initially ruled it out. However, this version was composed by someone else, and it was a masterpiece in its own right. We emailed Yuzuru with the suggestion, and he replied immediately, writing “I LOVE IT” in all caps. I was thrilled, too, and felt that this was going to work. After all, Nino Rota’s composition was incredibly beautiful and perfectly suited to Yuzuru’s strength. I could already picture the scene at the Sochi Olympics: as he performed the final choreographic step sequence, the audience would erupt in excitement and rise to their feet.

As for Javier, our approach was to find music that aligned with his unique qualities. For his short program, we chose a piece I had long envisioned for him to skate to during the Olympic season: "Satan Takes a Holiday," a track famously performed by Robin Cousins (Great Britain). I had loved this piece ever since my own days as a competitive skater, so I called Robin and asked him, “Would it be all right if we used this piece?” Robin was delighted and gladly gave us his permission, so we settled on it right away. We also incorporated a movement similar to one Robin had performed into the choreography, as a gesture of respect and gratitude toward him. For Javier’s free skate, we likewise decided to choose a piece in a musical style that played to his strengths.

Javier’s plan was to return to the Cricket Club after the World Championships to work on his choreography, then head back to Spain for a vacation. However, with the Olympics approaching, the atmosphere had changed by April, and Javier just couldn’t seem to get into the right frame of mind. No matter how much he practiced with David, he couldn’t get the new step sequence to flow smoothly. During one training session, Javier did something very unusual: he broke down in tears. The pressure had suddenly caught up with him. He had finished third at the World Championships, and people were now expecting him to win an Olympic medal. The Olympic season had suddenly become a reality, and from that point on, everything would revolve around the Olympics. He was on the verge of being crushed by the pressure.

My job was to help Javier finish his entire free skate in early April so that he could go on vacation with peace of mind. On the night before he was due to return to Spain, he finally managed to get all the steps in his free skate flowing smoothly. So I told him, “Okay, Javier, I’ve filmed everything for you. Mission accomplished. You did it.” Javier smiled and headed back to Spain.

4.2 The Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka That Shifted the Balance of Power

For the first competition of the season, my two students competed in different events. I accompanied Javier to the Japan Open, while David accompanied Yuzuru to the Finlandia Trophy. Yuzuru had won the Finlandia Trophy the previous year and had fond memories of the event. Hoping for the same good fortune this year, we felt that the Finlandia Trophy was the perfect choice for his season opener. In the end, Yuzuru claimed another impressive victory. It was a great start to the season.

For the ISU Grand Prix series, Yuzuru was assigned to compete in the events in Canada and France. It was fortunate for him to face Patrick Chan at both competitions. We were in the position of chasing him, and these competitions gave us a firsthand opportunity to identify where Yuzuru still fell short. What would it take to catch up with Patrick Chan? Our goal was to narrow the gap in Program Component Scores (PCS) as much as possible. In his free skate, Yuzuru had two quadruple jumps and two triple Axels (3As), and we knew he could outperform Chan in technical points. To this end, we focused on repetitive fundamental skating drills alongside full-length run-throughs of his entire program. Yuzuru fully understood the importance of this approach and took the initiative in these training sessions.

At Skate Canada, we trailed Patrick Chan by as many as 27 points, and this was also part of our strategy. The previous season had started well for us, but Yuzuru's form had deteriorated toward the end. Reflecting on that experience taught us an important lesson: "Even if things don't start well, what matters is winning in the end."

At the subsequent Grand Prix event in France, Patrick Chan delivered an outstanding performance, earning the highest score in the world. There are different ways to look at whether delivering a perfect performance before the Olympics gives a skater confidence or instead becomes a source of pressure. But given Chan's personality, I believe he wanted to prove to everyone that he was the strongest contender for the Olympic gold medal.

Yuzuru, meanwhile, had developed a healthy competitive drive through his two Grand Prix assignments, and his focus on training was growing stronger by the day. Around this time, Mr. Akira Kikuchi, his personal bodywork therapist, joined our team, which was extremely important. Mr. Kikuchi had been looking after Yuzuru since he was a young child and had considerable expertise in managing his physical condition. After Mr. Kikuchi joined us, Yuzuru's off-ice warm-ups before competitions went according to plan every time. They were, in a word, perfect. We were truly delighted to have him on our team, and Yuzuru's condition improved noticeably as a result. From around November, as we began preparing for the Grand Prix Final, everything started moving in a positive direction.

By the time we reached the Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, defeating Patrick Chan had become a very realistic goal for us. Both skaters performed well at the competition. Chan did not skate badly by any means, but it was Yuzuru who emerged victorious. For the past four years, Chan had firmly held his place among the world's elite, while Yuzuru had grown at a tremendous pace, closing the gap with him. The momentum behind the two skaters was different.

I believe the Grand Prix Final, held so close to the Olympics, marked a turning point. Yuzuru gained confidence, while Patrick Chan’s form began to falter after he lost a competition he should have won comfortably. It was as though Yuzuru were declaring to the media, figure skating fans, and the world at large: “No one can predict what will happen at the Olympics.” The balance of power in the world of figure skating was about to shift, and this upheaval filled me with excitement.

4.3 A Gripping All-Japan Championships

The All-Japan Championships, which would determine who would represent Japan at the Olympics, were held in Saitama at the end of December. Yuzuru had won the Grand Prix Final, and I had hoped that this would be enough for him to secure an Olympic spot, but that did not happen. “Okay, this is fine, too. Let’s settle this on the ice.” That was how I felt at the time.

Yuzuru returned to Japan a little earlier than I did to prepare for the competition, and I joined them five days before it began. Before my arrival, Yuzuru had been training privately with his mother and his bodywork therapist, Mr. Kikuchi. Unlike in Toronto, he was able to train in a quiet environment where he could concentrate fully. That was a rare and valuable opportunity.

Yuzuru delivered an outstanding performance in the short program at the All-Japan Championships, and in the free skate, his only mistake was a fall on the quadruple Salchow (4S). Daisuke Takahashi, who had injured his hand, fought on despite his injury. Everyone was battling for a place on the Olympic team, making this a truly thrilling competition to watch. And Yuzuru emerged victorious from this fierce battle.

If I worried that the skaters might reach their peak form too early, before the Olympics, it could throw them into confusion. So I chose to treat the Olympics as something separate from all the other competitions. That meant approaching the All-Japan Championships simply by giving it everything we had. Afterward, we did not let up, either. We kept moving forward on the momentum we had built. Yuzuru spent those days in a state of excitement and exhilaration.

By the time the All-Japan Championships ended, it was already late at night. We held a series of discussions with the Japan Skating Federation, and we also presented Team Brian’s requests to its president, Seiko Hashimoto.

“We believe Yuzuru is the only skater in the world who can beat Patrick Chan. Please make sure the following arrangements are in place for him.”

For example, we asked for an Olympic venue accreditation ID for Mr. Kikuchi, his bodywork therapist, so that he could accompany Yuzuru in his capacity as part of the coaching team. We also asked for a dedicated room where Yuzuru could rest after training, appropriate meals, an interpreter, and other forms of support. We tried to anticipate everything that might arise over the course of a 24-hour day in the unique environment of the Olympic Games and make the necessary arrangements in advance, so that Yuzuru would have the ideal conditions to perform at his very best. Although the Japan Skating Federation did not agree to every request, we negotiated with them to secure as much support as possible.

When I was coaching Yuna Kim, it was relatively easy to secure special arrangements for her because she was South Korea’s only top-level skater. Rather than staying in the Olympic Village, Yuna was accommodated in a hotel specially arranged for her, and accreditation passes were issued to all the support staff we needed. The situation in Japan was different. Japan had many skaters who were serious contenders for Olympic medals, so we made some compromises. Even so, we urged the Japan Skating Federation to ensure that they could respond flexibly if any problems arose at the venue. If Yuzuru had made these requests himself, he might have come across as demanding. So, on behalf of Team Brian, we firmly conveyed our requests to the Japan Skating Federation. After that, I returned to Canada.

Yuzuru returned to Sendai for a while, while I went to visit my father, who spends his winters in the warmth of Florida due to his health. Javier also returned to Spain to compete in the Spanish National Championships in December. We agreed that we would all meet up again in Toronto after the New Year. Each of us spent the transition from 2013 to 2014 with our own families, enjoying a peaceful holiday season.

And so our brief year-end break came to an end. As soon as we returned to Toronto, we held our final strategy meeting. It was a “summit meeting” attended by four of us: Tracy, Yuzuru, Javier, and me. We shared with the two skaters what the Olympics were really like, along with our own experiences and lessons learned.

“We are a team. When you compete, we’ll be right there beside you, wearing the Spanish and Japanese team uniforms. Depending on the skating order, your competition times might be quite close together, but we’ll be there rinkside for both of you, watching you skate and feeling genuinely proud of you. And remember, make sure to enjoy the Olympics, too.”

