Ep. 28.5 | Strength Coach and Head Coach Communication | with Georgios Dedas

We keep going with Georgios Dedas and get specific about how elite programs use strength and conditioning to protect intensity, reduce injuries, and peak at the end of the season. We also finish with fast, blunt advice for young players and parents on what actually helps someone reach the pro level. 

• building trust between head coach and strength coach through consistency and honesty 
• planning weekly and seasonal load to keep the team fresh for playoffs 
• using practice structure to manage contact, intensity, and decision-making under fatigue 
• defining clear strength coach responsibilities in warm-ups, weight room, and time control 
• tracking minutes and avoiding long stretches that kill intensity 
• avoiding tactical conversations with players and staying in your role 
• coordinating with physios and medical staff for injury prevention and recovery 
• using simple load tracking like player 1 to 10 practice ratings 
• talent versus hard work and mental strength at the pro level 
• balancing one-on-one defense skills with team defensive tactics 
• parents reducing pressure and avoiding sideline coaching in the social media era 
• reaching George through Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgiosdedas/

If you got something from this episode, share it with the player, share it with the parent, share it with the coach who needs to hear that because this is the best way to support us. But for now, keep training basketball, body and mind.

Transcript

Part Two And Quick Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is part two of our conversation with George Daddes. Let's jump right into the action. So tell me a little bit about your experience and what does the good relationship between the strength and conditioning and uh and and and uh coach like is like is like some people probably still think that strength and conditioning is someone who does the warm-up on the basketball court and then he lives in the weight room.

