Official Website of Sho Nakamori

Pac-10 Conference Awards

shonakamori — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:39:10 +0000

Just got back from LA after a quick trip to receive an award from the Pac-10. The name of the award I received was called the Tom Hansen Conference Award, which is presented annually to two athletes (male/female) from each of the Pac-10 institute “based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.” (pac-10). While the trip was fun and exciting, the combo of having to leave early to get there and being stuck at the airport due to rain delay on the way back, made it a pretty hectic trip.

@ SFO getting ready to leave for LAX

I thought that it was awesome that they held the presentation in conjunction with the Pac-1o basketball championships. The Pac-10 even comp’d our tickets to the games, but what was more exciting was that they had all of the medal winners walk out to the center of the court of the Staples Center and introduced us one by one. The next day, they held an awards luncheon that included a slick video presentation for all of us.

Staples Center at night

@ the Oregon State/Washington game before they led us out to the center of court

The Pac-10 also put us up at the brand-spanking new J.W. Marriot, which was literally right across the street from the Staples Center. What was great about the hotel was that it included a full-blown workout gym so I didn’t even have to miss my rehab while I was away for the trip.

However, the best part of the whole experience was not the hotel I stayed at or being invited to go see the basketball games. Instead, it was getting the opportunity to meet all the amazing student/athletes, and being able to hear about their life-stories and the paths they took to get to where they are now. After all, a bunch of these athletes have accomplished so much already. For example, the medal winners included an Olympic gold medalist, a Walter Byers scholarship recipient, and several NFL and NBA players. Being able to be around those guys helped me remember that regardless of what sport you play/compete in, in order to become great, there is never an easy way to the top. Overall, it was a great trip, and it got me fired up. I’m ready to get back to the daily grind and continue to work hard!

Me and the Conference Award Winners (man, I'm short!)

Quick pic w/ Oski the Bear before he ran into the bathroom. Looked for the Stanford tree but couldn't find him. Got nothing but love for Cal though. After all, I grew up in the area.

Facebook Fan Page

shonakamori — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:41:42 +0000

Big thanks to Courtney and Donna for setting up the Facebook Fan Page. Check it out at:

Sho’s Fan Page

Follow me, follow my dream!

Good Catchin’ Up!

shonakamori — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:24:27 +0000

Yesterday was a somewhat exciting day for me. For those of you that did not know, I’ve been helping the Japanese community at Stanford as an English tutor for the last 5 years. The reason why yesterday was exciting was because the first “student” (it’s hard for me to call them students because they’re usually older than me) that I’ve ever worked with came back to Stanford to visit, and we had an opportunity to catch up. It seems as though not much has changed over the last 5 years but it was fun to chat for a bit. My “first student” is working as a professor at a famous university (Tsukuba) in Japan. As for me, I’m still doing the same thing, which is training. The only big thing that’s changed since five years ago, is I’m no longer a student!

Looking back, I’ve worked with so many different people, and overall, it’s been an awesome experience. Most of the people that come to Stanford to study are super established people in Japan. I’ve worked with many professors, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, among a bunch of other people with respectable professions. The only sad part is that they’re usually only here for a short period of time. Most of them go back to Japan after a year or so to return to their work. Hopefully they’re all doing well and have been able to catch up on my life through this website!

Training/Rehab Update

shonakamori — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:34:45 +0000

Some quick updates about my training and recovery process. I had a feeling that by all the talks about coaching and judging, people were starting to think that I wasn’t working out.

Definitely not true. In fact, I’ve been continuing with my physical therapy 3x/week and have been training regularly. With being in physical therapy for 2 hours a day, and then going to practice all in the same day, my body is taking a beating. Still, I’m thankful that I’m in such a great environment, and I’m looking forward to coming back strong in time summer.

In terms of clearance to do everything, I haven’t gotten the green light just yet. I’ll be seeing the doc again in about 3-4 weeks. I believe at that point, the doctor will size me up for a brace and will clear me to do everything under the condition that i will wear the brace when doing anything risky.

Just heard that Ivana Hong (member of the US women’s team and World Medalist in 2009) just recently tore her ACL. I totally feel for her and wish for a speedy recovery. If only gymnastics didn’t involve injuries…but what is sports without injuries and coming back stronger, right? It’s definitely all part of the process.

Visitation/Clinic @ Oroville

shonakamori — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:34:43 +0000

Wanted to thank the parents, the staff, and Coach Steve at Oroville Gymnastics for hosting me to do a training clinic for the boys yesterday! After a 3.5 hour drive north from where I usually train, I finally made it up to the facility.

My trek up north

And while I’m on this topic, I wanted to recognize the parents really quickly for all that they do to support their kids. During the drive up (and down back), I kept thinking to myself about how much work it must be to drive long distances to central locations for competitions during the season. After all, there’s a competition almost every weekend for 3 months straight, and for those who live far north or south, there aren’t that many “local” meets. Made me really think that there’s a very strong support system behind every gymnast! And, this isn’t only about the gymnasts at this particular gym, but every gymnast that’s out. That said, kids: remember to thank your parents!