At that moment, I truly appreciated having two boys on Team Brian. The atmosphere was completely different from when I had coached Yuna. Both Yuzuru and Javier were eager to head to Sochi and compete, practically bursting with excitement. The sense of unity within the team and the reassurance they drew from having each other were also quite different from what I had experienced when coaching Yuna. If either of them had started to panic or if anything seemed out of the ordinary, I would probably have sensed it. But both of them were doing just fine. That was exactly the kind of ideal environment we had always strived to create within Team Brian.

4.4 Treating the Olympic Team Event as a Separate Competition

Since Yuzuru and I were going to participate in the team event, we arrived in Sochi on February 4, three days before the Opening Ceremony and ahead of Javier. We flew from Toronto via Munich, where we changed into the Japanese delegation’s team uniforms at the airport. When we arrived in Sochi wearing our uniforms, we were immediately surrounded by the media. However, Yuzuru was already accustomed to being surrounded by reporters.

In the Olympic Village, I stayed with the Spanish team because Javier needed a little more emotional support than Yuzuru did. Yuzuru was capable of analyzing himself objectively and acting rationally; besides, he preferred spending time alone.

Javier was actually chosen as the flag-bearer for the Spanish delegation at the Opening Ceremony. He was practically a national idol in Spain. I told him:

“Although you competed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics before, you were really just there to test yourself. This time is different. As a serious medal contender, you’re getting lots of interviews and attracting a great deal of attention, and there are plenty of rumors circulating as well. But you have Team Brian, and your teammate Yuzuru is skating on the same rink. Just keep your feet on the ground, take it one step at a time, and keep going until the very end.”

I had originally planned to watch the Opening Ceremony on television from the Olympic Village, as joining either the Japanese or the Spanish delegation would have seemed unfair. However, with the team event fast approaching, Yuzuru decided to skip the ceremony. I ended up attending alongside Javier and the Spanish delegation. Watching Javier walk ahead with his nation’s flag held high, I entered the stadium filled with pride. While it was a pity Yuzuru couldn't be there, skipping it was probably for the best. Attending the ceremony would have made it difficult for an athlete preparing to compete to stay focused. I had also served as a flag-bearer at the Calgary Winter Olympics, and the long wait had drained a great deal of my energy. Not attending the Opening Ceremony was a wise decision.

The facilities at the Olympic Village and the competition venues were exceptionally well equipped. Although there had been many reports of venues being inadequately prepared, I was deeply impressed by the high standard of construction and the beautiful architectural design. Security and medical services were also excellent. The whole place practically felt like an “Olympic Disneyland.” Short-track speed skating, ice hockey, and curling were all held in the same complex, making it a truly vibrant hub of sporting activity.

As the Olympic Games approached, Yuzuru intended to compete in the short program of the team event. The Japan Skating Federation seemed very pleased with this, and I was also glad that he himself had requested to participate. I believed it would be a valuable experience for him.

However, there were several problems with the scheduling of the team event at the Sochi Winter Olympics. It would have made more sense to hold the team event after the individual competitions. Instead, it was scheduled just seven days before the crucial individual events, making it extremely difficult for athletes to maintain their peak condition. Furthermore, having to stay at the venue to cheer on teammates until the final day of the team event took a considerable toll on their energy.

Since this was the first time the team event had been introduced at the Olympics, it was uncharted territory for everyone around the world, much like Marco Polo traveling to places that could not even be found on a map. Looking back at the results, it was clear that every skater who participated in the team event was exhausted. The male skaters were completely worn out, while Yulia Lipnitskaya of Russia, one of the contenders for the ladies’ singles gold medal, was already physically and mentally drained after competing in both the short program and the free skate.

Setting those concerns aside, since Yuzuru wanted to compete, we had to support him. We decided to treat the team event as a separate competition: he would approach the short program just like any other competition, spend the next two days cheering on his teammates, and then take a day off to rest. After that, he would reset his mindset and focus entirely on the individual event as a separate competition. That was our plan.

The only real advantage of participating in the team event was that skaters could spend more time on the competition ice and become familiar with the atmosphere. Patrick Chan and Jeremy Abbott (USA) would also be competing in the team event, so this was not an advantage unique to Yuzuru. But Yuzuru was naturally optimistic and tended to look at things positively, so I did not need to say much to him. Yuzuru scored nearly 98 points in the team event short program, placing first with an outstanding score. Yet he did not become complacent. Instead, he seemed to be thinking, “Good, I’ve got a feel for the competition atmosphere in the team event. Now I’ll focus on doing well in the next one—the individual event.”

4.5 Team Brian Takes The Stage

At last, the men's singles short program competition had arrived. The top 12 skaters in the world rankings were scheduled to compete in Groups 4 and 5. From a coach's perspective, it would have been much easier to manage things if Yuzuru and Javier had been assigned to different groups. But honestly, I didn't know what to say about those two. When the skating order was drawn, they somehow ended up with numbers 19 and 20! I couldn't help exclaiming, "OH MY GOD!"

Both of them remained calm and composed before the six-minute warm-up. They went to the changing room together, changed into their costumes, put on their skates, and made their way to the rink. As I walked down the corridor, watching my two students prepare to fight for Olympic medals, I was filled with excitement, thinking, "Team Brian was about to take the stage!" I felt incredibly proud. Both of them were exceptional, not only as athletes but also as people. I was genuinely thrilled to be walking down that corridor together with them as part of such a wonderful team.

I wasn’t the least bit worried about Yuzuru’s performance, and as it turned out, he delivered a flawless routine. Since Javier was scheduled to skate immediately after him, I couldn’t accompany Yuzuru to the Kiss and Cry area. Instead, I waited rinkside, where Javier was about to take to the ice. Just as I was giving Javier some final pointers, Yuzuru’s score was announced. I held up one finger, signaling for Javier to wait a moment. I had been certain that Yuzuru would break the 100-point mark in the short program, and I simply had to hear his score. Javier understood how I felt. Over the past two years, they had both grown accustomed to this sort of arrangement. When I heard that Yuzuru had set a new world-record score, I was very pleased. Then I sent Javier out onto the ice.

Javier was quite nervous. Having to skate immediately after Yuzuru, and with me once again unable to stay by his side throughout the entire process, I felt a little sorry for him. As it happened, Javier's skates had become worn, and the material had softened. Before the competition, I handed him some tape to reinforce his skates and said, "During the six-minute warm-up, I noticed that your skates felt too soft. You should reinforce them a little."

In the final group, Yuzuru was the first to take the ice, so I wasn’t able to attend to Javier after the six-minute warm-up. Instead of re-tying his skates, Javier simply applied tape over the existing laces. The proper procedure would have been to remove the old tape, tighten the laces securely, and then apply fresh tape for reinforcement. As a result, his attempt to reinforce his skates was ineffective.

When it comes to Javier, I have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he follows through and does things properly. This is something I really ought to reflect on. Athletes under pressure can sometimes struggle to carry out tasks on their own that they would normally have no trouble doing. It's a lesson I've only just learned, even at this stage, and one I'll need to put into practice when coaching both of them in the future. Despite a few mistakes, Javier still managed to earn a good score and finish in third place. He was a little disappointed, but quickly bounced back.

Afterward, I wanted to congratulate Yuzuru, but upon entering the corridor, I found him surrounded by a throng of reporters, making it impossible for me to get close. Instead, I shared in the excitement with members of the Japanese delegation. Everyone was astonished by his impressive score of 101.45, but I wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

After Javier, it was Patrick Chan's turn to skate. He landed a quadruple-triple combination and, despite making a mistake, still earned an impressive score of 97.52. I still remember the expression on Patrick's face at the time. He seemed convinced that this short-program score would be enough to turn things around in the free skate.

The schedule for the men's singles competition was simply unreasonable. Yuzuru and Javier had to attend the press conference for the top three finishers in the short program, and by the time it ended, it was already late at night. With barely any sleep, they had to attend the official free skate practice the following morning, only to compete in the actual free skate that very evening. Honestly, it was an absurd schedule. At an event as crucial to an athlete's career as the Olympic Games, the competition schedule had been arranged in such a way that it made it difficult for the skaters to perform to the best of their abilities. Nevertheless, everyone had to compete under the same conditions, so there was nothing we could do but accept it.

We held a brief meeting at the press conference venue—nothing more than a quick rundown: the following morning's practice would begin at 10:00, so they needed to gather at 9:00. Meeting an hour ahead of time was standard procedure for us, just as it was at regular competitions. During the official practice the following morning, the skaters' movements on the ice looked rather frantic. Those in the final group, in particular, seemed to be struggling. They must have been extremely exhausted. Even so, I wasn't particularly concerned. If anything were out of the ordinary, I would have been able to tell just by looking at Yuzuru's or Javier's expressions. After the morning's official practice, the three of us returned to the Olympic Village and held a meeting in a common area. As always, we made no special changes to our strategy. We simply discussed what time we should head to the rink.

