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One to One: At the Top of the Pyramid | Israel today

2020-04-10T09:38:01.734Z


Israeli basketball


New blood flow to the industry or clinging to outdated tactics? • Promoting local future generation or upgrading young players with seniority and experience? • Eli Sahar and Yaakov Meir offer their views on the issue of foreign coaches vis-à-vis the Israelis

  • Janis Spropoulos and Oded Ketch

    Photo:

    Alan Shaver

  • Dadas. Coaches from Greece have become fashionable

    Photo:

    Bernie Ardov

  • Savannah. Five foreign coaches in the league

    Photo:

    Liron Moldovan

Get off on the foreign coaches from the back // Jacob Meir

In today's global world, the transition of experts from one country to another is a matter of concern. Good professionals can find themselves wanted on the other side of the globe by a company willing to pay them far more than companies in their own country. So is the opposite. High-tech geniuses or brilliant economists often find themselves immigrants to other countries to find sources of income that they believe will suit their abilities and skills. These transitions are the ones that, among other things, cause the growth and progress of humanity.

Therefore, it is not at all clear that the uproar that arose in the past year on the trend of bringing foreign coaches to Israel. As we are proud and happy with every success of an Israeli coach abroad, and as almost every Israeli player dreams and aspires to succeed in the NBA or a good European league, I think the arrival of high quality professionals from abroad can do well and inject new blood into Israeli basketball.

I am not naïve to think that Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon have brought young Greeks because they have been enthusiastic about the talented coaches' team that has been growing in Greece in recent years or are looking for professionals to bring freshness and new professional ideas. , They will not insist on bringing their own assistant coach nor will they be paid high wages - so if criticized, it should be directed to the managers and not to the foreign coaches.

Like every sector of the economy, the desire of Israeli coaches to maintain jobs is completely understandable. It is also clear that talented youngsters who have seen the previous generation of coaches get opportunities even before the age of 40, when they stop as coaches or stay for a long time nationally and do not see when the opportunity as head coach in the Premier League comes, if at all.

It is indeed necessary to set threshold requirements and criteria that a foreign coach should meet, as is the case in most European senior leagues, but I do not think the standards should be high and draconian, so that only Janis Sparopoulos or Aronas Jasikevicius can reach Israel.

For me, the main need for foreign coach criteria is to ensure that when they come from overseas professionals they will be serious and high quality ones, who will move Israeli basketball and Israeli basketball forward. For this, the proposed criteria (look at the attached list) in the coaches organization rules are certainly sufficient.

* The conditions for a foreign coach in the coaches' articles of association: 1. A work permit is required in Israel. 2. Over the age of 30. 3. Meets one of the following criteria: Formerly coached for at least five seasons in the top league in the country where he coached in this country's FIFA first or second level; coached in the first U.S. college league ; Previously coached a national first-class national basketball team in Europe; Coached a team that during his training won a recognized European factory, and was at least one season head coach in the NBA or WNBA

There is not enough horizon for Israeli coach // Eli Sahar

In late 1985, as an actor in Elitzur Givatayim's youth group, Chairman Nathan Huberman approached me with a proposal to serve as an actor-coach. The young people and upon completing military service I studied for three years at the Wingate Institute (one year in a mentorship course and another two years in the coaches course).

At the same time, I started working in print media and after a few years realized that a coach, and another "religious", had no future. The scenario I drew was like this: Say and reach the top - Maccabi RG coach in the Premier League. In the second cycle, one player missed two crucial shots, you already get a "backup". When in the sixth cycle you lost again for no wrong, then "after a nightly emergency meeting , The management "agreed" with the coach to end his position. We thank him for his work. ”Then, like a game of ladders and ropes, you fall about 50 steps down and climb back when you already have a hump.

The profession of basketball coach is one of the ungrateful roles. In Israel, it constitutes the reality version of "survival." Effie Birnbaum defined it well at the time: "If you win, the next morning's coffee is sweeter. That's it." After all, if you win the five difference, you will be asked why you didn't win 20? If you won by 20, why not let the kids play? If you lose, you'll read this morning that "a board member has strongly criticized the coach's management of the game."

Only a decade ago, the Israelis were considered a hit. There were four in Eurobasket 2009: Molly Katzorin in Poland, Pini Gershon in Bulgaria, David Blatt in Russia and Zvika Scharf in Israel. The season barely has four in the top ten in the Premier League. Janis Safropoulos' success made Greece's coaches fashionable. They go up a bit and get in touch with the management right away, so what if their basketball is neighborhood and lackluster? In Maccabi Tel Aviv the coach assistant positions are also occupied.

In Turkey, for example, they insist on training and achievement over the past five years. In Finnish, Pini Gershon, for example, cannot train in Turkey.

In Israel there are criteria issued by the coaches' organization, but there is no one to enforce them. If there is no horizon for the local coach, why would our good boys want to do it? Then, in quite a few years, there will be those who will remember that where there is no proper guidance, good players will not grow.

Source: israelhayom

All sports articles on 2020-04-10

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