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Bar Timor: "Athletes need to make their voices heard" Israel today

2022-04-15T08:41:57.893Z


"Running a podcast puts me in balance and develops sides I did not have" • "I say it for the first time: the corona helped me, I needed a break because of the mental strain" • "Winning a title with Hapoel Tel Aviv is my dream. We were a minute and a half away from the trophy "• Festive interview with Bar Timor, captain of the Reds, and not only


A few weeks ago Bar Timor celebrated his 30th birthday, and can be said to be in a good place in life.

He is the captain and esteemed symbol of Hapoel Tel Aviv, he is rewarded financially in a respectable way, he has a popular podcast, and sportingly the last year and a half are probably the best in his career.

We recently sat down for an in-depth conversation, in which we went back to the childhood he had in Haifa, talked about the positive present and also addressed the future, his and the young people who are now making their way in Israeli basketball.

"I am in a whole and very good place in my career and life, personally and professionally," he says in a special holiday interview with Israel Today.

"It's a matter of age, maturity, the sporting situation."

Ten years ago, this is where you imagined yourself at 30?

"I'm not one who thinks too much about the future, and probably at the age of 20. I do not remember thinking where I would be in ten years. And returned after a year, YM).

Timur Bar.

Pay with yourself, Photo: Danny Maron

"Looking back, I am very whole with what I went through, both with the good things and with the less good ones. Everything makes up my career, and I am whole with my way."

Over the years, you went through difficulties, for example the period when you did not play for Hapoel Jerusalem and when you were not invited to the national team.

We do not always know how athletes who are in the center of the stage deal with pressure and criticism.

Share with us what you went through.

"It's very different if you're a young or mature player. At first I had less tools and experience, today I know how to deal. Over the years I realized the best way is to train. When you sit at home you eat yourself and think what's not going and what's not working for you. In training, you both physically unload and throw your thoughts aside.

"I always try to exercise myself and not get into a negative loop. If my head is preoccupied, I will go to the gym or throw in the basket. This is something I recommend to young people. Over the years I have been helped by a mental trainer and a psychologist."

Timur Bar.

Seeing myself continuing in the industry, Photo: Danny Maron

"In Jerusalem I had a very difficult time, because I was of a different age and status and I imagined things to be different. I had four good years and I was in an excellent position in the team, in the club and in front of the fans, and suddenly those two years came. "Ability because of age or something, but it just happens and I have no control," he says.

"I had a hard time, and I'm saying this for the first time, the Corona really helped me. I remember how everyone was shocked that everything stopped, that the league stopped and they told us 'go home,' and I was just happy, uncomfortable to say. I also lost a job and gave up Money - Of course there are people who have been hurt more than me, but I needed it mentally, and the rest did me good. I sat at home and told my future wife 'it's pleasant and fun for me', probably because of the mental load.

When we got back to the Corona League, something came loose on me and I played well.

I just needed that break. "

"I have a warm place in the heart of Haifa"

Timur was born and raised in Haifa, and attended the real school in the city.

As a child, he played in the youth departments of Hapoel and Maccabi Haifa, and while a student in the twelfth grade, he was added to the senior team of Hapoel Haifa.

Timur Bar.

Seeing himself continuing in the industry, Photo: Oded Karni

At the same time, he played for the Reali basketball team that won the high school league championship in 2010, and was selected as the outstanding player of the season.

Even then it was marked as great potential.

"I left Haifa at the age of 19 and have not lived there since. Most of my friends also left the city," says the actor.

"I do not come enough to visit, but a few weeks ago my nephew did not recognize me so much, and it pinched my heart, so I decided to come more to be with my parents, family and nephew. I have a warm place in my heart for Haifa, and maybe in the future we will live close there."

Let's go back to childhood.

Is there a moment when you knew you would be a professional basketball player at the highest levels?

"As a kid I excelled in basketball but I didn't think of it as a profession. One of the moments I remember something changed was at age 15, when there were selections of players for the pre-cadet team. I came to Wingate and first tackled kids from all over the country in my yearbook. Jezreel, I did not play against children from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, I went through the whole process and we reached the final screenings.

Bar Timor in the team uniform, Photo: FIBA ​​website

"I remember a big hall divided into five courts with 40 players. I felt I was good and no one could stop me. Coaches passed and I noticed they were enthusiastic about me. So I realized that basketball can be my profession and I can succeed in it. I started going to personal trainers and nutritionists and investing, because Until then, it was fun. "

Bar Timor is currently one of the most senior and respected basketball players in Israel.

You will not find many who do not like him, even rival fans.

In addition to the ability on the field, which sometimes knows ups and downs, he presents a podcast with the football goalkeeper and his good friend Ron Shoshan, called "Prash Talk" from the "Podium".