Things weren’t exactly ideal during the official practice session, but that was all right. It was important to keep things "business as usual." Had I offered them any suggestions at that point, they might have sensed my nervousness and felt something was amiss, which would only have made them even more anxious. So I kept reminding myself to act as I always did and maintain the usual routine.

4.6 The gold medal was already decided during practice

Even looking back on it now, the six-minute warm-up before the free skate was truly disastrous. Everyone kept missing their take-off timings, and the skaters’ paths kept crossing, making it impossible for them to even attempt their jumps. Then, in the blink of an eye, the actual competition began.

Yuzuru fell on his 4S, which really gave me a fright. He had been in such excellent form ever since arriving in Sochi, so seeing him fall was quite a shock. He landed the subsequent 4T successfully, but then made a mistake on his 3F, which really had me on edge. When the performance ended, I was left with mixed feelings. Both Yuzuru and I were disappointed when the scores were announced. The thought that he might end up with the silver medal made my heart ache for him.

Patrick Chan skated after Yuzuru, so he probably hadn't paid close attention to Yuzuru's score. Consequently, he didn't approach the competition with the mindset that he could afford one or two mistakes and still win. Rather, he was aiming for a flawless performance. However, he went on to make one mistake after another. By the time he made his third mistake, I could no longer predict how the competition would turn out. I believe his final mistake on the double Axel was what determined the difference between the gold and silver medals. Had Patrick known that successfully landing that double Axel would have been enough to win, perhaps the outcome might have been different.

Patrick Chan and I are both Canadian. However, my students are Yuzuru and Javier, and the two of them are the reason I do what I do. As much as I felt sorry for Patrick, I still wanted Yuzuru to win the gold medal. The goddess of victory had once smiled upon Patrick, but now the gold medal had found its way back to Yuzuru. I was overjoyed and embraced Yuzuru in the hallway, but his expression seemed somewhat complicated.

"A win is a win. I know you aren't satisfied with how your free skate went, but you should take pride in the fact that you earned the Olympic title fair and square. In time, you'll truly come to appreciate the joy of this achievement. You are an outstanding Olympic champion. Don't let anyone make you doubt that. You won, and you have every reason to be happy."

That was what I said to Yuzuru.

Yuzuru's victory was not a matter of luck. Ever since arriving in Sochi, he had been in excellent form during practice. Patrick Chan, by contrast, had completely failed to maintain his peak condition and was visibly losing his momentum. The skaters, coaches, media, and judges could all see this. The expressions on their faces seemed to convey a sense of admiration: "How incredible Yuzuru is! He really is the strongest in the world."

In other words, the outcome of the competition had already been decided during practice. Even before the competition began, Yuzuru already had a commanding presence. Looking at the results, although he made a few mistakes on his jumps, they did not have a significant impact on his overall performance. Patrick, on the other hand, gave the impression that he was going to make mistakes on his jumps—and that was exactly what happened. The skaters' psychological states were reflected in their performances, and that difference ultimately determined the winner.

It is true that Yuzuru's performance did not turn out as we had envisioned. He was extremely tired, and his free skate was not the performance he was truly capable of delivering. Having competed in the team event and then faced a packed schedule for the individual event, Yuzuru had little opportunity to rest, either physically or mentally, after arriving at the competition venue. All these factors contributed to his exhaustion, which gradually accumulated within him.

Actually, I had wanted Yuzuru to get some solid rest before the short program. We discussed it at length, and in the end, he settled on some light training instead. Having been in such good form during the team event, Yuzuru wanted to avoid any fluctuations in his performance that might result from relaxing too completely. This was one way in which he pushed himself too hard. However, at this stage, mental preparation was just as important as physical condition, and perhaps Yuzuru's judgment at the time was the better one. Besides, Yuzuru wasn't the only one feeling fatigued. All the men's singles skaters made quite a number of mistakes. If anything, Yuzuru actually made relatively few mistakes.

Ultimately, competitions are decided by the results, so there is little more I can say. That said, in my view, if the rest period between the team event and the individual event had been properly scheduled, the fatigue could have been alleviated. Over the past two years, I have come to understand Yuzuru's physical condition and what it takes for him to reach his peak form. Therefore, at the next Olympic Games, regardless of what Yuzuru himself might say, I will make sure he gets plenty of rest. At the Sochi Olympics, he should have been able to maintain his usual routine, yet he ended up getting even less rest than he normally would.

If a situation arises at the next Olympics that leaves us uncertain and unable to reach a clear conclusion, I will need to have more in-depth discussions with Yuzuru. To that end, I must further clarify my coaching philosophy and develop the ability to firmly guide my skater by saying, "This is absolutely what we must do." Although the team event was an unpredictable factor, there were also aspects of my own coaching that I needed to reflect on. This was an Olympic Games from which I, too, learned a great deal.

4.7 A silent hug with Patrick

Why did Patrick Chan perform the way he did at the Olympics? The reason was that he had failed to maintain his peak form. Following the Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka the previous year, Patrick lost both his confidence and competitive momentum. He lost his drive and became focused solely on getting through his programs without making any mistakes. Neither Patrick nor his coach had any prior experience competing for Olympic medals. Furthermore, Patrick arrived at the Olympic venue in Sochi as early as the end of January. This was quite extraordinary. He was accustomed to competing in Europe, where he would typically arrive at the venue, complete just two or three practice sessions, and then compete. Even so, why did he go to Sochi so early? He arrived more than two weeks before the individual competition. However you looked at it, this was highly unusual. When I read reports stating that he "wanted to familiarise himself with the venue," I finally understood just how anxious Patrick must have been.

After the free skate, I saw Patrick Chan. Although he had never been my student, he had trained at the Cricket Club as a child, and we shared a mutual understanding as fellow Canadians. While we were waiting for the flower ceremony, I walked over to him and embraced him without saying a word. There was nothing to say. An apology would have seemed strange. I couldn't congratulate him, nor could I bring myself to say something like, "I'm sorry." So I said nothing. I simply gave him a hug.

Patrick Chan was deeply dejected, though his state of mind seemed different from what I had experienced at the Calgary Olympics. In my case, both my rival and I had delivered flawless performances, so my disappointment stemmed from having lost by the narrowest of margins. Patrick, by contrast, was blaming himself.

We mustn't forget Javier, either. He came agonisingly close to winning the bronze medal. Because his planned quadruple Salchow (4S) turned into a triple Salchow (3S), the rules dictated that his final jump would receive zero points.

In fact, a 4S turning into such a clean 3S had never happened before, either in competition or in practice. As a result, we had never carried out any detailed simulations or thorough preparation for such a scenario. I hadn't prepared Javier beforehand by telling him, "If something like this happens, you should adjust your jump layout in the following way." Javier is the type of skater who finds it difficult to consider all the possibilities and adjust his jump layout in the middle of a competition. The moment Javier turned his 4S into a 3S, I thought, "This is trouble." I had to quickly signal to him mid-performance that he needed to change his jump layout. My eyes remained fixed on him throughout, and I watched anxiously, hardly daring to breathe.

If Javier had followed his original jump layout, there were two potential traps in the rules that could have resulted in a jump receiving zero points. In the triple-jump combination following his triple flip (3F), his planned triple Salchow (3S) had turned into a double Salchow (2S). As a result, Javier had safely avoided the first trap. However, his final planned triple Salchow (3S) should have been changed to a double jump or a double Axel (2A). Instead, he went ahead and performed it according to his original plan. Even I hadn't noticed the existence of the second trap while watching his performance. It was a truly unexpected twist in the "script."

I was taken aback when Javier's score was posted. It was only after checking the computer displaying the scores that I realised, "Oh no! He'd violated the rules on repeated jumps!" I was genuinely shocked. On top of that, he had failed to land his usually reliable triple Axel (3A) cleanly and had also made a mistake on his Lutz. Had he avoided these errors, he could easily have won the bronze medal. Only now have I recognised all the various issues that arose, and I feel deeply that I let Javier down.

4.8 The free skate lacked a “magical moment” 

The Olympic Games are supposed to be a stage for magical moments, a competition where we get to witness countless deeply moving scenes. Yet, that was not what happened during the men's free skate in Sochi. It must have been disappointing for the spectators, too. I had dreamed countless times of Yuzuru winning the gold medal in an entirely different way, so that particular competition left me with a deep sense of regret. I had also imagined Javier standing right beside Yuzuru on the podium, which only made me feel even sadder.

It was a very strange night. Even though I was the coach of an Olympic champion, Yuzuru went straight to attend the press conference and undergo anti-doping tests, which kept him occupied until late into the night. As a result, I never even got the chance to see him. Javier, the coaches from the Spanish team and I spent the night together without having a single drink. Everyone was deeply disappointed and saddened.

When Yuna won the gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, we gathered in our hotel room and raised our glasses of champagne in a toast. Everyone shared their thoughts and expressed their gratitude to one another, and Yuna cried tears of joy. It was a truly touching night. In Sochi, however, the entire schedule ran so late that holding a similar celebration was simply not possible.