Me and the Oroville Team

Anyway, with State Championships coming up in a few weeks, Coach Steve asked me to do a clinic for the boys so that they could get some feedback for their routines. All of them worked really hard and I could tell that they were excited about having a new face in the gym. Funny, because I was the same exact way when I was younger! I’ll be seeing the boys again soon though when I come back up to Oroville to judge the State Championships. Good luck to the guys at the gym and the rest of the boys in NorCal who are training for States!

The Man, The Legend

shonakamori — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:30:18 +0000

If I were to ask you, who you think the greatest male gymnast of all time is, I wonder who that’ll be. I personally would say it’s Vitaly Scherbo. I mean, the man won 6 out of 8 gold medals at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He holds the record for having the most golds in one Olympics (more than any other gymnast in the history of the sport). Having said that, it’s no mystery why I’ve looked up to him throughout all of my gymnastics career.

Me and Vitaly after the meet

Anyway, he brought his gymnasts (he currently owns a gym in Las Vegas) to a local meet that I judged at this weekend. I see him every now and then at competitions and training camps but it was great seeing his kids compete. Like him, a lot of them have great basics. In fact, one of his kids scored a perfect score on pommel horse today. Amazing!

For those of you that don’t know the great Scherbo, here’s a video I pulled up from YouTube:

The Games in Full Swing

shonakamori — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:38:58 +0000

It’s already been about 2 months since the collegiate season started and we’re moving into the second half of the season. In fact, this weekend is the final home meet (a.k.a. Senior Night) for the Stanford Men’s Team.

Can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I last competed for the Stanford team. Things have been great though, especially because I’ve been able to stay involved with the team as a volunteer assistant coach.

Anyway, the winter Olympics is also in full swing. I’ve been particularly interested in the life stories of the athletes and the different paths they took to get to the Olympics. Most of them had to overcome multiple obstacles in order to get to where they are and it’s been really inspiring. I’m realizing more and more that there’s almost never ever an easy way to get to the Olympics, and that the journey is almost as, or more important than the final result. Watching and reading up on these life stories is making me really fired up for the London Games in 2012.

First thing’s first, though. I have to get completely healthy again. Although I’m not 100% released to do full gymnastics yet, I’m inching my way there. The final challenge is getting my left leg as close to the right leg in both size and strength. I’ve been ramping up my workload in physical therapy and I’ve been enjoying the ride. As my coach at Stanford used to say (and still does), “Strength Comes in the Struggle!”

Safe Travels!

shonakamori — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:18:25 +0000

The Pacific Coast Classic just finished yesterday, and as expectd, it was an excited meet. At the end of the day, the U-21 Japanese team finished 1st ahead of Stanford, similar to last year’s results. The thing I’m most impressed about the Japanese gymnasts is that they really know how to turn up the intensity when it’s go-time. Sometimes if you watch their practices, it might look like they’re not fully prepared, but come time for the competition, they look a different athlete. Anyway, despite some falls on the parallel bars, the Japanese team took the title over the Stanford team.

Me and the U-21 Team

After the meet, we had a chance to take them back to Stanford campus and hang out for a while. For most of the night, I played the interpreter so that both teams could communicate. It was a great time and I hope the Japanese guys made a lot of great memories during their time here. Anyway, they leave to go back to Japan tomorrow and wish them safe travels.

Another great part about the weekend was the Champions Invite finished successfully. It was a successful competition and it was great to see a lot of teams come out to the competition. Definitely can expect the meet to grow over the next couple of years.

PCC/Champions Invite Weekend

shonakamori — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:26:21 +0000

It’s an exciting and busy weekend all together! For one, the Japanese team is here and they’ll be competing against Stanford and other collegiate teams at the Pacific Coast Classic. Unfortunately some of the college powerhouses that are usually here aren’t competing this year (budget reasons?). The meet should be fun nonetheless. We’re also really excited about being able to hang out with the Japanese team after the meet ends! We had the chance to do so last year and had a blast.

Another big event that’s occurring this weekend is the annual Champions Invitational. The gym that I’m currently training at is hosting a large competition for junior level boys. There’s a bunch of California teams in attendance as well as a couple out of state ones. Since the gym has recently moved to a new location and a better facility, it should be a great meet!

Team Japan Goes Off To Oak-Town.

shonakamori — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:19:35 +0000

After training with us for three days, the Japanese team left to go to the competition arena in Oakland today. I believe they trained at the arena today and will be at training at nearby Cal Berkeley tomorrow before competing on Saturday.

While it was only for a short while, having the opportunity to train with them was great. Even though they’re only the U-21 team, I was impressed with some of the stuff they unveiled and it really showed the depth of the Japanese team as a whole. Some of those guys will definitely climb up the rankings during the next couple of years.

Since yesterday was a lighter training day, I took them out for a quick tour of the Stanford campus before they headed out to the outlets in Gilroy (about an hour south of Stanford). For those of you that don’t know, there’s a custom of buying gifts in Japan, hence their itinerary involves a lot of shopping so that they could buy things for their friends and families back in the homeland.

As an “ambassador” to the Japanese team, It’s been another busy week. I’m glad that I’ve been able to help out though. After all they did a lot for me while I was in Japan. Anyway, I’m hoping that they’re accustomed to the US by now so that they could compete full force this weekend!