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Nobuteru Irihata (Japanese: 入畑 (いりはた) 伸照 (のぶてる) Irihata Nobuteru) is the head coach of the Aoba Johsai High boys' volleyball team.

Appearance[]

He has black hair, grey eyes, and dark, arched eyebrows. He appears to be short but has a large build.

He is usually seen wearing a track suit consisting of the Aoba Johsai colors of white and turquoise.

Personality[]

He is extremely confident in his team and rather laid back, unlike Coach Mizoguchi. Irihata even allows his teammates to hold the team meetings by themselves and trusts the decisions the captain, Oikawa, makes.

Plot[]

Karasuno High Team Formation Arc[]

Irihata first appears during the practice match between Aoba Johsai and Karasuno. During the second set of the match, he is shown to be very observant when he points out to his players that every time Hinata has done the quick attack he has had his eyes closed and that Kageyama is adjusting his sets for the spikers to hit. Irihata is also revealed to have personally invited Kageyama to join Aoba Johsai only for the setter to have turned down the offer in favor of Karasuno. Despite the rejection, Irihata is certain that Kageyama would not have undergone the same change at Aoba Johsai that he has at Karasuno, more so due to his interactions with Hinata. As Irihata sees each of the Karasuno players strengths and weaknesses, he finds Karasuno to be an interesting team. When Oikawa arrives to the game as the third set is about to begin, Irihata welcomes him back but also warns the third-year setter not to over exert himself like he had before and advises him to take extra time to warm-up.

Interhigh Arc[]

Irihata and his team are able to watch part of Karasuno's match against Date Tech. He immediately notices that Karasuno is starting their rotation with Asahi in the backrow as it may possibly be their strongest formation when it comes to making serve receives. He is later impressed at seeing Kageyama's serve but feels the setter still has a way to go to master the control of it. While impressed with the speed, height, and strength of Date Tech's famous iron wall, Irihata is aware that even Date Tech's skilled blockers may not be able to handle the super quick attack by Hinata and Kageyama.

When Aoba Johsai later plays against Karasuno, Irihata and Mizoguchi do not offer much coaching to the players as they allow them to figure things out on their own or follow Oikawa's lead. He would be impressed at how Oikawa reveals that he has figured out the code that Hinata and Kageyama use in order to differentiate which type of quick attack to use during certain situations. Irihata does later help them figure out the best possible way to counter Hinata's wide broad attack when the team appeared to be struggling to figure out how to counter it. This would help the team better handle Hinata and Karasuno altogether which would eventually lead to their victory.

Spring High Preliminary Arc[]

As the match against Karasuno is about to begin, Irihata is blunt about the fact that Karasuno is a team that always surprises everyone and they are no exception. He encourages the players to stay calm and play to their utmost abilities. While he would be surprised at hearing the third-years voice their trust in Oikawa to help them claim victory once again, Irihata sees that they are being serious in their claim.

Near the end of the first set, Irihata saw how close Karasuno was to claiming the set and decided to send Kentarō Kyōtani into the game to change things up. However, this would backfire as Kyōtani put too much power into his spike and caused Seijoh to lose the first set. Although he would become frustrated at Kyōtani always wanting to use full power in his attacks, Irihata wanted to wait to see if things would turn around. Once it was becoming clear that Kyōtani was starting to become more easily provoked by Tanaka and Tsukishima, Irihata decided to remove Kyōtani from the game to give him time to cool down. Once Yahaba was able to get through to Kyōtani, Irihata sent him back into the match. When Karasuno eventually claimed victory, Irihata still tells the team how well they played during the match.

Relationships[]

Aoba Johsai High[]

  • Sadayuki Mizoguchi: As the coaches, they get along very well although Irihata does occasionally have to reel Mizoguchi in when he is scolding one or more of the players.
  • Aoba Johsai High: Unseen by many other coaches, Irihata trusts his team to be able to lead themselves during matches and often supports the decisions made by Oikawa.

Quotes[]

  • (To himself) "Oikawa has sense, and doesn't lack effort, but when you compare him to the mass of talent named Kageyama that's two years younger than him, Oikawa is an efficient player but not a genius. I can say with confidence that, at this moment in time, the one who is a better setter is Oikawa."[1][2]

Trivia[]

  • Current Concern: The fact that he's developed a bit of a belly bothers him, but he can't give up on beer[3].
  • Nomenclature:
    • Nobuteru (伸照)
      • 伸 – Extend
      • 照 – Illuminate
    • Irihata (入畑) – Entering Field

References[]

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