Planning Load Across The Season

SPEAKER_02 0:28

No, I mean I'm not I'm not in this uh how to say in this part uh first of all okay uh I want to say that my two years also in Olymbiakos before I go to Ritas uh helped me because Olymbiakos back then I was a young coach my second third year, so I didn't know too much about Olymbiakos, he still is the guy, he's all he's one of the most legendary strength and conditioning coaches in um in Greece. And he was, I can say okay, I will not say bitching, but he was yelling players like Spanulis, Princesses, Americans, foreigners before, and the coach was David Blood, not you know, some coach like okay, who are you? And David Blood was very cool with that. So I was like, you know, like first time joining this team, and I said the strength and conditioning coach said, Hey, come on, guys, wake up, sprint. And I said, God damn it, uh, these are EuroLeague level players or millionaires or whatever. And David Blatt was saying, Good, his name is Andreas. Hey, good Andreas, good. But I said, Okay, maybe. So this was my first, let's say, experience that strength and conditioning coach. If you because players I know now, especially they they have um a lot of information that we didn't have back in the days. I told you, they would say, run 40 minutes, uh aerobic. I said, okay, that's what we should do. Now nobody does that, you know. So we cannot check it, you know, blah blah blah. Now all the players, you know, because of the the era that we live in, they can check. Is this okay? How is this doing? Blah blah blah. So it was my first uh experience. I say, okay, maybe that's you know, that's uh the way. So I from that start I started that strength and conditioning coach is very important, you know, because me as a player, strength and conditioning coach was more as a friend of mine than a colleague, you know, because I was going there and I was saying, okay, uh, and says, Okay, let's work, you know, this is what they were telling me. Hey, let's work. Don't don't give it wasn't like it was more a friend and then a coach, you know, at least in my era. Now I'm on the other side, I'm in the coaching stuff. It's you know, for me, the if not the most, one of the most vital positions in the club. Because as I said in Olymbiakos, okay, I wasn't so involved in the team as I was in Ritas, but I was seeing how the strength recognition coach was treating, and what I want to say is the players they know if you are bullshitting them. So they were respecting him because he was saying good, they were working good, you know, they see themselves, their buddies, their injury prevention, everything. So, same went with Ritas. You know, this is we didn't build it from the first year, but as the years going past, you know, having the same coaching stuff, we create a chemistry that everybody was uh it was strange for players coming after a couple of years in Rita, seeing that the Rita was working like this. That for example, every practice, if not every practice, but 90% of practices was uh talking, hey, what we do today. Tadas was asking what you want to do today, and we're saying with coaches this and that and that, mmm, maybe not this, or maybe not that. Okay, this guy then uh maybe not load. Because what I liked in Ritas and I kept it is that we were seeing, we were listening to Tadas and we were listening, we were thinking maybe one week ahead, two weeks ahead, and we say, guys, don't load them now because in two weeks, or load them now because in two weeks we have back-to-back games, so there is no time of practice. Now is it the period to load? Or load make more practice, uh put a little bit load. Or hey guys, we have back to buy games, team is injured, team is tired. Uh let's do non-contact practice. Uh, some things that in my experience, at least all the five years that I was in uh in Ritas, we went to the finals all five years, and everybody was saying Ritas in the playoffs, it's it was in the best shape of the season. Because we were listening to Tadas, of course, we can see that we have results, and this helps you. You see that the team is healthy, we play very good at the end of the season, but we started from the pre-season, and we started through the through the the competition season, you know how to do that. Uh for example, I don't know if they are still doing, I I think they are doing that. Something that here in Ostendia was fighting. Fighting, I said, we cannot make more than two practices tape in a row. We never do this. So two practices tape again, or if it's during week, day off, you know. And here, here, for example, they are used different. It says five practices tape in a row. I said, guys, no, no, we're going to the finals every year like that. They were telling me. I said, okay, respect, but also we were going to the finals every year with another way. I want to say it's not right and wrong way. So, but in my experience, working like this, it was fundamental and uh key, not me, all the coaching stuff, you know, and uh even during the games, you know, like and this is I want to say that it's not so easy to build as long as you know how you want to play. For example, in Ritas we wanted to play a little bit uh up tempo game, a little bit faster, a little bit more subs. We want to keep the intensity, that was our our goal, uh, to keep the intensity as high as possible for the longest time possible, and at the end of the game to be in the condition that will be the best players available in condition wise to win the game, and combined all this to bring it at the end of the season because more or less you know Retas will play in the final, so these players, and uh that's why we were uh for some players, maybe it's uh for some teams it's very strange or coaches that we were subbing every three, four minutes, five minutes. Some players they have different capacity, for example, big guys they cannot play more than six minutes, in my eyes, in modern basketball, because they are heavy. Some guys, for example, Rajavicius, Rajo couldn't play in the keep the same intensity nine minutes in a row. So it's also you need to know then you go individually. Hey, this guy comes from injury, uh maybe make the first part of practice, then rest him, or make the non-contact. I'm I'm saying details that helps to keep the team in shape during the season, and most important the teams that they play to the finals or until the end of the playoffs at the end of the season, you know? And uh I'm throwing some exam-there were a lot of examples. I mean like this, but this is a small portion how discussion with the coaches and uh strength and conditioning can help you to keep the team fresh, you know, keep the team fresh, keep the team mentally and physically fresh. Mentally is more part of our from coaches, but okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yes, and I I then like I understand some things like uh the load, let's say, um, of course, strength doing the strength work, but what like from your head coach uh position, what would be responsibilities then for that uh strength and conditioning coach?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Good, good question. So so when I left Ritas in the summer and have this opportunity to come to a stand as a head coach, and I told you I need the strength because I it's the only way I know to work, how to work. I mean, with having strength and conditioning being very important. So I said to the team, I need strength and conditioning because also I don't I don't like a head coach making all the practice. I need to divide the practices. So assistants need to do something, strength and conditioning needs to do something. So uh for me, of course, um uh weight room is only on strength and conditioning coach. I say to Lucas here, and of course, Stadas that don't tell me what you're doing. That's up to you. I trust you, I brought you here, you know, or Tadas, you are five years in the team. Do what you think is it's best for the players, that's your job. And then during the practice, you know what uh what I think strength and condition, of course, warm-up and first part of practice. So every time Lucas and Tadas they were asking Tadas the coaches, you know, Lucas me, what is the first drill after me? So I would say uh non contact. Okay. Or so they adjust their warm-up. Or if we didn't have time and we need to go straight to contact, they would say, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna work the map a little bit more. So they can go straight to contact. Because for me, how I see you cannot start straight to contact, you need to do some pre-drills before and then go to contact. I don't know if it's right or wrong, other athletes is what I think. So the players can be can be can be ready, can be physically ready, avoid any small uh issues, getting ready, start, and then playing five on five at the end of the practice when you are more tired, and then you need to take decisions at the end of the game that it's a crucial under uh under duration being tired, but that's another part. So and then controlling the time practice, because I like to make practice also in Ritas with the with the time on the court. So we were before the practice, we were saying, uh, okay, we're gonna do this and this and this, uh how long? Eight minutes, nine minutes, blah blah blah. We need 24, uh, we need this, and uh then they were controlling uh this uh this aspect of the practice and and the time, you know. And uh and sometimes, okay, you can prepare something, but you can see during the practice that doesn't work, or it's too much for today for whatever reason. Maybe players came a little bit tired than usual, or they don't have the energy, or vice versa. You say, let's practice 30 minutes today, contact, but you can say they have energy and say, okay, give them 10 more minutes. So that's uh that's uh a talk with a strength and conditioning coach and say, Hey, can we practice? Because I said also to Lucas, this is more and Tadas, hey, can we practice 10 minutes more? Because I see not today, okay. I respect you. Or uh or yes, we can practice, they are good, you know, because you know, also this uh also strength and conditioning coach can see from outside how the players are moving, players that they know, how he runs, how he sprints, how he crosses the boards. So if you can see the energy, especially if you know the players. And uh of course doesn't mean that every time you need to listen to the strength and conditioning. I'm saying listen to what he says. You need to get his advice. You know, his advice, that's why you have him in the team. If not, don't have him. The same as assistant coaches, that's my motto. What if you don't listen to your staff? Why to have a staff?