The next day, I finally got to see Yuzuru. I shared some beers with those involved, and we talked at length about his victory. His parents also expressed their gratitude to me. Since even coaches weren’t permitted to enter the designated area for the medal ceremony, I watched it from among the spectators. I returned to Toronto without ever getting the chance to see the medal up close or hold it in my hands.

A few days later, not long after returning to Japan, Yuzuru came back to Toronto and showed me his medal. He placed the gold medal around each of our necks and hugged us all. It was his way of embracing the entire Team Brian.

This was an Olympics that gave us plenty to reflect on, as well as many lessons to take away. But I believe that, as a coach, I had at least fulfilled the bare minimum of my responsibilities. I'll save the grand celebration, full of smiles, for the next Olympics. Next time, we'll definitely celebrate in style! By then, Yuzuru will be an adult, and we'll finally be able to share a drink together. Above all, I sincerely hope that I can give Yuzuru the opportunity to experience an Olympic Games filled with even more deeply moving moments.

Chapter 5: Team Brian’s Coaching

5.1 The Lineup of Team Brian

In the eight years since Team Brian was established, we have guided Yuna and Yuzuru to Olympic gold medals, and Javier to a World Championship medal. Together, we have created the most beautiful harmony. I would like to take another look at what has enabled Team Brian to remain so united.

In the spring of 2006, when I received a call from Tracy Wilson and decided to become the head coach at the Toronto Cricket Club, my first priority was assembling a team. The first thing that came to mind was the teaching philosophy of my mentor, Doug Leigh. Although he was the head coach for all his skaters, he didn’t personally oversee every aspect of their training. When it came to choreography, he recognized that it wasn’t his strongest suit and brought in professional choreographers. Likewise, if his expertise in teaching spins wasn’t at a world-class level, he would hire a specialist. He applied the same principle to any area in which he felt his own expertise fell short.

Figure skating is about far more than just skating and jumping. It encompasses a wide range of elements, including spins and footwork, and skaters need to master every aspect of the sport. Just as importantly, they must be able to bring all these elements together to deliver a compelling performance. Like Doug, I knew that I could not coach every single element myself. Jumping had always been one of my strengths as a skater, so I was certainly capable of teaching it. But, to be honest, I felt that jump instruction could just as easily be left to another coach. I saw my role as recognising each skater’s abilities, identifying their strengths, and coordinating the efforts of all the coaches and skaters to ensure everything worked together seamlessly.

With this in mind, I brought together a diverse group of talented individuals to join Team Brian and work as part of the coaching team. For choreography, I had three world-class choreographers: David Wilson, Jeffrey Buttle, and Shae-Lynn Bourne. All three were based in Toronto, so I could call on any of them whenever I needed choreography for my skaters.

For spins, I brought in Paige Aistrop (who had previously coached Nobunari Oda) as our specialist. She has an excellent understanding of the spin requirements, which change from year to year, and helps our skaters consistently attain the highest possible level: Level 4. Even when we were competing overseas, I could email Paige immediately whenever something was unclear. For example, I would write: “This spin was given a Level 3 in the short program. Could you check the footage online and let me know what went wrong?” Paige would promptly review the spin positions and number of revolutions, then get back to me with her feedback. This allowed us to make the necessary corrections in time for the free skate the following day.

Of course, my greatest partner was Tracy Wilson. I often travelled overseas with my skaters for competitions, so Tracy, who was capable of taking care of practically everything in my absence, was essentially the backbone of the Cricket Club. Whenever I accompanied Yuzuru to competitions, Tracy would look after Javier.

It’s much like running a business. To manage a company effectively, you need experts in different fields—marketing, finance, advertising, and so on. By bringing together top talent in each area, you create an organisation that can operate more effectively. The better the people you assemble, the stronger the organisation becomes. To develop world-class skaters like Yuzuru, Javier, and Yuna, you need a system comparable to that of a leading company. You cannot expect one person to do everything. Having a strong team around you is essential.

In the summer of 2014, Lee Barkell joined our coaching team. He was an accomplished coach who had guided Jeffrey Buttle to the 2008 World Championship title. Although he had previously been coaching in a small town north of Toronto, he decided to become part of Team Brian as well. With his particular expertise in jump technique, he was a valuable addition who further strengthened our team.

With such a diverse group of coaches, whenever a new skater joins us, I have them work with different instructors to see who they are most compatible with. We then decide who will serve as their head coach, who will oversee their spin training, and who will focus on their skating skills, building a coaching team tailored to each skater’s needs. For example, I coached both Javier and Yuzuru personally, while Tracy Wilson was responsible for their skating skills and Paige took the lead in their spin training. Several choreographers were also involved in the process.

Of course, there are also parents who insist on having Brian coach their child personally. In such cases, I arrange group training sessions and carefully observe the child before giving the parents my honest assessment. I might tell them, “I’ll work with your child directly from time to time, but I think this particular coach is a better match for them and brings out their full potential.”

Today, more than twenty coaches are part of the Cricket Club, all of them outstanding professionals. They include coaches who specialise in developing young skaters, as well as experts in specific technical disciplines. Remarkably, not a single coach has left the team in the past eight years. We have truly been blessed.

5.2 Presentation, Management, Motivation

Through eight years of coaching, I have distilled the three main responsibilities of a coach into three key areas: presentation, management, and motivation. These three pillars form the foundation of my coaching philosophy.

First, let us look at presentation. Take the example of 15-year-old Elizabet Tursynbaeva from Kazakhstan. Even before joining the Cricket Club, she was already capable of landing a triple Lutz (3Lz), but her programs always seemed to be lacking something. The music lacked impact, and neither the technical content nor the choreography was top-tier. In 2014, she joined Team Brian, with David Wilson taking charge of her choreography. Her costumes and technical details were carefully refined, and we worked to give her the right packaging to bring out her natural charm and strengths. As a result, she quickly achieved third place at the Junior Grand Prix event held in Nagoya in September 2014, while taking first place in the short program.

By “presentation,” I mean teaching and guiding students to skate properly. It involves creating programs and performances through outstanding music and choreography, incorporating all the necessary elements, such as a well-established, traditional program structure and beautiful costumes, and refining them through repeated practice. Of course, technical instruction is equally indispensable. Even a single skill that has not been fully mastered can undermine the entire package. The aim is to improve the quality of jumps, spins, and footwork, while ensuring that transitions and skating are executed elegantly. There is no need to become overly preoccupied with perfection. What matters most is the overall completeness and coherence of the program.

This summer, I held detailed meetings with Nam Nguyen, Javier, and their costume designer. We began by reviewing the designer’s sketches, carefully communicating our requirements to ensure that the costumes’ designs and colors complemented the style of the music and the skaters’ movements. After all, costumes are an integral part of a program’s performance. Yuzuru, on the other hand, has his own preferences and aesthetic vision, so he selects his own costumes, choosing refined and beautiful designs. We have no particular concerns in that regard.

Next comes athlete management. This involves drawing up weekly, monthly, and annual training plans, deciding which competitions the skaters will enter, and handling all the necessary arrangements and preparations. Whenever an issue arises, I take responsibility for dealing with it. It is much like managing a business.

Managing media-related matters is also part of athlete management. For instance, in August 2013, ahead of the Olympics, we coordinated a joint media session for Yuzuru, arranging for a large group of Japanese journalists to enter the Cricket Club and conduct interviews. We informed the other skaters of these arrangements as well. By handling all the media interviews at once, Yuzuru was then able to put his media commitments behind him and focus on planning his training schedule without further distractions.

Managing an athlete’s well-being is also part of athlete management. Beyond ensuring that skaters get adequate rest and receive massages when needed, I also keep an eye on their overall appearance, including their hairstyle and attire, offering advice if something doesn’t look quite right.

We also take the skaters' financial circumstances into account. Since every skater comes from a family with different financial means, at the beginning of each season, we ask them, “What is your budget, and how much coaching would you like to receive?” We then arrange a training program that fits within that budget. Since fees are calculated according to the amount of coaching time received, I explain the arrangements to each skater clearly. For example, I might say, “I will coach you for 30 minutes a day, Tracy will coach you twice a week, and the spin coach will work with you once a week.”

Some parents, regardless of the cost, want their children to receive as much coaching as possible, work with the best choreographers, wear the most exquisite costumes, and have access to the very best of everything. On the other hand, some parents need to keep their spending within the limits of their family budget. Finding ways to ensure that these skaters can hold their own against their peers, despite having more limited financial resources, is where a coach's true ability comes into play. This is why we teach our students to train independently, even when their coaches are not constantly by their side.

