BadalonaLaura Antoja (1977) continues to take steps forward. The Catalan coach made her debut a few days ago as a member of the coaching staff of the Angolan men’s team, which competed in Côte d’Ivoire in a window corresponding to the qualifying stages for the 2023 World Cup.
How do you rate this experience?
– Absolutely positive in every way. When such an experience is put on the table, you are looking to take advantage of the professional opportunity to enter men’s basketball to learn all the details. Being with a very good coach like Pep Clarós and seeing how he works, how he analyzes and how he directs adds a lot. But this package also carried a cultural theme, of traveling to another continent and learning about a different way of working. I love all this. It’s been fun, interesting, and poignant, because a lot of the things you see impact you.
What team has been found?
– It’s a very young group of players. They are not the top players in the country, but they have been looking for people who want to improve and a lot of ability to progress. They are athletes and have great aggression when it comes to competing. They have dynamism, play at a great pace and cause a lot of mistakes in rivals. They are players who work hard and do so with great humility to learn.
How is Pep Clarós?
– He is a very hardworking, analytical and orderly coach. He has very clear ideas and that conveys that. It shouldn’t be a novelty in a high-level coach, but it manages to get all the players involved. They believe in what they are doing and that is the basis of a possible success. It has twelve players and is committed to constant rotations. He is very strict, but he knows how to keep everyone very motivated and involved in the project.
What role did he ask for?
– I wanted someone to help him with the usual job of a second coach; scouting and analysis. Also, many corrections during workouts. I wanted him to be very above the players during the sessions of those aspects that we were trying to improve. It gave me a lot of freedom and a lot of work.
How was it found?
– A woman in a men’s environment should be more normal, but she doesn’t look much. I don’t know how many there are, really. I had a great time there. I don’t know what the key factor was, but as soon as I landed there they made things very easy for me. I was treated with a lot of respect. I was expecting more difficulties to gain his credibility and it was not so. Backwards. They listened to me very carefully, wanting me to correct them more. We tuned in really well and got along right away.
Why are there so few cases like yours?
– It must change the feeling that women have no authority over groups of men. Society is placing more and more women in the decision-making hierarchies in organizations. If there start to be more women at the top, there will be more everywhere. Gender should not determine a job, society should be open-minded. I was accepted very quickly and here, instead, I think this door would not have opened for me.
You have just renewed your contract as assistant coach of Spar Girona. What season do you imagine?
– A difficult season awaits us from the start because we will have the preliminary qualifier to access the Euroleague. It is an important challenge and therefore we will start with pressure. We have a solid group that stays from last season and a coach who arrives with a great baggage and desire to grow. I know that we will get along well and that we will work well together. We can make a good duet.
