The Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) has confirmed that coach Kumi Nakada is set to step down at the end of the month.
Kumi Nakada set to step down
Impressive VNL 2021 finish highlights Nakada's success as national team coach
Published 12:42, 27 Aug 2021
Coach Nakada initially expressed her intention to step down after the completion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games preliminary round. On Friday, she reaffirmed her decision which will take effect on August 31.
Nakada, who has overseen the women’s national team programme since April 2017, steered Japan to an impressive fourth place finish at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy.
Japan finished in 10th place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, after their four-set loss to the Dominican Republic.
“By the end of August, I will retire from the Japan national team as coach. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was postponed for a year due to the pandemic, has given us a chance to fight amidst all the difficult situations. So I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved,” Nakada said.
“I am very sorry for the unfavourable results. As Japan national team coach, I have no regrets in the last five years, as I have continued to take on various challenges and fought for the team’s development in world volleyball. The time that I have spent with the players and staff who have been with me in battles are all very valuable to me, and I will never forget them.
“I hope that international volleyball will develop further, and as one of the Japanese people, I sincerely hope that the pandemic will end and that our world will be peaceful.”
As one of the most prominent volleyball personalities in her country, Nakada led Japan as a setter to a bronze medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Games while still in high school.
She remained one of the world’s top setters until she retired in 1993, then became Hisamitsu Springs head coach before her appointment as coach of the national team.
JVA president Kenji Shimaoka thanked Nakada for her service as head coach and her impact in building a strong and young team.
“We have been working with coach Nakada since 2017 towards our goal for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I was strongly impressed by the fact that each year she set her goals and we constantly strived towards building a good team for the quadrennial.
“We faced difficult situations including the replacement of athletes due to the postponement of the Olympics and the successive cancellation of international competitions. However, she was instrumental in the rise of promising players who will lead us for the next generation.
“The process of strengthening the team is one of the things that we hope to achieve for the next cycle in Paris. This is an important mission for us to make the best use of this result. Therefore, we would like to express our gratitude to coach Nakada for her contributions.”
The Japan Volleyball Association also informed the media that they would announce Nakada’s successor soon.
