Head coach
Nodar Kapanadze
Fictional character · Oreo: The Underdog
Granite Yard Boxing Club · Tbilisi, GeorgiaBreed / species
Airedale Terrier
Gender
male
Approximate age
58
Nationality
Georgia
Biography
Proposed background: Nodar had a modest amateur career before combining railway electrical supervision with a long assistant-training role in professional camps. He became known for preparation, guarded traps and the ability to keep a clear instruction audible in a chaotic corner. Granite Yard grew after he had already taken head-camp responsibility. Electrical work shaped his habits of testing connections; experience with actual fighters taught him the limits of treating people that way. His guardedness is a personal flaw, not evidence of a mysterious or violent competitive past.
Personality
Gruff, sceptical and unexpectedly playful with small mechanical puzzles. He notices whether a promise was kept and sometimes forgets that the person tried.
Coaching philosophy
An athlete should know the agreed risk, choose it knowingly and be allowed to ask for the plan to change. Trust grows through reciprocal reliability.
Specialities
High-guard traps, retreat counters, delayed straight punches and keeping balanced feet under pressure.
Signature methods
The stopped-clock drill gives an athlete a cue that may or may not require action; doing nothing for a sound reason can be correct. The athlete must then distinguish patience from avoidance.
Corner behaviour
“Wait for it. There. Now leave.” Sparse timed cues; he asks a direct question if the fighter has stopped trusting the instruction.
Sparring behaviour
He is exact about the agreed task and ends a round if a partner tries to “teach a lesson.” A new athlete first receives low-intensity demonstrations, not an initiation beating.
Fighter relationships
Giorgi’s caution is respected without being indulged; Bence is asked to test an offer before rejecting it, and Tashi gets a playful task with a clear finishing point.
Strengths
Reliable preparation, timing, calm under noisy pressure and the courage to keep an unpopular boundary.
Flaws
Can demand evidence for kindness while accepting his own suspicion too readily; slow to apologise when a test was unfair.
Appearance
Black-and-tan Airedale Terrier with wiry brows, a greying muzzle and a solid compact frame; one ear folds more sharply than the other.
Professional attire
Charcoal work jacket, granite polo, orange hand-timer strap and old but carefully polished flat trainers.
The wider team
Character reference artwork