SPEAKER_03 11:09

You know what's the reason?

SPEAKER_02 11:12

For video, okay. You can make a guy to make the video. But uh I like brainstorming, and you know, this is how we did in five read uh, you know, exchanging ideas, listening to the assistants. Uh doesn't mean that the head coach every time takes responsibility, but um if you don't trust them or you don't listen to them, why to have them? You know?

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yes, yes. And um you answered like I because I had this question, like who has the last word? Of course, like head coach is the name, head coach, yes, but uh you still listen, you still take into account their opinion. It's not like it's my way or like a highway. No, it's uh yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

A lot of times, you know, during the season, coach might be mad, we lost the game to say, ah, let's let's run today, you know, do boot camp. I mean, it's part of the uh it's you know, and I know strike coaches they don't like this so much, but they have also to understand that head coach has uh more responsibilities and more uh you know so he says, or maybe you want to send a message to the players that hey guys, this is not acceptable, so next time they will think twice to do that, you know. It's some tricks of uh of that, and this is also good when certain conditioning coaches there understand that uh this is also part of their job. Sometimes letting the coach you know do you know his own thing because it's a benefit for the team for the whole group, you know, maybe not today, but in the future, you know. And this is something that we did good, you know in Ritas and uh we're trying to do with the with Lucas here. So it's you know constant constant conversations, and uh you have to listen to them, and of course, you have to take a decision according to their considerations, especially when it goes to their part. When you go to tactics, of course, you need to listen to your assistant folks and then take a decision. And also during the game, it's important strength to calculate minutes. For example, I said to Lucas, I said, every time come and tell me if somebody plays more than five minutes. I'm not saying I'm gonna sub him, just I want to to see if uh if this and uh maybe I sub him, maybe I keep him, you know. And it depends the player, depends the moment of the game. Or uh also with Tada, sometimes he was saying, Hey, let's sub. I remember a game. I don't remember, but it was a crucial game, and we had Marcus Foster, and Marcus Foster was playing, I don't know, eight minutes in a row, and uh it was the game was tight, you know. It says, Hey, we need to rest Marcus. I said he will rest tomorrow, it's day off. So, you know, I didn't we didn't listen to him, but because it was the game, uh, you know, and they understand, they back up, you know. Uh you know, said okay, it's okay, it's a game. This sometimes, you know, it's coaches need to take decisions, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