More than 40 episodes have already been broadcast, including politicians, leading stand-up comedians, athletes.

When a young actor comes to you today who starts his career and asks for advice, what is the most important thing you tell him?

"Everyone has their own route so I know less about telling players whether to go national or start in the Premier League. When young players come to me, for example like the guys at Hapoel, I recommend them to choose someone you can learn from and not be afraid to ask as much as possible. It is always to be prepared.

"When you get a chance even in training, you have to know everything and treat as if you were given a chance to buy your whole world. I always tell young people that they need to know exercises of all positions so that if you are thrown there in training you know what to do. No coach will stop. To explain to you. And that's more I'm just talking about training, so probably in the games themselves. There are not many opportunities and when you have to take. Even when you're not part of training, and it happens a lot to young players, you have to come before "In the end, they will give it to him."

What need does the podcast fulfill for you?

"Two things. I admit that sometimes, certainly after victories and good games, it comes in handy and I have strength. And sometimes less, for example after a loss I do not always have strength. But it is a test of life - to know how to find balance, transcend and separate things. This interview (also took place the day after the loss of Hapoel Tel Aviv, YM) came to me a little less in time. It may not be the most mature act in the world, but a few years ago I would probably say it does not suit me now and find an excuse to tell you not to "The podcast puts me in a certain balance."

In a podcast with Ron Shoshan.

"Gets a lot of compliments",

"The second thing is the need to express myself. The podcast is a convenient platform for that. I'm a little shy and have a hard time opening up to a conversation, and the fact that I run the podcast develops things in me that I didn't have as a person before."

Do you feel the podcast is affecting your relationship with basketball fans?

"I get a lot of compliments, even from fans of other teams, who tell me that even though they are fans of another team, it was amazing and fun to hear. I get responses, mostly encouraging. I think the food made people treat me more as a person and not just as a player. They feel they can turn "Eli has a different approach and also knows that I will answer. Sometimes messages to the player are more formal and suddenly you feel more open and at eye level. The truth? It's nice."

Timur Bar.

"Not trying to be anyone's voice," Photo: Oded Karni

Are you also trying to use a podcast to be in a sense the voice of the basketball players and give a stage to their needs and desires?

"I'm not trying to be anyone's voice, but I believe athletes should make their voices heard. We have a small country and we are not doing it enough because maybe it's not acceptable or the players are afraid of the reactions. I do not know if athletes should be cultural heroes, "Yes, to express an opinion on issues that are important to them. Not to hurt anyone, of course, but to say yes. This is something that is a little broader than just touching on the professional side of basketball."

First of all Bar Timor is a basketball player, and his focus is on the parquet.

Last summer he was appointed captain of Hapoel Tel Aviv and in January signed a three-year contract and will remain at the club until at least the summer of 2025.

Sometimes we see you strong within the game, enter aggressively, take and initiate, but sometimes you seem to take a step back.

"I agree. Last season it was not like that, but this season I feel like it happens sometimes. I try to handle it, because I do not always have to let the game flow next to me, but take more on myself and be more involved. In some games it happened more and in some less "It's something I'm dealing with myself, and I'll solve it."

Timur Bar.

Believes athletes need to make their voices heard, Photo: Danny Maron

Will she be the captain who manages to break the glass ceiling of the fan group, and win the title with Hapoel?

"We were a minute and a half away from being described," he releases a slight sigh, "but let's not talk about referees. We were very close, we really wanted to, and it could have been amazing. I really hope it happens in the future, because winning a title with Hapoel is my dream. We have ups and downs during the season, and I hope we will return to show the good ability we have already shown we can. "

When you finish the current contract you will be 33. Do you want to retire at Hapoel?

"I feel very good and appreciated. We have three years to go by then, and above all I hope I will be healthy for the whole period. That is the most important thing. If there is still a good connection, I will certainly want to continue playing in practice beyond my current contract. "On the day after basketball, I do not see myself stopping playing, maybe in a few more years it will happen."

Tell them you're kind of a mentor to the young people in the group.

In the end you are players who sometimes compete for the same minutes of play, how does it work out?

"In life I will not make assumptions because I am a more experienced player than the young. I train like everyone else, and maybe even more than everyone else. I do it net for myself. I am competitive and every time I lose or things go less I go crazy and upset. That's how I wanted to be treated. "When I was young, that's how I want to be treated today and that's how I treat young people." 

Timur Bar.

Bastard at Drive-In, Photo: Udi Citation

Where will Bar Timor be in ten years?

"I will be a father. We are not heading for anything, but I believe and hope it will happen in the coming years. So in ten years both parenting and something in basketball, coaching or something else, but for sure I see myself continuing in the industry."

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

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Source: israelhayom

All sports articles on 2022-04-15

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