Trial and Error (Japanese: 試行錯誤 Shikousakugo) is the thirty-ninth chapter of the Medalist manga.
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Story[]
The coaches' gathering unfolds, but they are all engages in casual converstion instead of discussing skating like Tsukasa hoped. Tohta Hotaino from Fukuoka Park FSC, a club Tsukasa had visited for a few months, joins them. This piques the other coaches' curiosity, prompting Tsukasa to recount how, eight months ago, he was searching for an expert in sports medicine.
Tsukasa had discussed with Hitomi the idea of adding a medical trainer to their club to support students during their growth spurts. However, being particularly protective of Inori, he created an extensive list of minimum qualifications, determined to find the most qualified expert in Japan. As time passed without success, Tsukasa turned to Fukuoka Park, where he found the ideal medical trainer. He pleaded persistently until they agreed to let her train at Lux Higashiyama as well, under the condition that Tsukasa would provide them with regular lessons.
Seiji Gori remarks that while body changes were once the primary reason skaters lost their jumps, injuries have now become more prevalent. He describes the loss of jumps due to growth as both a truth and a curse: Skaters, fearing the loss of everything they have worked for since childhood, often resort to strict dieting and meticulous self-monitoring to maintain their ability to land jumps. This causes energy deficiency, leading to stress fractures, disrupted hormone function, and weak bone mass development, with extreme cases resulting in eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
With these concerns, Seiji expresses a desire to set a new precedent where skaters can maintain their jumps without severe injuries. Tsukasa is deeply moved by this sentiment and breaks down in tears, while Yudai expresses frustration with the casual normalization of these issues. The coaches, all deeply caring for their students, become overwhelmed by the horrifying thought of them sustaining injuries.
Eventually, Tsukasa shifts the topic to Inori's trouble with her Lutzes. However, he immediately goes into extreme detail himself: He identifies the issue as how Inori pulls her leg out during the jump. She is very conscious of edge control and tilts her foot outward too much, which hinders her pull-out. While he could allow her to flatten her skating leg to a more manageable angle, he understands the necessity of learning outside edge jumps correctly. To help her build muscle memory, he has been making her practice the pull-out on Single Lutzes or using the rinkside wall.
With Tsukasa's thorough explanation, the other coaches find little to add. However, Tsukasa explains that his real struggle is getting through to Inori. When he explains these issue to her, she would get all serious and fired-up, only to then engage in a different kind of training. Yudai suggests that she may be struggling to override preconceptions, leading Tsukasa to realize that she instinctively falls back on the training methods he initially emphasized.
Seiji then suggests the possibility that Inori is influenced by how adults act around her. He observes that she frequently makes eye contact with her coach, not just out of politeness, but to gauge his emotions, like whether he was disappointed in her mistakes. He notes that some children in such situations will stop listening, but Inori and Tsukasa work well together because Tsukasa's expressions are always honest. Seiji acknowledges that the greatest challenge in coaching is overcoming biases that hinder communication and encourages Tsukasa to keep trying.
The next day, Tsukasa comes to Inori with a new training approach: a Lutz jumping competition. While Hitomi continues helping Inori with her Triple Lutz, Tsukasa will work on a Double Lutz himself, and they will see who reaches their goal first. Tsukasa is pleased to see Inori is practicing her pull-outs and overriding her bias under Hitomi's instruction. Soon, Inori lands a successful Triple Lutz, while Tsukasa, too, lands his Double Lutz right after. This comes as a surprise even to himself, bringing to mind Jun's remark about him being an exceptional scarcity. A flashback to the coaches' gathering follows, where Yutaka Kyoboku reflects that while athletes typically navigate a maze with their coaches as guides, Jun Yodaka, whom he coached for a season, was an exception.