So yes, it's our responsibility to inform, and uh by that information, the head coach, which is head, uh, he decides uh what to do with that information. Do we accept, do we ignore? Uh keep in mind for future. He said day off is tomorrow, he will rest tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Yes, because I don't like big spam of minutes, players to play big spam in a row, because I think you lose intensity, and I like basketball. But uh some games, especially at the end of the season, I remember I mean how we were building the playing time in the in the playoffs in the first round. Okay, we were playing how more or less how we were playing in the in the regular season, sharing the minutes. When you go to the semi-finals, you reduce a little bit, you increase the players from nine guys they play more, and then you go to the finals, you have eight guys that they play 30 minutes, and you know, and this is I think how you should do it. But in order to go in June, I'm talking a team that starts on August and playing last season game five against the Algeries was 25 of June. Imagine 25 of June. So, how to maintain these players that you know it's gonna, it's your let's say good players or the players that you're going to finish the season being on the court, can play 30 minutes without being tired. So it's it's a it's a proceed, it's a process starting from August and going you know through the season and uh you know ending up at the finals, hopefully, and have the post possible shape individually, and then of course, if individual they are in shape, team will be team will be in shape.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yes, yes. Okay, uh look, uh I have still one more question about this, and uh you don't uh have to tell any names. Uh like uh but uh just in general, if you have a story, definitely share, but uh just in general, what do you what kind of mistakes do you see that strength coaches uh like have made or are making? Or maybe you just think that this would be an acceptable mistake uh from the strength coach, like you are looking from the head coach side and uh you're looking at the strength and conditioning, maybe young strength conditioning coach like doing some mistakes. What would it be?

Boundaries With Players And Tactics

SPEAKER_02 16:18

I don't have you know uh example that I remember, but I can I would I can say what I wouldn't like coach strength and conditionings to do is for example uh to talk uh because as I'd say it's strength and conditioning and players, they have more as a friend connection. I had it as a player, and so I know, and um not to talk tactics with the players. If the player goes and says, Hey coach, uh don't don't get involved, even if you are an ex player, even if you know basketball or even whatever, don't get in this ground, don't start talking to the players about uh hey, why because you know sometime in the weight room or when you do individual stretching or whatever, players need to, you know, they need uh, as I say, they need a shoulder to cry. So a lot of times that's assistance, that's uh strength and auditioning. So they say, Hey, goddammit, why play this picker all defense or whatever? You know, and if the strength and conditioning said uh yes, you're right. That's no. I mean, uh, you know, I it's I think it's not in their job description, and you know you can say, Okay, that's you can discuss with coach, not with me. You know, find a way to to avoid this, or uh or uh telling something different than the the coach said, for example, strength and maybe coach will say, Hey, let's do up and down sprints uh for whatever reason, and you know, players are running and they're mumbling, and uh, you know, wow, what the fuck we are doing, sorry, uh what we are doing now now. And strength and conditioning coach can go and say, Hey, I told him, you know, I told him this immediately you break a little bit the connection. You know what I mean? Yes. I'm not saying I don't have an example, uh at least I know from I don't remember, but this is some small advice that you need to find your ground and the line, you know, because you are also in the line with coach and the players, you know. Same as assistance, but now we're talking about strength and conditioning coach. You cannot overstep uh this and players because if if they do it to us, they're gonna do it uh always the players, and then players with players they talk and they can say, Hey, I want to this guy, and hit on Yes, they're right. And then it's a virus spreading that uh it's not helping nobody, you know, especially the team. So stay on your uh on your how you say on your duties, go to the head coach and ask him, Coach, first of all, what do you need from me?

