Shinnosuke Oka (20) left his hometown of Okayama in the spring of his first year of high school at the age of 15 and joined the Tokushukai Gymnastics Club, a strong gymnast for working adults, where he has been honing his skills ever since. His encounter with coach Isao Yoneda (46), who won the gold medal in the team all-around at the 2004 Athens Olympics, greatly improved his immature mentality, leading to his triple crown in the team all-around, individual all-around, and horizontal bar at the Paris Olympics.
“For example, you worry about what to do if you get rejected during your first love, or you feel embarrassed. So you end up not being able to say you like someone. If you have had that experience, you realize that you won’t know unless you tell them, so you have to think of ways to become closer, and try what you can.”
Coach Yoneda’s way of teaching his athletes how to approach gymnastics and how to think about things is a bit unique. He encourages the athletes to understand by comparing it to similar feelings in everyday life. Coach Yoneda has approached his athletes with an attitude that places more importance on strengthening their mentality, such as “how to fight,” rather than technical instruction.
When Oka first joined Tokushukai, his practice cycle was not going well. He reflected, “Even if I made mistakes, I just left them alone. Usually, I think people look for the reason why I made a mistake, but I didn’t feel that way.” Coach Yoneda patiently encouraged Oka, who kept practicing aimlessly, saying, “Rather than whether he would make a mistake or not, I carefully explained how to make a mistake and what to do after making a mistake. I told him many times that if he gave up when he failed, the formula “failure is the mother of success” would no longer be valid.”
Oka, who used to get disheartened if he made even one mistake during a match, has also improved mentally, with Coach Yoneda saying, “I’ve become able to immediately think about what the next best thing to do is.” Oka also said, “Coming to Tokushukai has allowed me to grow a lot in terms of my mentality and way of thinking. I’ve become able to properly give myself feedback on practice and matches, and I’ve become stronger mentally by practicing effectively. That’s what I’m using now.”
The club’s fulfilling environment also supported his growth. Not only the presence of coaches, trainers, and nutritionists, but also the support provided by the medical corporation’s team in cooperation with the hospital was a big plus for Oka, who had many injuries. Before the Olympics, they even ordered French equipment to be used in the actual event, helping to dispel his anxieties.
Oka performed almost flawlessly in Paris and won medals one after another. He showed that the unusual path of joining a powerful professional club at the age of 15 was the right path for him.[Paris]