Shoichi Yanagimoto
 Although
there are a large number of Volleyball
coaches in the world, there are not many like
Shoichi Yanagimoto, the present head coach of the
Japanese women’s squad, who has been involved in
various aspects of Volleyball.
Yanagimoto, born in Osaka in 1951, was a promising
setter even in high school and won two national
high school titles. Following a decision by
Yanagimoto to pursue a career as a Volleyball
player with the New Nippon Steel team, one of the
major companies in Japan, he
was selected for Japan’s national squad and
achieved remarkable success – 1st at the Asian
Games in Iran in 1974, 3rd at the World
Championship in Mexico in 1974 and 4th in the
Olympics in Montreal in 1976. Furthermore, for
four seasons from 1980 to 1984 Yanagimoto played
two roles at New Nippon Steel as the head coach
and as a key setter and led his squad to a
glorious victory in the Japan League, the then
premier League in Japan, and Yanagimoto himself
was awarded the prize of Best Coach in 1982.
In 1985, Yanagimoto was invited to Thailand to
coach the Thai men’s national squad. Compensating
for a lack of time and difficulty in communicating
with his players with his passionate coaching,
Yanagimoto made them the champions at the SEA
Games. He sometimes recalls the time in Thailand
and is convinced that his experience in Thailand
has broadened his horizons and mind.
The following year, 1986, Yanagimoto was asked to
be involved in the founding of a new team, Nisshin
Steel, and to coach them and he resumed his career
in Japan. Needless to say, Nisshin Steel soon got
promoted to the first
division, the V. League, and as a result
Yanagimoto was highly thought of as a coach.
1997 was the turning point in his Volleyball
career. Yanagimoto took over as coach of
the women’s company team of the V. League, TOYOBO
Orchis, and won the V-League twice in five
seasons. However, in 2002, due
to the long-lasting economic depression
their company owner decided to close its Volleyball
team (like Hitachi,
Odakyu and UNITIKA),
despite being one of the top teams.
In spring in 2003, Yanagimoto was appointed as the
head coach of the Japanese senior women’s national
squad by the JVA and launched the first selection
camp in March with over 30 candidates for his
squad, which included some experienced players
e.g. Tomoko Yoshihara and Asako Tajimi and fresh
promising players like
Megumi Kurihara and Kana Oyama. Yanagimoto’s final
goal is to be
ranked No.1 in the world in the
near future. In order to achieve this goal,
Yanagimoto has determined to build up his squad by
initiating short - and long - term plans.
A passionate and devoted coach, Yanagimoto, has
been full of ambition to compete in the Olympics
in Athens, especially after an encouraging fifth
place finish at the 2003 World Cup. At this time
of year, an encouraging performance at the World
Grand Prix will be the perfect recipe for Yanagimoto
ahead of Athens. |
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Percentage
of Wins
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Japan |
Total
Matches |
Matches
Won |
Matches
Lost |
Wins
% |
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Japan
28 July-01 Aug.