Guy Kaplan is only 34 years old, but has already managed to work as an assistant coach to senior coaches in Israeli basketball such as Oded Katash, Erez Edelstein, Ariel Beit Halachmi and others.
Already at the age of 22 he started working as an assistant coach and in recent years has built a reputation for himself as a hardworking, knowledgeable and serious professional.
This summer, Hapoel Gilboa / Galil decided to give him the opportunity and appointed him head coach.
"It's not that I have marked for myself some point in time where this should happen," Kaplan says in a special interview with Israel Today.
"I was cooking on a small fire and I went to the most senior coaches in the country, I worked and developed and I believed that as soon as it had to happen it would happen."
A lot of good professionals wait a long time for their opportunity, while in the past young coaches got a chance faster and sooner. How do you explain this phenomenon?
"This is a question that should be asked of club managers, why not give opportunities. It depends on their worldview. It could be that in the past there were more opportunities because there were more Israeli coaches abroad and fewer foreign coaches in the country and then there were more jobs."
How different is the responsibility and work of a head coach from the role of assistant coach?
"For me there is no difference. It's the same thing. My commitment to the system is the same commitment and the responsibility is the same responsibility, and even the tasks are partly the same. The coaches I worked with gave me a free hand to be another coach with them and no more assistant, so by their giving I felt the same responsibility "Commitment and pressure for the team to succeed, so for me it feels the same."
Curve preparation
Kaplan gets his big chance in a not-so-comfortable situation.
Due to the uncertainty that surrounded the club during the summer, the team was built late and failed to recruit senior Israeli players to fill the void left by Yiftach Ziv, Netanel Artzi, Gil Benny, Amit Gershon and others.
The team also suffered some injuries from the foreign players, which made it difficult for them to train regularly, and they lost in almost all the preparation games, including the opening game of the season against Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Kylia-Jones.
The players are not yet coordinated, Photo: Liron Moldovan
“Unequivocally we are not prepared enough,” Kaplan says.
"We had a crooked preparation because everyone who trained was excellent, but we signed five foreigners who to this day have not played together and probably will not play together either. There is potential, but we also know that there is still a lot of work to be done. "
Mark you as one of the weakest teams in the league and maybe even a relegation candidate.
"We treat this season as a challenge. I do not treat background noise, what is interesting is that we have a healthy and full staff. We have a human oh that can build a winning team, it is true that we need time, but we do not treat what is said around."
"The players at Gilboa are measured by a magnifying glass and the burden of proving that they are worthy and legitimate in the Premier League, so I draw my philosophy from them, that I also want to show that I belong and legitimate. We have to show hunger and character is important. In basketball it means fast play, tough defense "And does not give up any possession. A team that comes to prove in every game and produce strong energies in every game. Do not come and cancel."
Do you have a personal fear that at the very first opportunity you get the situation will be more difficult and you may not succeed?
"I am a mission man. I try not to concentrate on things that can divert my energies from the goal of having a winning team, a team that people will love to come and see. I do not look for discounts or excuses, and do the best I can in the belief that it will work."
With Joe Thomson.
It will be difficult to replicate last season's success, Photo: Alan Schieber
Continue the path of life
Tonight (Wednesday) at 21:30, Gilboa / Galil will return to a European factory for the first time in more than a decade when it will host Reggio Emilia in the opening round of the European Cup.
The northern team was drawn for the factory's death house, a house some say is at the level of the Champions League.
Apart from Gilboa and the Italians, the Spanish Zaragoza and the Russian Zaratov were also included in the house.
"There is great excitement to play in two settings and in a very worthy factory with a good stage. The club wants and is ready for this challenge," says Kaplan.
You got a tough lottery, what are your chances in a house like this?
"Obviously we got a tough and challenging draw, but we decided within the team that we welcome any challenge. We will reach every game, even the toughest games, to do the maximum and do the best we can."
Is this something that could affect or perhaps disrupt the league?
"Our main competition is the league and we have set ourselves the goal that Europe will not affect the league. We have a wide staff built to deal with two frameworks and so that we can divide the loads."
The late Haim Ohayon. To continue the enterprise of his life, Photo: Udi Citiat
Hapoel Gilboa / Galil has undergone a difficult trauma in recent months when the strong and dominant owner Haim Ohayon passed away, leaving a difficult space.
Kaplan, who is starting his fifth season at the club, wants to say something personal at the end of the interview: "Our first and main goal is to continue Haim's path and enterprise, and to show that the team is alive, breathing and kicking. We need to continue the legacy for life and family."
Tonight in
the European Cup
:
Hapoel Eilat will open the home stage when it is hosted by the Bulgarian Rilsky (19:00, Sport 5 Live).