In fact, the more elite a skater is, the more capable they become of training independently. Yuzuru is a good example. Even when Tracy and I are both at the rink, he receives only about 30 minutes of direct instruction per day, or perhaps a little longer—up to an hour. Of course, even while I am coaching other students, I keep an eye on Yuzuru as he practices. Whenever I see something that warrants a suggestion, I call him over and point out what he should pay attention to. There is no need for me to supervise his entire practice session, because Yuzuru has a clear understanding of what he is working on and knows exactly what he needs to do next.

On the other hand, Javier received very little funding from the Spanish Figure Skating Federation, so for many years, he had to pay his own skating expenses. Consequently, he had to earn money through ice shows and competition prize money to cover his training costs. In a way, this actually worked to his advantage. The federation often paid us late for intensive training sessions, but ever since Javier began using his own earnings to cover his training expenses, he has made a point of arriving at the rink on time. His sense of responsibility has grown considerably as a result.

My father also had to make many sacrifices to cover the costs of my figure skating. He would sometimes juggle two or three jobs at once, keeping himself incredibly busy. Meanwhile, my mother balanced her own work with driving me to the rink and taking care of the household. Seeing how hard my parents worked, I practiced skating with a deep sense of gratitude. Figure skating is undeniably an expensive sport and a considerable financial burden, but that does not mean that only those from wealthy families can afford to pursue it. Taking each skater's financial circumstances into account and finding ways to help them continue skating is also an important part of a coach's responsibilities in athlete management.

The next essential element is motivation. This is something I learned from my own coach, Doug Leigh.

When I look back on Doug, what stands out most is his boundless energy. Whenever we went to the rink for practice, Doug was always the first one onto the ice, skating with more enthusiasm than anyone else and coaching us along the way.

Even when the skaters grew tired, started slacking off, or simply wanted to head home early, Doug was always the one enjoying skating the most. His enthusiasm was contagious, and the skaters were naturally drawn to him. Inspired by his energy, they would happily continue skating and regain their focus.

Keeping students motivated is a crucial responsibility for a coach. To give a specific example, on days when a skater is struggling with their jumps, insisting that they continue practicing them would only cause their motivation to drop. We don't let our skaters do that. Instead, we immediately give them other exercises or elements to work on.

Furthermore, skaters can become discouraged for all sorts of reasons. When it comes to reading people and recognizing their emotional states, no coach is better than Tracy. As a mother of three herself, Tracy understands the feelings of teenagers, the concerns of parents, and the perspectives of both elite athletes and coaches. Whenever we sense that a skater is under pressure, Tracy and I invite them into the office for a heart-to-heart conversation.

“It's okay. It's perfectly normal to find things difficult, and it's only natural to feel under pressure. That's why we're here by your side. Just follow your training plan, and everything will be fine.”

Once the competition season begins, people frequently drop by the office to talk about their personal concerns, so we become extremely busy.

For the younger skaters, Yuzuru and Javier are undoubtedly a great source of motivation. Watching the two of them, these young athletes naturally aspire to become skaters just like them. Beyond their achievements in figure skating, their manners and attitude toward training also make them excellent role models. They are admirable not only as skaters but also as people.

In this regard, Yuzuru is particularly exemplary. Whenever he arrives for practice, he makes a point of greeting every coach before beginning his own training, even those who are not directly involved in coaching him. This is what we call good manners and courtesy. Although this is a custom rooted in Japanese culture, I believe the Japanese should take even greater pride in it. Javier, too, is always diligent about greeting everyone. Seeing this, the younger skaters naturally become more motivated to train hard and more conscientious about observing proper etiquette themselves.

5.3 How to Work with Two Top Skaters

When it comes to Yuzuru and Javier, I don't take sides. I make sure to treat them both fairly and maintain a balance. Sometimes Yuzuru needs more of my attention, and at other times, it's the other way around. When coaching two world-class figure skaters, the most important thing is to remain attentive and observant, making sure that nothing escapes my notice.

If I get frustrated or find myself stretched too thin, Tracy will step in to help. Sometimes choreographer David, Jeffrey, or someone else will take over and handle things. Since we have several coaches on the team, there's always someone available to step in and take care of things whenever I need help.

Besides, the way these two interact during training is wonderful. If Yuzuru falls, Javier will rush over to help him, and vice versa. If Javier lands a quadruple jump, Yuzuru will applaud him, and vice versa. They have tremendous respect for each other, there's no tension between them whatsoever, and they genuinely like each other.

The two of them have completely opposite personalities, so naturally, my coaching approach differs slightly for each of them. One example is how I help them set their goals.

When I sit down with Yuzuru to discuss his future goals and plans, he always has his own ideas and suggestions to offer because he has a very clear sense of what he wants to accomplish and the steps he needs to take to get there. Whatever Yuzuru wants to pursue, Team Brian listens to his dreams and aspirations. It wouldn't be right for me to simply order a skater around, telling him, "Do this, do that." That's something I learned from my own coach when I was young.

It was the same when I first started coaching Javier. We would sit down together to map out a plan, but with him, I had to follow up every step of the way. I would have him write down his goals on a piece of paper, which I would then keep. If he skipped a training session, I'd pull out that plan and say, "You said you'd be here to skate on Wednesday morning, but you didn't show up. This is your plan, isn't it? These are the things you said you wanted to do. So where were you?" I knew him well enough to guess that he'd probably stayed up all night playing video games, so I'd tell him, "Listen, I've got eyes and ears everywhere. I know everything."

When it comes to technical coaching, I tailor my instruction to each skater’s individual style and habits. By the time skaters come to train with me, they have already established their own jumping techniques and styles. My role is simply to make adjustments rather than completely change the way they skate. The same applies to both Yuzuru and Javier.

Yuzuru and Javier have very different jumping styles. If I had to compare Yuzuru's jumping style to someone else's, I'd say it resembles Yuna Kim's in some ways, though it is still distinct from hers. That’s why I never tell them to imitate another skater’s jumping technique, nor do I ask them to adopt my own methods. I’ve even told Javier, “You don’t need to imitate the way Yuzuru executes his triple Axel (3A).” Even though Yuzuru’s triple Axel has many qualities that can earn positive Grades of Execution (GOE), there would be no point in having Javier try to copy it. When Javier lands his quadruple toe loop (4T), it’s as if he’s skimming across the ice, whereas Yuzuru lands as though he’s descending from the sky. Before attempting a quadruple Salchow (4S), Javier performs three turns, while Yuzuru takes off after just one. For each of them, their own approach is the right one.

As for whether these individual habits are truly the best fit for each skater, I sometimes experiment to find out. I once had Javier try jumping the way Yuzuru does, but it didn't go well. This confirmed to me that their bodies had already internalized their own particular take-off and landing techniques, and that these were what worked best for each of them.

There's an English saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If something is broken, then by all means, fix it. But if it isn't broken, there's no need to tinker with it. So I leave those aspects of their technique alone. What I do pay attention to is the current scoring system, which is very clearly defined. So I work on incorporating difficult steps into their jump entries to earn additional points, helping Javier maximize his score wherever he can.

5.4 Adapting to the Changes in ISU Requirements

Let’s talk about competition strategy. The scoring system changes every year, which I imagine can be quite difficult for the general public to understand. My philosophy, however, is that if the ISU (International Skating Union) wants to introduce changes, we must adapt to them. I have no intention of resisting those changes. If the ISU wants to see higher-quality spins, then I will teach my skaters how to execute them. Whether competing as an athlete or working as a coach, I believe that adapting to change is essential. My own team, Team Brian, is constantly evolving as well.

I therefore accept and seek to understand the ISU’s intentions. I try to identify exactly what they are looking for and communicate those expectations clearly to my skaters. In the 2014–15 season, vocal music became permitted in competition programs. Since this was a change the ISU wanted to introduce, I felt that we should embrace it and give it a try that season.

To make sure I understand exactly what the ISU is looking for, I make an effort of speaking with as many people as possible. Whenever I attend competitions, I seek out opportunities to talk to a wide range of people, including judges, technical specialists, skating federation officials, and fellow coaches, so that I can get a sense of how things are changing. I also regularly tell them, “Please feel free to give me a call or send me an email if anything comes up.” I make a point of asking questions and listening carefully to learn about emerging trends under the new scoring system, as well as the finer details of the rules.

On another front, I also travel to countries where figure skating is still developing to hold seminars on the scoring system and competition rules. These seminars are intended not only to support the ISU but also to benefit coaches in those countries. During the 2014 off-season, for instance, I visited several Scandinavian countries, as well as the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Coaches, skaters, and judges from these countries attended my seminars to learn about the new standards. Through these sessions, I also had the opportunity to learn from coaches in different countries, as people from different backgrounds often bring different perspectives.

Once I have familiarized myself with the new rules, I apply the updated scoring system into my coaching at the Cricket Club.

“In your short program at the last competition, you lost points on this element. Can you explain why? Do you understand what the judges were focusing on?”

The judges’ score sheet is essentially a “diagnostic report” that highlights the areas we need to work on. We have to study it carefully and try to understand what the judges were looking at and what they were focusing on at each moment, so that we can analyse the reasons behind the marks they awarded. It is important to look at things from the judges’ perspective. Generally speaking, the judges are right.

