is a former professional Japanese

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and current coach. He competed with Team Japan as a defenceman in the men's ice hockey tournament at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

. He also was the head coach of the women's ice hockey tournament Team Japan at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

. Having coached professionally in the Asia League and at the national level, he is currently the assistant coach for the Junior A Nepean Raiders in the CCHL.

Playing career

Yamanaka made his professional debut with the Oji Seishi in the 1989-1990 season. The following year, he made his international debut with the Japanese Under-20 men's national ice hockey team at the World Junior Championships. Over 11 seasons with Oji, he played in 393 games, scoring 43 times and totalling 119 points. After the conclusion of the 2001-2002 season, Yamanaka retired from playing professional hockey.

Coaching career

Yamanaka made his coaching debut with the Oji Eagles in the 2007-2008 season and later that year would coach Team Japan to a bronze medal at the World Championships. After leaving the Eagles organization at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 season, Yamanaka took up the position of coaching

Smile Japan The represents Japan at the International Ice Hockey Federation's Women's World Championships, the Winter Olympics, and at other international ice hockey tournaments. The women's national team is governed by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation. Japa ...

. He initially served as their assistant coach before becoming their head coach in 2016. Yamanaka was the head coach of the Japanese Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, where the team finished 6th. In the 2018-2019 season, he was the head coach of the U18 Team Japan. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 season, Yamanaka began coaching as the assistant coach of the

Kanata Lasers The Kanata Lasers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Ottawa, Ontario, in Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The Lasers played their home games at The Tom Flood Arena located inside the Kanata Rec Complex in Kanata, ...

in preparation for becoming the head coach of Japan's men's national ice hockey team. He volunteered as the assistant coach of Kanata Blazers in the OBMHL for the 2019-2020 season. In July 2020, Yamanaka was hired by the Nepean Raiders to serve as their assistant coach for the 2020-2021 hockey season.

Reputation

Yamanaka has a highly regarded reputation as a professional hockey coach. His style of coaching captivates the players' attention no matter the style of a practice drill or the situation in the game. Yamanaka's revered calmness and professionalism is believed to have led him to his coaching successes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamanaka, Takeshi 1971 births Living people Japanese ice hockey players Olympic ice hockey players for Japan Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey people from Hokkaido Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1999 Asian Winter Games Ice hockey players at the 1999 Asian Winter Games Asian Games medalists in ice hockey