Team manager Aki Ajo would qualify for coach of the year for his handsome resume and mentoring praised by superstars, writes Urheilu’s Joel Sippola.
Joel Sippola
It’s that time of the year again when the discussion about Athlete of the Year gets heated. At the Sports Gala organized on Thursday, one of the objects of interest is also choosing the Coach of the Year.
In this category, the basketball coach is considered the strongest favorite Gordon Herbert and captain of the Finnish national tennis team Jarkko from Niemi.
Herbert, who was born in Canada and lived in Finland for a long time, piloted the German men’s national basketball team to the world championship. Nieminen, on the other hand, played a significant role after Finland sensationally advanced to the top four in the prestigious Davis Cup tournament.
Both would be good choices.
Other candidates are the pole vaulter Wilma Murron coach Jarno Koivunenbasketball coach Tuomas Iisalo and a volleyball coach Tuomas Sammelvuo.
When choosing the best of the year, one Finnish top gets forgotten year after year. He is the team manager Aki Ajo.
About the team manager Coach of the year?
The 55-year-old Finn created a long and, above all, successful career as a team manager in the MotoGP classes. His Ajo Motorsport team, together with the motorcycle manufacturer KTM, has won numerous driver and team championships in Moto2 and Moto3.
Putting driving in this category can suddenly seem strange. The team manager’s job is not really related to coaching.
He is more of an organizational leader. A bit like the CEO of the NHL club Columbus Blue Jackets Jarmo Kekäläinen.
However, driving’s way of working seems more like coaching. Ajo has been refining several rough diamonds into future superstars of the sport.
The best examples of this are the sports legend Marc Marquez and groomed to be the sport’s next megastar Pedro Acosta. Ajo achieved the 125cc (now Moto3) championship with Marquez in 2010.
Since then, Marquez has become one of the established stars, winning six World Championship titles in the premier MotoGP class. With Acosta, Ajo’s team reached the drivers’ championship in both classes.
The Moto3 class is a kind of breeding ground for MotoGP. Ajo has played a key role in raising its young drivers.
One can talk about mentoring or spiritual coaching. Jarkko Nieminen’s management style is much the same. He is also a mentor who gives instructions and sparring to Finnish players during the games.
Ajo’s people-oriented management style has gathered incense from his former protégés. Acosta started in the Ajo team when he was only 16 years old, but in the same season he immediately reached the Moto3 championship.
He told the press conference of last season’s final race how Ajo had taught the Spaniard to understand life better. The super promise matured to a whole new level.
Currently riding in the MotoGP class and two years ago in Ajo’s team he won silver in the Moto2 class Raul Fernandez has summed up Finnish know-how aptly.
– When Aki speaks, you should listen to him. Every time you listen, you’re sure to learn something important. My biggest learning year was last season. Then Aki sometimes sounded like a strict teacher, Fernandez told Urheilu in 2021.
Why are the same strengths not enough?
Ajo’s team grabbed the full pot a couple of years ago by winning the championship titles for both drivers and teams. Even then, Ajo’s name was not brought up in the Coach of the Year contest.
The fact that MotoGP and track motorcycling are marginal in the Finnish sports media is at least partly responsible for ignoring driving. Back in the early 2000s, it was different when a Finnish driver Mika Kallio drove several times for the world championship.
However, MotoGP is one of the world’s most prestigious motorsport series. The toughest superstars in the sport’s recent history Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez stand comparison to any top name in any other sport. Ajo enjoys a strong appreciation in these circles, which should be taken advantage of more than seen in Finland.
Jarkko Nieminen has not been able to say whether coach is the right title to describe his work as captain of the national tennis team. Still, the Finnish coaches association recently chose Nieminen as coach of the year. The reasons were, among other things, a people-oriented coaching style.
Why doesn’t Aki Ajo qualify as the best coach for the same reason?
The broadcast of the sports gala on TV2 starts at 8 p.m.