The physical inferiority of Hapoel Holon: "Not afraid, I will take the rebounds" • The chronic illness he suffers from: "I was laughed at when I was young" • And the team's dream: "Tell Katsch to call" • Willy Workman (31) will make his European tournament debut tonight: " Very excited "
Workman.
European premiere
Photography:
Udi quote
When Hapoel Holon opens the European season tonight against AEK Athens, there will be one player who will be more excited than everyone else - Willy Workman.
After seven years in Israel and at the age of 31, the Jewish-American forward will advance to the first game of his career in a European tournament.
"I am very excited," he says in a special interview with Israel Today, "this is one of the main reasons I came to Holon. The only way to show your abilities is to play against the best teams and AAK is a Euroleague team, so I hope to see My ability against them. "
The main goal of the club this year is to qualify for a stage in Europe.
Do you feel the pressure?
"Yes. I also think it's something big. In Holon they take everything seriously and I love it. They provide everything for you to be successful so they expect you to succeed. I love the seriousness and the expectation of winning. So I live and I am ready for the challenge."
What is it like to leave Maccabi Haifa after four years?
"Think, I was there for a while like in colleges. Maccabi Haifa felt like a college to me. I received a lot of love there. People sometimes do not understand what it is like to be in a certain place for four years, you have your book, your places, everything. Haifa will always remain a special place For me".
Guy Pnini said in an interview with "Israel Today" that you are going to be the Israeli Houston Rockets.
"And Guy is like James Harden, he even looks like him (laughs). Seriously, Guy is right, as always. We'll move a ball a lot, use a lot of the space we'll create and speaking of Houston then we have more size than them, compared to European teams. "Of course. Houston, for example, plays a lot of small ball and we have the option to put players who are tall who also know how to score."
Are you not afraid of having problems under the baskets?
"I'm not scared. I'll take the rebounds.
"Laugh at me for being slow"
Seven years have passed since Amit Gal brought Workman to Hapoel Galil Elyon and few people in Israel know that the player, who at the age of 31 maintains a strong and athletic body that many young people would like to replace, is actually suffering from a disease called atherosclerosis (AS) that affects muscles, especially the spine. With it he takes a drug that weakens the immune system.
"When I was a young boy we realized I had something," he says openly, "it took a long time and we went through a lot of doctors until we found the right medicine and the right treatment. It is a disease that does not go away, it can be treated and symptoms reduced, but it will stay with me forever. I can say To you I already love this part of me, it's part of my journey.
"As far as I know there is no other athlete in the world who takes the medicine I take. It all depends on how you deal with what you have. I decided to choose to be positive. Thanks to the medicine I learned how to be healthy, I drink more water and eat more vegetables than anyone will ever meet. That's how I learned to be a professional. "
I realized that due to the disease you had severe problems with your hips when you were young and even had two surgeries after which you thought you would not be able to play basketball.
"When I was a kid I was laughed at for being slow because of the problems I had. It took a long time until we found the right treatments. After the surgeries I went through half a year of rehabilitation and suddenly after I fixed my body everything worked out. One day I also started drowning, which until then I did not even think could To happen".
"I feel lucky and grateful because thanks to that I learned to take care of my body," he continues, "by the age of 15 I was already doing ice baths and stretching that even professional athletes do not, and thanks to that I can do what I do. Everything I went through strengthened me mentally and became Tough me. "
"My mother is a classic Jew"
Workman (1.98m) was born in Northampton, Massachusetts.
His mother was a judge in a local civil court and his father was one of the well-known restaurateurs in the area and also ran a brewery.
Recently, the two decided to leave everything and are now in the process of immigrating to Israel.
"My mother is a classic Jewish mother. She makes sure everyone eats enough and also packs food for the trip," he says. "My father also played basketball in colleges and was my first coach, and my best friend. I studied work ethic with him."
Why did you not go to work in law or restaurants?
"To be honest I worked in both. In college I had an interview in a law firm and then I worked in a restaurant and served people, but always when I did something else I said to myself 'sailing I have to play basketball instead of what I do now,' and in the end that's what I did."
When did you know you wanted to be a professional basketball player?
"Even before I had memories. It was always my thing. I don't even remember when my love for the game started. It was natural. I didn't want to make money from basketball but just play. To this day it's that way."
I'm sure winning the Division 3 College Championship with Amherst College was an important part of your decision to become a professional basketball player.
"You're really right. It was the moment in my life that I realized I could do it. Before you win your first championship you want to win and believe you will win, but after you win you believe you can win a championship at any level and anywhere. Reaching a high level is a challenge, but "Winning a championship is a matter of chemistry and balance. Things unrelated to talent. There are a million people in the world who are good at basketball and every team has good basketball players. But a championship signifies other things, and once I did it in college I knew I could do many more special things."
How did you even get to Israel?
"Amit Gal (manager of Hapoel Galil Elyon at the time and now the mother-in-law of Workman's sister, YM) found me.
He was in Las Vegas watching the summer league.
I worked there and someone who knew me introduced me to him as a skinny Jewish boy and a colleague said 'no no, this guy can't play' and he repeatedly refused to see me until he was finally convinced.
I played one game in the stands, and I remember knowing it was my chance and I had to play it.
I really played well against high-level players and that's it, he brought me to Israel. "
Your sister lives here and is married to an Israeli and your parents are making aliyah and even you did not leave Corona and stay.
Will we see you continue in Israel even after basketball?
"I'm married to an American. She's the one who makes everything work. For ten years we've been talking and discussing where we'll live in our lives. You never know what will happen, especially on days like this. In the meantime, we'll go through it every day and see what happens."
Would you like to wear the uniform of the Israeli team?
"Yeah, really yeah. Say encourage to call me (laughs)."
What do you think about the Citizenship Law?
"I do not want to talk about it too much, just to say that I wish they would treat citizens like any other Israeli citizen. That is what should be."