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

What do you need from me? Uh lifting, yes. Only only warm-up, fair enough. Uh or whatever, and then head coach might say, No, no, I want this and this and this. So, whatever coach asks you, please do it. If if you don't know him, if of course if you know him and you build a relationship through the years, so you can also let's say take initiative on something. But when you build a relationship with coach, I would say ask him what he wants, what he needs from you, and try to stay out of his waters as uh tactical as much as possible. And um, if this is the case, if somebody's doing, I don't know. I'm just saying, you know, because I know as a player, I did the same, you know, more or less. I was going and say, hey, why this, why that? You know. So this is a player that this will never change. Players will never change. Players just want to play, they don't care nothing.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Yes, they yes, and very, very good advice. And uh, I would from the basketball uh coach, I would also add from uh my perspective that um when you come, very good that you go and talk to the coach, and coach says uh what you want, uh what he wants you to do, but at the same time by showing your uh by showing your knowledge, your experience, by understanding also uh what are the let's say the movements that people that players need to perform in the court, you can kind of uh show that you can do more. Even coach maybe didn't think about what you can deliver. Uh you could say, hey coach, maybe we could, you know, later when you develop relationship, you could do something more. And maybe like only after you develop relationship, uh you could do more. But why uh I think is um is um that because when you enter a new club, new team, you don't want to go right away, like it's going to be just my way, how I used to, always done this way. You first you have to come in and observe, okay, what has been done before. You don't want to change everything because like it might be even if you have very good reasons to do, and your right your way is the right way, you still need to consider the other side and uh kind of blend both, and maybe later you will just kind of pull a little bit, nudge little bit, little bit, little bit, and then in a month or two or three, it will be just your way, which is the best way. Let's assume that you know the best way, but just don't also change everything like from the day one.

Injury Prevention And Load Tracking

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Yes, yes. That's um because in uh professional basketball, adaptation is very big skill, you know, to adapt where you are, fill how say fill the room a little bit, which team you are, as you said, what they did before, they did they succeed before, or maybe you have maybe you have players that they were here like five, six players that they used to work different. So you need to go find the best possible way, as you said, to start a little bit like this, and then if you start building relationships with players and coaches, especially with coaches, you can say to coach, Look, coach, what do you think? Maybe after my warm up, we can do this drill. Or and then a coach will say, Okay, explain me. I mean, Lucas did a couple of times. This I said, Coach, what do you think? I said, Tell me what. Drill you want to, and I said, okay, do it because in the summer, as I said, when I called Lucas, for example, I told him what I need from him, so more or less we had the understanding. But also during the season, he was sometimes he was saying, Hello, uh, for example, uh, we discussed together, and I said one time, Hey, because we didn't have time, what would you think if we're doing uh a segment of uh some maybe once per week uh a specific uh practice before the practice, like individual with uh your part, like not lifting, like maybe agilities that we don't have part. Yes, he says I will think about it, good, and then we did it for almost two months. Players like it, and uh so we we did something that we didn't have, you know, we had like 30-40 minutes and agility part before the practice. So you know if communication is correct and everybody are in the same page, like same page, meaning keep the players healthy, that's very important. Do the injury prevention, very important. This is something that with the physios, of course, for me, injury prevention also is important in this uh because as I said, I don't know, I did it as a player first time in Spain. We said injury prevention, so I said, What is this? So, as I explained, you know, some for I for ligaments, for angles, for uh muscles, you know, bunch and stuff like this. Um also I want to say that they have to be on the same page to keep the players healthy, first of all, with the physios, that's also a little bit part of the physios, not a little bit part, actually big part. Also, something that I I know in Rita they are doing, I don't know, other teams also here they we try to do it, is strength and conditioning codes to be in line with the physios and the medical stuff, because there are some things that some injuries that players need to they need the strength and conditioning holds to recover, or they need the physio to recover, or physio can say to strength and conditioning coaches look, uh, this player uh needs to do a little bit aerobic, blah blah blah, so it's your part, or you know what I mean or this. So also strength and conditioning holds needs to be also in line with the medical stuff. Uh because as I said, every injury is different, and uh to keep the players healthy as much as possible, and uh you know, and uh and physically, of course, that's their main job to be the players in shape, and but being in shape also is trying to avoid injuries, at least injuries that you know it's from overloads, it's uh I'm not talking about you know somebody hit you in the knee, or somebody you know, or you jump and you step on the on a leg, you know. But I'm saying uh muscle injuries, uh injuries that you know that you can prevent this. And you know, now with the modern technology that have more and more tools. For example, with Lucas, we did he did uh actually something that I like it. It's like every every practice he was going to the players and he was asking them, okay. I don't know, maybe you can cut this, you have to ask Lucas, is to give from one to ten how tough was the practice for them. So during the week we had a little bit uh so because we had one week of practice, so we won on the first two days of the week, Monday and Tuesday, this number to be high. So we need to load, as I said, first two days of the week, we need to load on the legs, and last okay, Wednesday, let's say individual or optional, and the last two days of the week, load on the mind, more tactical. So we had this measure to calculate the loads, and he was sending me every Friday, you know, with uh this. But this you have to ask Lucas if he wants to share it. But I want to say something something that it was uh it was interesting, something was good, you know. That uh we kept the loads, and I don't remember to have problems players, you know. Okay, we had some games at players that were playing a lot of minutes, that's also you know not good. But uh this is I think their main their main job to keep the team as healthy as as possible, and you know, physically good, and being you know, don't be so much uh a soldier to cry for the players, they have their agents, they have their wives, family, girlfriends, brothers, sisters, assistants, but uh they don't need uh more guys, you know.