That summer, we invited Anett Pötzsch, a member of the ISU Technical Committee from Germany. She was the women’s singles champion at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and served as the men’s singles technical specialist at the Sochi Winter Olympics. She spent two weeks at the Cricket Club, advising us on changes to the rules and how they should be applied.

Sometimes the scores we receive at competitions turn out differently from what we expected. When that happens, I immediately seek feedback from the people around me. At the end of competitions, the judges hold round-table discussions to review the scores. As soon as these meetings are over, I make a point of speaking with the judges to hear their thoughts. For example, they might say, “Yuzuru became a topic of discussion at the meeting just now. This is why he received that particular score.” I take note of this feedback and pass it on to him during training.

Feedback is important in any line of work. We make a plan, put it into action, and then review the results and make adjustments accordingly. This is particularly true of new programs. Until we actually enter a competition, we cannot know how the Program Component Scores (PCS) will be awarded. If the scores are lower than expected, we simply need to identify the reasons and make the necessary adjustments.

5.5 Approach to Improving Scores

So, how can one improve their score? We have done some research, and Team Brian places great emphasis on both Program Component Score (PCS) and Grade of Execution (GOE).

When it comes to PCS, ultimately, it all comes down to basic skating skills. Tracy Wilson is particularly good at coaching this aspect. A skater's score depends on how well every movement in the program is executed. Therefore, once their skating skills improve, all of their PCS marks can rise dramatically. I believe Yuzuru must have felt this quite strongly over the past two years. Javier also improved his PCS in Toronto. Three years ago, Javier's PCS was so low that he was only getting around 5–6 points. I told him, "This is the level at which the judges simply overlook you," and had him start working on his skating skills from scratch.

Earning positive Grades of Execution (GOE) is also crucial. If you receive positive GOE on all 12 to 13 technical elements, you can gain more than 20 points. Furthermore, during my four years working with Yuna Kim, we observed a correlation between GOE and Program Component Scores (PCS): high-quality technical elements tend to contribute to higher overall PCS. These components include skating skills, transitions, performance, and choreography, all of which ultimately play a role in determining the outcome of a competition.

Many skaters and coaches tend to place too much emphasis on jumps. While everyone focuses heavily on the quadruple toe loop (4T) and quadruple Salchow (4S), Team Brian places greater importance on every aspect of a program. Spins, in particular, are crucial. There are six spins in total across the short program and free skate, and one of Team Brian's major goals is to achieve Level 4 on every spin and earn positive GOE on all of them. If we can improve the quality of each spin and gain just one additional point per spin, that would amount to six extra points. That's a substantial number of points. This is why I always remind my skaters not to neglect spin practice during training.

Incidentally, Yuna Kim initially wanted to train for a triple Axel (3A). At the time, however, we placed greater emphasis on jump quality and maximizing Grade of Execution (GOE) scores. We also felt that pushing her to train the 3A could risk injury or cause unnecessary physical exhaustion, so it wasn't a wise decision. I told her, "If you want to work on the 3A, you should save it for after winning the Vancouver Olympics." Perhaps this was also one of the reasons she eventually left Toronto. She already had an excellent double Axel (2A). Although she had the potential to master the triple Axel, I deliberately chose not to let her train for it. I believe my strategy was the right one. It was precisely this focus on improving GOE and PCS that enabled Yuna Kim to win the Olympics by such a commanding margin.

Overall, I believe the current scoring system has improved the way figure skating is judged. Back when I was competing, the top podium positions were consistently occupied by the same two or three elite skaters. Today, however, any of the top dozen or so skaters has a realistic chance of reaching the podium or even winning at any given competition. The new scoring system goes beyond the traditional categories of "Technical Merit" and "Presentation" used under the old system. It evaluates dozens of individual elements, including jumps, spins, and skating skills, to determine a skater's final score. It is also a relatively open system, regardless of a skater's nationality or background. Since its introduction, we have seen the emergence of world champions such as Switzerland's Stéphane Lambiel, Olympic champions from Japan and South Korea, and World Championship medallist from Spain.

At the same time, however, we must not ignore the voices of figure skating fans. If programs that fail to win the audience's approval nevertheless receive high scores, the sport risks becoming insular and disconnected from its fans. I believe that spectators' expressions of dissatisfaction with the judging are also important forms of feedback that deserve to be heard.

5.6 Off-ice coaching

Off-ice training is another area that coaches must not overlook. When I was an athlete, I underwent rigorous strength training, although the methods were not particularly scientific. Nowadays, I place great importance on Pilates and yoga. These forms of training are essential for figure skaters, as they combine building physical strength with improving flexibility.

It is worth noting just how much muscle strength and flexibility figure skaters actually need. For female skaters, it is important to maintain an appropriate amount of muscle while keeping the body toned and supple. In figure skating, having more muscle does not necessarily translate into better performance. Yuna Kim, for example, has a very slender yet powerful physique without being overly muscular. Pilates helps build a strong, well-conditioned body without developing bulky muscles. Yuzuru is also ideally suited to figure skating, with his slender yet strong physique. His body is still developing, and he will naturally become stronger as he grows. He has inherited an excellent physique that is naturally lean and healthy.

Javier also inherited some excellent genes. He has a similar build to his father and was naturally born with a low body-fat percentage, along with lean, supple muscles. This is an ideal physique for a figure skater. Moreover, he can eat whatever he likes without gaining weight. Javier really is a lucky guy!

5.7 How to deal with the media

If there is one thing that did not exist in my day, it is social media. I advise my students to avoid using social media as much as possible. While it may serve as an ideal platform for those wishing to express their personal opinions, much of the content shared there tends to be negative. If coaches or athletes come across such comments, they might perceive them as one-sided criticism directed at them. For this reason, I encourage them to stay away from social media. If they happen to encounter such comments, I simply tell them to disregard them.

I have already recounted in Chapter 1 how the media reported on my silver-medal finish at the Calgary Olympics. From that day onward, I became determined to protect my athletes from the media, while also making an effort to build relationships with journalists who could truly understand our thoughts and views and convey them accurately. In fact, there are journalists who are trustworthy, respectful, and capable of handling media coverage in a calm and objective manner.

The media are indispensable. For athletes, news coverage on television, in newspapers, and in magazines can serve as a source of motivation, encouraging them to work harder and strive for improvement. Therefore, there is no need to avoid the media entirely. However, building relationships based on trust is crucial. Ideally, these relationships should be rooted in mutual respect.

5.8 Mental Management

When I was still competing, I received guidance from a mental coach, and I benefited tremendously from the experience. Thanks to what I learned back then, even now that I am a coach, I can confidently send my skaters out to compete. I believe that as long as Tracy and I are here, we are fully capable of looking after the skaters' mental well-being.

However, for skaters who frequently struggle to perform to their full potential in competitions, having a mental coach may become essential. In such cases, not just anyone is suited to the role. The person must be a perfect fit for the team's dynamics and be able to establish a strong rapport with the skaters. It is a very delicate matter.

To this end, I even developed an iPhone app called Peak Performance Skating. I wanted skaters to be able to use it to maintain their composure and a positive mindset. Developed in collaboration with a psychologist, the app is designed to facilitate "mental imagery" training. The app uses voice narration to guide skaters through a visualisation of their performances, including their skating movements, jumps, spins, choreography, the audience's reactions, the judges' evaluations, and even the pose they strike at the end of their programme. This helps skaters visualise themselves performing in an actual competition.

I have already made the app available to all the skaters on Team Brian. Although it was originally developed for my own students, it is now available for skaters all over the world to use. Skaters at every level, not just elite competitors, experience nervousness before competitions. So, it would be wonderful if this app could be of help to as many skaters as possible.

In reality, mental management is a fairly straightforward concept. It is essentially about how you prepare yourself to remain calm and composed when it comes time to compete. Think of giving a presentation at work: you might go over your notes countless times, make sure your suit is properly ironed and comfortable to wear, double-check the timing, and make all the necessary preparations. Figure skating is no different. When athletes prepare thoroughly beforehand, they can enjoy the competition and perform to the best of their abilities. This is the foundation of mental management. Beyond that, it is our responsibility as coaches to observe the athletes during their daily training. As long as they consistently appear relaxed and natural, there is nothing to worry about.

5.9 A Community That Brings Fulfilment to Coaches

As the head coach of Team Brian, there is one aspect of my work that I feel I have done particularly well: creating a sense of community at our rink. I have brought together people whom I trust, people with whom I learn and work alongside. Together, we form a close-knit team, sharing a common purpose and a sense of being in this together. I believe this is the secret behind my success.

