The teams participating in European factories will be allowed to operate as usual, but will suffer from non-ideal preparation • The other nine teams will be shut down, and it is doubtful if they will be able to prevent the players from being exposed to contagion • And: the surprising Italian reinforcement landed at Hapoel Jerusalem
Wilbkin vs. Alba last season.
Complex accommodation in the shadow of the corona
Photography:
Alan Shiver
Free, but not happy
The announcement of the Ministry of Sports on the exclusion of the participating teams in the various European establishments from the quarantine was received with great joy by the relevant authorities.
There was a great fear among the clubs that they would not be excluded and would face a difficult problem ahead of their games in the various tournaments.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, for example, has already examined the possibility of exchanging a home game with Alba Berlin (depending on what is possible in the Euroleague protocol) or even postponing the game, but now the Yellows can prepare for the complex logistical hosting of the Germans next week.
Even a team like Hapoel Holon still does not know how to prepare for the season opener in the Champions League next month because currently the exclusion allows teams to train, but there is still no reference to training matches.
This means that from the last training game of the team in purple (on 17.9 against Hapoel Tel Aviv) until the start of the European season, more than a month will pass, apparently not an ideal preparation, certainly when it is still unclear when the closure will be lifted.
Another problem raised by industry insiders is the fact that the closure could worsen the situation compared to the recent period.
In a large part of the teams they have de facto maintained isolation for the past two weeks, and the instructions for the players were to behave as in the "Corona League" which took place in June-July.
In the city of Ness Ziona, the players were ordered not to go shopping and made sure to order all the groceries for their homes.
In other teams as well, the players and members of the professional team were asked not to leave except for the training ground.
Now that nine out of 13 teams will not be allowed to train, it will be very difficult for the team members to control what happens with the players, and most of them will probably go shopping permitted according to the guidelines (food and pharma). Even after the closure is lifted.
Due to this, among other things, the administration is trying to find creative solutions.
Start strong
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness in Israeli sports of the importance of proper physical work from an early age.
"In terms of what we can contribute to the players the physical aspect is very high, because it is an aspect that unlike basketball where you want to develop creativity and put the reins in the hands of the players to play the basketball that suits them, the physical aspect requires very orderly and consistent work," explains director Daniel Shasher. The professional in the youth department of Hapoel Jerusalem and one of the most respected professionals in the industry.
Many teams have been investing in the subject in recent years and are bringing in professionals to oversee the work with the young players.
A physiologist from abroad was recently brought to Jerusalem to be in charge of the subject in the department. This is the Italian Andrea Cavalier who holds a master's degree in physical training science from the University of Milan and in the last two years has done an internship at UCLA University, famous for its successful sports teams.
The 26-year-old Kavalari, who already landed in Israel a few weeks ago, will work individually with the senior teams of the department of about 1,500 children (the highest number in Israeli basketball) and at the same time will pave the way for the other team coaches.
"In recent years we were not happy with the physical level our players displayed in the national team, so we decided we needed to dramatically improve the physical aspect," explains Shasher, "we decided to invest all resources in giving the players the best tools for success."