Rapid Answers On Making It Pro

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Yes, yes. I mean, very good advice is very good advice, many things to learn. Just as we were talking about the youth players, many things to learn for them, also many things to learn for the uh strength conditioning coach. Let's go to the last very short part. Uh, I will ask you one six questions, and uh your uh question, your answer can be very short or as long as you uh wish, okay?

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Uh so the first question is Is talent enough to reach pro level?

SPEAKER_02 27:00

No.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

No. Okay. Can I expand? You can expand.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

No, as you know, as we said in the beginning, it's a combination of a lot of things. Talent can give you can give you some tools, but uh also, you know, I don't know, Kevin Durant said that uh hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work. So I think it's uh it's a code that uh applies, uh, you know, because from my experience, you know, if you're talented and don't you don't work, eventually somebody else will come and you know be more hard workers than you, and you know, coaches also like hard workers, as I told you before in the beginning of this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

You know, and they don't like uh smart asses and they don't like lazy players, so so yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Okay. Uh second question is uh it the at youth level and youth I'm saying uh 17 and older, would you sp would you recommend them spending more time on one-on-one defense skills or five on five defense tactics?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

I think you need everything. I think you need everything. You need to. I mean, one-one defense, of course. I know kids are playing one-one, even professionals after practice sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

But also, tactics are important to understand, you know. Uh, for example, but tactics depends also what your team, the team that you are, uh needs. For example, there are some teams that they they want, for example, to make a lot of rotations, a lot of uh close-outs, whatever. Some teams they don't want this. So it's different, you know, some different tactics. Uh but in the in the tactic part, you need to be focused on the team practices, you know, like listening, especially something that you didn't know, or you heard first time, uh what the core maybe you did different on your youth team or whatever. So you need to that's more on the team practice. Now, individual, of course, you know, you can play, you can it's it's always good, you know, to to have somehow extra work in a sense that can make you better, you know. Don't shoot from half court, you know, like yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

So some people, some people after watching MBA, they some some do. Okay. Next question is um a little bit about the parents. Like, maybe you have uh some experience ideas, what do parents do or could do that would kind of kill the chances or kill development for uh of the kid?

