Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Closing Time

Hey everyone..

Basically my season is over, of course without going exactly into details of how things ended, I can just say it was a fun year.

I enjoyed myself, I felt a big part of the team and felt that I had the chance to show my abilities.

Like every other pro player, the summer always brings interesting and new opportunity, I can never know what next year will bring, where I will find myself and on what team I will be playing.

Of course there are a couple of things to take into consideration, salary, location, playing time, but I'm sure that when the time will come I will know or at least believe that I know what's best for me.

On another note, this is around the time that I'm about to enjoy my yearly vacation, to take a load off and live my other life.

I hope to have fun, to relax and meet some cool guys, but just like anyone, I also want to change things up after such a long season.

I think I will take a little vacation from my blog, nothing too long. I enjoyed it very much, especially the emails and getting to know people and also try to give my opinion on questions that came up.

It's also an honor to have people follow my life and have people to share my true feelings with. I will take a little time off, fill my head with ideas and probably take another go at this blog thing.

So hope everyone will enjoy his summer, and if he gets some vacation time, I wish it will be as great as you want it to be....

I will sign off with :


Closing time - time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time - turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from.
Closing time - this room won't be open 'til your brothers or you sisters
come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found a friend.
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Team Chemistry

Hi
Like I mentioned in my last post, since the season is coming towards the end I will try to talk a little about the dynamics of a team.

A lot of times on teams there are some friendships that develop more and some players that just keep a professional realtionship, meaning coming to the gym, working hard, practicing together and going their on way in the end of the day.

On the other hand there are those who keep more of a friendship, if it means, going out together, meeting outside of practice and basically being regular friends. Of course like everyone else.

I also have those who I keep in close touch with and those I don't, even though that usually once the season is over each one goes his own way, most of the times you play with guys that you will barely see at all again, and that's if your lucky and you some how play in the same league or something the following year.

The most amazing thing in my prospective of a team and the dynamics is how hard it is to hold a team together for so many months, towards the end of the season when each one already wants to go home and go his separate way, is the time when you have to be the most united and have the best chemistry that you had during the whole season.

A lot of teams fail because they reach the point that players can't stand to be around each other, or around coaches or just come to practice for that matter, things get so intense and the season is so long, day in and day out that it's hard.

Try to compare it to an office job, in the office you come in every day during the weekdays, sit in your office, interact with people, have meetings, go to different places to meet clients, other workers or whatever, and then usually you come back to your own comfort zone, when you can have some quite time.

In sports its different, you don't work an 8-5 job, but your interaction is the same all the time, you see the same people everyday, you push, shave , practice together, sit together in the locker rooms, hotels, buses, trips, team meetings, what ever you can think of.

Now Imagine doing this almost every day, including weekends, a lot of time twice a day, it's just so intensive that after 9 months it's very hard for people to still come with the same desire and same smile, or even same ability to see each other.

That's when it's the coaching staff and management to try and maybe change some of the practices, or meetings or anything that they can think of to keep everyone as happy and as calm as can be after such a long time.

I know that when most people look at teams, they check it from a talent point of view, they say this team won, because Nowitzki is a amazing shooter or Duncan is a great center, but I think and a lot of other people that play the game, that most of the success of a team is how the teams can come together and become one unit, how teams can put Ego's aside in order to win.

In NBA teams you have players making so much money, it has to go to their head, to make them feel like they are better than the others and that they are the stars of the team, and even in a case like that,a successful team will be team that gets the other players to work for that star.

That gets the players to feel good about being the one's that help him bring the best out of him, what will eventually bring success to a team.

On teams where those players can't deal with not being stars or in the spot light that's when teams fail, because everyone wants the glory and no one is willing to give it up, even in order to win.

A great and a simple example is the Bulls of the Jordan area, everyone knew he was the star and all the players accepted their roles in the team, what brought great success, cause the rotation players always did what was needed to make sure the team won.

Along with M.J's amazing talents they did just that, it's enough to remember that after M.J left and kukic and Pipen were left, they didn't really get a long and had problems accepting each one's role on the team, it came to a point that once when Phil Jackson decided to go with Kukic on a last second shot Pipen didn't want to come in to the game.

Basically what I'm saying that it's always much more than just basketball, it's mostly how the team chemistry is and how the system gets each one to work together and to accept each others role on the team, no matter what it is.

And those things can make a team a champion or just another team, that will never raise to the top

I don't wanna talk
About the things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules