Wow. So, Philip Hersh reports that Jeremy Abbott has decided to leave his coach, Tom Zakrajsek, who also coached Brandon Mroz and Rachael Flatt to world championships appearances this season. Abbott is now training with Yuka Sato, 1994 world champion from Japan. I believe Sato choreographed Takahiko Kozuka's programs last season. She is also the daughter of Kozuka's coaches (and well-known skating coaches) Nobuo Sato and Kumiko Sato.

I would love to know more about why Abbott is changing after working with Zakrajsek for ten years. I think Abbott had a breakthrough season in 2008-09, winning the Grand Prix Final and his first nationals. However, his last few competitions were disappointmenting.

The press release from US Figure Skating states that Sato works with Alissa Czisny, but it doesn't mention any other skaters she has been the main coach for (are there any?). It's possible Abbott wanted to be able to work with a coach who didn't have so many other high profile skaters so he can get more feedback. I think Sato is a very good choreographer so I'll be interested to see how she works with Abbott. Although, I've read so much about Paul Wylie mentoring Abbott that I'm almost surprised he didn't head over to North Carolina to train with Wylie!