SPEAKER_02 29:38

Yes, I would say my advice to the parents okay. I mean, I'm in parents, my kids are still young, they don't play so much, but uh from teammates and what I face is I see sometimes parents, you know, putting too much pressure to the kids. You have to play, you have to play, you have to play. I'm talking about Basket, I'm talking about school, you know, but it's another story. You have to play, you need to, and you know, you can see from the stand sometimes yelling to referees, yelling to for me. This is not good. You don't do it. I know in your mind you want to help, I know, uh, but you are not helping. Uh that's my advice. I mean, of course you need to watch, you need then to discuss uh to discuss with your uh with your kid, you know, boy or girl, what they can if you know let's say okay, because there are some parents that there are ex players, ex coaches, uh current coaches that they're entitled to know because it's their job. You know, I'm I'm talking about this uh parents. I could say that try not to do in front of everybody. I mean you're gonna be with your kid soon enough, you know, talk with him, you know, like try to help him, don't put pressure on him. And especially parents are not they never played basketball or they never, you know, being high-level athletes or coach or you know. Don't try to to coach yourself from outside of the court, first of all. You know, don't and don't try to put so much pressure because nowadays, like it or not, it's different era. They have more uh kids are a little bit, I won't say softer, but I would say more sensitive because of all this, what happens, you know, with uh internet and social media. For example, you can you can make an airball or you can dunk in your face, and in two minutes in Australia what they will know if you post it on Twitter, you know what I mean? And then they like and they comment and they put fire and this all this. And they say, God damn it, I'm I'm now I'm in a New Zealand poster uh dunk of the week, you know. So but it's part of our lives. We didn't have I didn't have this when I was too young, so I don't know how it is. I have it as a coach. Uh but uh you know young kids are very easy to deviate from uh from reality, especially with uh social media. And because they this age they grew up having social media, having internet. We didn't grow up, I mean my age with that, so I know how to control it. But uh, my kids, for example, they grew up with this, so they don't know the other world, so and a lot of kids. So I would say from the parents that their job a little bit to keep them, you know. Try not to pressure them so much, find I don't know, every of course, family, every parent is different, every kid is different, every team is different. Trying to find a way to to absorb the the the press from your kid, don't put extra extra pressure because you know how this age is it's very it's very fragile.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yes, it seems uh for me like how I understand this. What you would like to say, tell me if I'm wrong, but what would you like to say to parents? Be their parent, not their coach. First of all, even if you are a coach.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Yes, I mean, even if you are your job as a coach or a player, you know, try it's it's you know, try to go to the shoes of the other coach. Yeah, seeing you coaching your kid, you know, from it's not good, you know.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, um, we skip one question because you already had answered uh but I see it uh during the podcast. And the last one is if you could finish this, the player who make it are usually the ones who the players that make it are by make it I mean uh go to the pro pro level.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

I think uh you need to to divide you have to be mentally strong to be ready for adversities and embrace this and be stronger, and of course to of course to have some kind of talent or some kind of things that you can bring to a team because don't forget it's professional, they take you because you are doing something, okay? You you are a shooter, you are a defender, you are a rebounder, you are an assist maker, you know what I mean. So if you can combine the mental the mental preparation of maybe I will fail or I will not play but keep working and having some skills, I think this is a good combination for me, at least my experience that players can can carry with them and uh you know be ready not every time but most of the times what uh what life uh professional life uh will will throw you because basketball, I don't know, other sports, I some I assume also other sports, but basketball is a sport that for players and coaches you wake up the uh morning and you don't know what's gonna happen in the afternoon practice. You know, it's it's so everything changes, uh so you have to be ready. Yes, so having these tools will at least in my opinion trying to keep you as much as possible ready, and then of course, it's other uh other small circumstances, you know, that as we said previous, that can help you be there. But you need to be ready to have the opportunity.

Contact George And Final Message

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Yes, uh it's a little bit of luck, also. Yes, there there is definitely luck uh involved in the here uh two, and uh usually I summarize the episode in three key takeaways, but I will not because you summarize it really well. Being uh that you have to be ready, there is luck involved, you have to uh work, uh you don't stay uh just kind of in one place, but as you said, to keep working just to be ready. But George, this has been a fantastic conversation, a little bit longer than uh we were planning, but I really, really nah. No, no, I enjoyed every single moment, and thank you for sharing the stories. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. And uh before we finish, if somebody would like to reach out uh to you, ask some questions, what would be the best way to do that?

SPEAKER_02 35:57

I mean, my accounts on Instagram are open. I mean, I don't uh usually I uh nowadays I use uh Instagram, you know, to yes. I grew up with Facebook, but Facebook now is not so popular, so some people use it, of course. I have messenger, but uh usually Instagram, yes, you know, it's I will put I will put this in the technology.

SPEAKER_01 36:19

Yes, I will I will put this in the show notes so uh you definitely can check that in the show notes and see the link. So everyone, thank you for the listen uh thank you for listening. If you got something from this episode, share it with the player, share it with the parent, share it with the coach who needs to hear that because this is the best way to support us. But for now, keep training basketball, body and mind.