Like many other CPASS alumni, Takahiro Mori has found success. Last year, Mori returned to his home country of Japan to work as an assistant coach/skill coach for a professional basketball team, Alvark Tokyo. Mori, athletic coaching education master’s graduate (May, 2015) worked for the WVU men’s basketball team as a student manager.
He feels that his experiences at WVU, both inside and outside of the ACE master’s program, prepared him to succeed as a professional basketball coach Entering his second year with the team,he improves players’ skills for the offense and defense systems. During the off-season, Mori trains each player through individual workout sessions. As an assistant coach during the season, Mori scouts for future players, provides feedback and holds skill sessions during practices.
Mori said that ACE classes, such as coaching technique, strength and conditioning, and biomechanics have helped him improve as a coach. “It's so tough to learn that knowledge after you become a professional coach because of time limitation and source limitation,” said Mori. “Another factor was the class schedule in the master's program,” he added. As student manager for the men’s basketball team, the nightly class schedule allowed him to attend almost all practices. “It allowed me to learn from Coach Huggins and all the great assistant coaches as much as possible,” said Mori.
During Mori’s first semester, Mori struggled with the English language. Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach served as mentor.
“I struggled to communicate with my classmates and teachers, but Dr. Dieffenbach understands cultural differences and how hard language barrier is,” said Mori. “Every time I asked some questions she took time and answered those questions.”
Mori felt that Dieffenbach’s class on coaching technique and coaching education showed aspects of coaching he’d never looked at before. He describes coaching as an “art.”“One of the best ways to get better as a coach is to work with a great mentor and learn from the best,” he added.
Mori advises students to seek out hands-on learning. “ Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in a new opportunity.” For Mori, the opportunity was working for the WVU men’s basketball team. “If you commit to make it happen, it's going to happen,” he added.