Junior men's skater Taira Shinohara is multilingual. Although born in the U.S., he considers Japanese his native tongue, plus he's picked up the language of computer coding.
"I actually made a website that can calculate the scores of programs just by entering the element and the GOE, so that was a very fun project," Shinohara said. "I am still working on it to add more features, but I spend a lot of time coding and making websites. I might want to be an app developer or a data analyst."
The tech savvy teenager has also turned to the internet for crowd funding by setting up a GoFundMe page to help with the high cost of elite, competitive skating. His dad works in manufacturing for a Japanese company and his mom holds a part-time job. With two children who are skaters, it is a challenge. Taira's younger sister Tamaki is a singles skater and is on a synchronized skating team. The family was humbled by the outpouring of support from friends and family to help with his professional choreographer and custom-made costumes.
Shinohara is forever grateful for his parents. "Not just the financial side, but especially taking me every day to practice and then making good food after recovery," he said. "They're really good emotional support, because when I really need help, I can talk to them and they can help me get through the problem."
While many athletes faced setbacks or plateaus during the closure of ice rinks during COVID-19, Shinohara advanced leaps and bounds. Prior to the pandemic, he had decided to skip the intermediate level and go from juvenile to novice in competition because he already had all of his triples under his belt. He had to adjust to a program that was one minute longer in duration, plus a routine that consisted of two more jumps, more spins, and a step sequence.
Then, without wasting any time, Shinohara moved up to the junior level.
"I really want to thank U.S. Figure Skating for hosting all the competitions during the crazy COVID times. The International Selection Pool (ISP) Points Challenge helped me transfer to novice and junior smoothly."
It was also during lockdown that Shinohara got to pick the brain of one of his skating idols, Jason Brown, over Zoom. Although still a competitive skater himself and vying for a spot on the 2022 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team, Brown is already sharing his wisdom with the next generation of skaters.
"I really admire him for being a skater who always works towards his goal. He is not a skater who got quads right away, but he stuck to skating. All his other skills, his performance and his triples got more consistent, so I was able to learn that even though skating can be frustrating and you may feel like quitting, I have to continue in order to achieve anything."
Additionally, Shinohara credits his sports psychologist for helping him get through bad days.
"I have gotten better at managing my emotions the last couple of years. I was able to accept that it might just be a bad day and tomorrow might be better. That way of thinking is starting to work," he said. "She really helped me on how to approach those frustrating moments and that helped make my training more productive. One of her things was that instead of getting mad and emotional, she recommended I be more intellectual. Instead of, 'Why can't I do this?' it becomes, 'How can I do this?'"
Shinohara put that winning mindset to work during the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series presented by Toyota. He placed first with a score of 175.84 in Blaine, Minnesota, in October, and second with a score of 186.34 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in November.
"In Blaine, I was able to get a season best in the free skate and then in Fort Wayne, I was able to get a personal best in the short program," he said. "I am used to getting 150s, but I was hitting 170s and 180s. At Blaine, I was able to add my first triple-triple, so that was a really big accomplishment."
Shinohara finds toe jumps easier than edge jumps, but would like to work on a combination with the triple loop as the second jump. He is also on the verge of landing the triple Axel. If he masters it by the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, he may add it to his routine in Nashville, but this being his first U.S. Championships, he's really going for the experience versus landing on the podium.
"I want to work on the consistency of my triple jumps and show what I can do. If I can do that, I think I'll be pretty accomplished and be happy," he said. "I also want to build up my endurance and stamina. That's always something I can improve on. Maybe also facial expressions and speed because that is another thing I can develop over time."
Although skating takes up the majority of his time, Shinohara has diverse interests. In addition to coding, he plays the Japanese drums, practices his balance on a unicycle, and plays Kendama, a traditional Japanese toy.
Taira Shinohara will take the ice at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan. 3-9. Tickets are available at
2022uschampionships.com and fans can watch the action live on NBC, USA Network and Peacock Premium.