I brought together a team of trusted professionals to build Team Brian. Tracy and I make it a priority to ensure that everyone on the team feels happy and fulfilled in their work. When people feel that their contributions are not appreciated or that they are unable to do the things they truly enjoy, dissatisfaction and even jealousy can arise. Whenever I sense that something is amiss, I address it immediately by speaking directly with the person concerned. Communication is key. Although misunderstandings and conflicts between skaters and coaches may occasionally arise, we work through them through open and honest communication.

When a talented skater first joins the team, they train with several different coaches before we select the one best suited to work with them. Naturally, the coaches who are not chosen may feel a little jealous. After all, everyone wants the opportunity to coach a top-level skater and accompany them to international competitions. However, when another skater joins the team, we can give a different coach the opportunity to take the lead. Even if it is only a short-term coaching arrangement, that is perfectly fine. What matters is maintaining open communication and making sure that no one is left feeling dissatisfied.

Much like running a business, it is essential to maintain regular communication and foster a team environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking openly and discussing things freely.

At the heart of this team, a community bound by a shared sense of purpose, is the belief that every coach is part of the success of Yuna, Yuzuru, Nam, and Javier. Whenever Yuzuru or Javier successfully lands a quadruple jump during practice, all the coaches applaud and cheer them on. Yuzuru and Javier, in turn, exchange high-fives with the coaches. These interactions help boost the skaters' motivation, making every coach feel that they have contributed, in their own way, to the skaters' achievements. I believe the coaches also feel that they are part of the Cricket Club's success. They genuinely enjoy training and working alongside great skaters as members of the same team, sharing in their collective achievements. Otherwise, I don't think it would have been possible for not a single coach to leave the Cricket Club in eight years!

The Cricket Club is the ideal place for coaches to coach. And it is precisely for this reason that it has also become the ideal place for skaters to train.

Final Chapter: After the Sochi Olympics, Towards the Future

6.1 A Double Podium at the 2014 World Championships

After the Sochi Winter Olympics, one task remained for Team Brian: the World Championships in Japan. Following an Olympic Games, athletes often find it difficult to summon the motivation to compete at the World Championships, a challenge that coaches also find difficult to deal with.

In fact, among the gold medalists across the four figure skating disciplines at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Yuzuru was the only one who decided to compete at the World Championships. It takes considerable courage for an Olympic champion to compete at the World Championships so soon after the Games, and I was truly proud of him for taking on that challenge. Javier, meanwhile, was motivated by the desire to demonstrate his abilities at the World Championships with a performance even better than the one he had delivered in Sochi. I was deeply impressed by the determination shown by both my students. Even I was so exhausted that, when I woke up in the morning, I could hardly bring myself to go to the Cricket Club.

Yuzuru, in particular, was keenly aware of his responsibility to compete, especially since the World Championships were being held in Japan. He was someone who cared more about the people around him than about himself. He felt a deep sense of responsibility not only towards the fans who wanted to see him in person as an Olympic champion, but also towards securing Japan's quota spots for the following season. There was no need for me to motivate either of them as their coach. Both came happily to the Cricket Club every day, eager to practise their programs.

World Junior Champion Nam Nguyen had also decided to compete at these World Championships. Having three of my students competing was truly exciting. What I looked forward to most, however, was seeing the Japanese skating fans. I wanted to see for myself how they would welcome Yuzuru after the Olympics and just how much of a superstar he had become.

The atmosphere at the Saitama Super Arena during the World Championships was fantastic. It reminded me of my own days as a competitive skater. Back then, Canadian figure skating fans were much the same. They cheered not only for their own skaters, but also for those from Japan, the United States and Russia. Japanese fans truly understand figure skating. They recognize technically demanding elements and applaud at just the right moments. They don't simply look forward to the entertaining parts or applaud only when a skater performs a jump. Rather, they appreciate and enjoy every aspect of figure skating.

During the short program, Yuzuru made an uncharacteristic mistake and finished in third place heading into the free skate, while Javier stood in second place. My challenge, therefore, came sooner than expected. In the free skate, Javier was scheduled to skate immediately after Yuzuru, just as they had in the short program at the Olympics. I had reflected on how I had failed to give Javier enough attention at the Olympics, particularly when I neglected to make sure his skates were properly secured. I was determined not to make the same mistake again. Even though Javier was skating immediately after Yuzuru, I couldn't afford to leave him unattended for even a moment. I carefully rehearsed in my mind the sequence of actions I would need to follow during the competition.

I would be at the rinkside before Yuzuru took to the ice. When he finished his performance and came off the ice, I would hand him his skate guards before making my way over to Javier. I needed to check everything about Javier, from his skates to his expression and costume. After seeing Javier off onto the ice, I would briefly return to the Kiss & Cry area to exchange a few words with Yuzuru, then immediately head back to the rinkside. When Javier's name was called, I would send him onto the ice. I would then return to Yuzuru to give him a hug before immediately making my way back to the rinkside to watch Javier's performance. That was the plan I had carefully worked out. I had already told Yuzuru beforehand, "I'll come to meet you after you've finished skating, but I won't accompany you to the Kiss & Cry area this time."

Yuzuru's free skate was outstanding, far surpassing his performance at the Winter Olympics. Chasing Tatsuki Machida, who had taken the lead after the short program, Yuzuru stepped onto the ice with a fierce determination to win. He delivered a performance that was quintessentially Yuzuru, brimming with fighting spirit.

Yuzuru was the only one in the Kiss & Cry area. Since Machida had already finished his performance, Yuzuru's score would determine whether he could overtake him. When the final score was announced and it became clear that Yuzuru had moved ahead of Machida into first place, my attention was already focused on Javier. After seeing Javier off onto the ice, I returned to Yuzuru and gave him a hug. As expected, Javier's free skate was also far better than his performance at the Winter Olympics. He finished third overall, finally proving to everyone what he was capable of.

I, too, was able to put into practice at the World Championships the lessons I had learned about coaching during the Olympics. Having guided both of my students onto the podium, I felt that I had witnessed firsthand just how much they had worked and how far they had grown.

I usually skip the post-World Championships banquet, but this time I decided to attend. Both Yuzuru and Javier had made it onto the podium, and Nam Nguyen had also achieved a very good result. It was quite a grand celebration, complete with a live tuna-cutting demonstration. The three of us took a photo together, and it was only then that I truly felt the Olympic season had come to an end.

6.2 How the Programs for the New Season Were Decided

The day after the free skate at the World Championships, which was also the day of the exhibition gala, I held a meeting with Yuzuru’s team. As the Olympic champion, Yuzuru was about to be swept up in a whirlwind of ice shows, celebratory events, and media interviews in Japan. Knowing that we wouldn’t be in touch for a while, it was essential to have at least a preliminary discussion about the following season, such as when the programs would be choreographed and who would be responsible for them. When the subject came up, Yuzuru showed absolutely no hesitation about whether to take a break in the year following the Olympic season. He had already decided to go ahead with creating his new programs in April.

The short program would once again be choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle, while the free skate would be entrusted to Shae-Lynn Bourne. Yuzuru shared his thoughts on the short program, expressing a desire to explore a style he had never skated to before and to try something set to piano music. Jeffrey and I brainstormed various ideas, taking Yuzuru’s suggestions into account, and ultimately settled on Chopin’s Ballade No. 1.

As for the free skate, Yuzuru himself said that he wanted to skate to The Phantom of the Opera. Shae-Lynn and I discussed how to combine and edit the music. Starting that season, the rules allowed the use of music containing vocals, so the extent and type of vocal elements became particularly important considerations. We played one piece of music after another on the ice, selecting the ones that resonated with Yuzuru and gradually refining our ideas.

I felt completely comfortable leaving the choreography in the hands of Jeffrey and Shae-Lynn. After the long Olympic season, I decided to take some time off and enjoy an 18-day holiday. I told them, “Contact me if anything urgent comes up. But I really haven't had a proper holiday in a long time, so I hope I can get some good rest during this time." As it turned out, nobody called me during those 18 days. In the meantime, both the short program and the free skate gradually took shape. Everything should be fine, I thought. These two were among the world's very best choreographers and trusted members of Brian's team.

Afterwards, I watched Yuzuru’s short program. Once again, it was a program with the potential to achieve the highest score in the world. It may be hard to believe, but Yuzuru’s performance, both in his jumps and his overall presentation, was even better than the previous season’s. Now in his second season as Olympic champion, Yuzuru was able to deliver this program so perfectly because he possessed a radiance that had emerged after years of refinement. During the opening 12 seconds, he did nothing more than stand still, yet the atmosphere in the rink gradually grew tense. Only a skater capable of radiating such a distinctive presence could truly bring this program to life.

I experienced the same thing when I won the World Championships. In the season following my title win, I carried with me the pride of being a world champion, and even the way I felt skating on the ice was different. It wasn't a matter of technique; rather, something on a psychological level had changed the way I skated. That same phenomenon was now evident in Yuzuru's new short program.

As for the free skate, having a new choreographer brought a fresh feel to the program. The music arrangement might also evolve as the season progressed. While the rules now permitted the use of music featuring vocals, everyone was still in the experimental phase, trying to figure out the optimal balance. Unlike in ice dance, having vocals throughout an entire four-and-a-half-minute program would probably become rather overwhelming and might not complement the jumping elements very well. Instead, vocals could be incorporated into sections where the atmosphere builds, such as during the step sequence, to heighten the mood.

In particular, the music from The Phantom of the Opera includes vocals, which clearly sets Yuzuru's program apart from those of skaters in previous years. Shae-Lynn, Yuzuru, and I each shared our ideas and made adjustments while carefully considering the distribution of points for the jumping elements.

6.3 A Time to Push Beyond the Limits and Try New Styles

Yuzuru has his own unique style. Whether he is gliding across the ice or performing, he moves according to his instincts, expressing himself freely and without restraint. For a skater, this is a very comfortable way to skate, and it also allows him to focus fully on executing his quadruple jumps. I respect and understand Yuzuru's desire to skate in his own style.

During my own competitive career, I also skated to Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York" and Gene Kelly’s "Singin’ in the Rain." I was particularly good at performing fast footwork in time with the music. It was a style I had always enjoyed, and most of my programs were along those lines. However, after winning the silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, people around me began telling me, "If you want to compete in another Olympics, you should try programs of different styles as well." At first, I thought to myself: "I have my signature triple Axel (3A). As long as I land all my jumps successfully, shouldn't that be enough?" But over the three years following 1984, I performed programs with a different style each season. I also challenged myself with slower, more lyrical music and classical pieces, showing the judges that I was capable of handling a wide range of musical styles. Then, at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, I returned to the style I was best at.

Yuzuru is no exception. Over the next three years, he should explore and experience a wide variety of performance styles before returning to the style that suits him best at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. If he continues to perform in the same style, people may get the impression that his repertoire and range as a skater are rather limited. Therefore, if Yuzuru intends to continue competing for another four years, he needs to challenge himself with programs in a variety of styles.

Yuzuru is currently at a crucial stage in his career, a time when he needs to push himself to the limit. As an Olympic champion, he needs to show everyone his impressive and charismatic side. From that perspective, maintaining the same style as last year would be the safest option, and he would be able to land his jumps consistently. If his goal were simply to achieve the best possible results this year and next, that would probably be enough. However, I am thinking about Yuzuru four years from now. That is why the next three years should be a period of exploring new styles, even if it means pushing himself beyond his comfort zone. Perhaps he might make mistakes on his jumps because he is not yet accustomed to the style of a particular program. I understand all too well the fear of not being able to deliver results. However, if his performance style never changes, by the time the PyeongChang Olympic season arrives, people may find themselves thinking, "Oh, it's this same kind of program again." In that situation, the risk would actually be much greater.

Therefore, I hope that Yuzuru will approach both of his programs this year with a fresh style, taking his performance to an even higher level. Four years from now, I look forward to seeing Yuzuru evolve into an even more mature skater.

Yuzuru and Javier, particularly Yuzuru, are now in a position to lead the world of figure skating. Yuzuru has the ability to steer the sport in the direction he envisions, and he also carries the responsibility that comes with such a position. At present, Yuzuru is unrivaled. He stands at the very forefront of men's singles skating.

One thing I find particularly exciting is seeing Yuzuru's jumping technique continue to improve. He is already working on the quadruple loop (4Lo) and quadruple Lutz (4Lz), and I am sure that before long, he will be attempting these jumps in competition as well. For the 2014–2015 season, he plans to include three quadruple jumps in his free skate. In his short program, he also intends to place a quadruple jump in the second half, with the goal of breaking the 100-point mark.

I was there to witness the moment he first landed a quadruple Lutz during the 2014 off-season. Rather than simply receiving an email saying, "He landed the quadruple Lutz," I was able to see it with my own eyes. I was so happy. He was practicing for an ice show in Japan, and he performed the jump under the show's lighting. It was magical, beautiful, and deeply moving. (T/N: The book mentioned 4Lz, but it was probably an editing mistake. In Yuzuru's "Prologue" booklet, he first landed a 4Lo in Japan in 2014 and a 4Lz at the Cricket Club in 2017)

6.4 To Javier

 

I have a student named Javier who can be quite a handful, yet he is truly adorable. Not long ago, I invited him to join me in conducting a figure skating workshop for children. He turned out to be a charming coach, demonstrating remarkable patience and understanding when working with young skaters of all skill levels. It's quite surprising, really. Who would have thought that someone who can be such a handful could be so thoughtful and caring towards others?

 

In Spain, figure skating is still far from being a mainstream sport. However, over the next four years, I believe his active involvement will help raise the profile of figure skating throughout the country. Through strategic marketing and promotion, we hope to gradually create an environment in which professional figure skaters can make a sustainable living from the sport. This is another one of my projects. Beyond that, I believe he has all the qualities to become an excellent coach. I sincerely hope that one day he will have the opportunity to coach at the Cricket Club.

 

6.5 To Yuzuru

 

If Javier is like an endearing son who keeps me on my toes, Yuzuru is like a twin brother—a mirror image of who I was when I was younger. Whenever I see you, I find myself thinking, "I know exactly how you feel" and "Ah, to be young again!"

However, looking back now from the perspective of a coach, I’ve come to understand many things that I never noticed during my own competitive career. As a top-level athlete who competed on the world stage, I once believed I had mastered the art of managing pressure and pacing my energy during competitions. But I was wrong.

When I was young, I felt compelled to deliver my very best performance every single time I stepped onto the ice, even during training. I believed that making the fans happy was part of my responsibility as a champion. In many ways, I was very much like Yuzuru is now.

You always give everything you have, wanting to deliver your very best performance every single day, 365 days a year. But there is really no need to push yourself that far. If you try to maintain peak condition all the time, you may end up reaching your peak during practice and exhausting yourself before the actual competition. In fact, sometimes it is better to make a few more mistakes in the lead-up to a competition. That way, you can reach your true peak when it matters most. Of course, I can see that you are beginning to understand this as well, and I believe you are learning how to manage the natural ups and downs of your performance so that you can peak at just the right moment.

You care deeply about the people around you, and I think you believe that if you can always show them your very best, everyone around you will be happy. That is one of the things I admire about your kindness. However, having to remain in the spotlight for the next four years is already a tremendous amount of pressure. You don't have to give everything your all, all the time. It's okay to relax. It's okay to let people see you make mistakes, too. The Japanese skating fans will wait for you. They will understand and empathise with how you feel, even when you are going through difficult times. And no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, Team Brian will always be there for you.

At the next Winter Olympics, I look forward to seeing you deliver a performance at the very peak of your abilities, then pump your fist in triumph and exclaim, "Yes! I did it! I won!" I eagerly await that moment. To me, that would be the perfect ending for Yuzuru.

6.6 My Mission

I feel happy working with children who strive and give their all, and I feel blessed to spend my days with figure skaters. My greatest goal is not to win competitions, but to enrich their life experiences.

Since I have only been coaching for eight years, not many of my students have retired from skating yet. However, in a few years, many of the students currently at the Cricket Club will enter the workforce or go on to university. I hope that when that day comes, they will feel, "I gained something from Team Brian." Beyond simply teaching them how to become better skaters, I hope to equip them with valuable tools that will help them navigate life as individuals in the years ahead. That is my most important mission.

A prime example is Christina Gao. Upon being accepted into Harvard University, she moved to Boston. On the day she left the Cricket Club, she expressed her gratitude to us, reflecting on how her time with Team Brian had helped her grow as an individual.

Training in figure skating requires enduring rigorous training, making many sacrifices, and sometimes facing disappointment. Yet, I hope my students can learn from all these experiences and discover ways to make their own lives shine. This is a philosophy I learned from one of my earliest Japanese friends, Yutaka Higuchi (T/N: a former figure skater who trained at the Cricket Club from 1968 to 1971, won three consecutive All-Japan men's singles titles from 1969 to 1971, and is now a coach, choreographer, and figure skating commentator). Yutaka helped guide and edit this book. In fact, we have shared a close bond ever since I met him at the age of 18.

As an outstanding coach and commentator, Yutaka has always been deeply passionate about figure skating and has dedicated himself to contributing to the sport. He has wonderful relationships with his students and remains genuinely invested in their lives long after they retire and embark on new paths. He continues to support them and takes great pride in their achievements. Whenever he speaks of these former students, his face lights up with pride. To him, it truly matters where they are now, what kind of work they do, and what kind of families they have built. I hope I can become that kind of coach, too. I've learned this not only from Yutaka, but also from my own coach, Doug Leigh. He shares the same philosophy as Yutaka.

I believe this is truly important. As figure skaters, students may spend four, eight, or perhaps even ten years in the sport—a period longer than the time they spend at any single school. Sometimes, they spend even more time with their coaches than with their own families. We become their family, and the guidance I provide them here will become part of their lives in the years to come. This is something I always keep firmly in mind.