The first myth: all the best players must play in the national team
Playing for the national team is voluntary – with emphasis on the word voluntary. Professional female players gather in their free time from their main job and are not paid for it. It is a voluntary dedication to a greater cause that goes beyond the boundaries of a sports school, club or city.
All the best players who want to play for Latvia must play in the national team. Playing should never be forced. Players should have freedom of action – there are more important things in life than basketball. Health, children, family – every time exemption is self-evident.
Myth #2: The national team lacks good tall/short players
A basketball team is a unique formation. The outcome is determined by twelve, not one person. The outcome of each game is determined by teamwork. There are no perfect twelve. Also, it is very rare that the outside and front lines are equally strong.
Six years ago, there were concerns that only one central player was growing in the nearest reserves. Indeed, there are not many strong centers, but there is no shortage of front-line players even after the change of generations. There is not even a place for all of them.
Right now, the biggest concern is at linebacker. After the end of Elina Babkina’s career, there is no such bright number one, but one person does not win or lose a basketball game. If the coach knows how to use all the players, it is possible to cover the weak spots.
The comeback in the important home game against Israel actually took place without Elina – that day the linebacker finished the match with a +/- indicator of -9. On the road against Sweden, the team scored 16 points. The historic victory over Spain was also won without Latvia’s best playmaker.
The third myth: Latvian coaches are useless
Valdemārs Baumanis, Alfreds Krauklis, Olģerts Altbergs, Raimonds Karnītis, Armands Krauliņš, Maigonis Valdmanis, Jānis Zeltiņš, Valdis Valters – this is the constellation of Latvian basketball coaches in the 20th century. And the coach of Riga ASK, Aleksandrs Gomeļskis, who came from Leningrad at that time.
Club basketball compared to the 1930s-1980s. years, made a huge breakthrough. Now there are dozens of strong national championships in Europe. Competition is on a completely different level. French and Spanish women’s basketball is dozens of times stronger than it was 30 years ago.
Despite the huge growth of competitors, Latvian basketball has remained competitive. We don’t have 700,000 licensed players like France or a great club system like Spain. We play with skill, not numbers – thanks to good and smart coaches.
The youth team coached by Maija Kubliņa played in the first World U21 Championship. Ainārs Čukste and Mārtiņš Zībarts won three European bronze medals with the U20 girls. The young girls coached by Aigaras Neripa, Mārtiņš Zībart, Gunta Endzel and Anita Mikāle earned a historic European silver.
Ainars Zvirgzdiņš continued the work started by Chukste, reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2007, and making his debut at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Mārtiņš Zībarts, Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis and Aigars Nerips led the national team to its debut at the World Cup in Tenerife.
Zvirgzdiņš lifted the FIBA European Cup over his head in 2007. Zībarts became the Euroleague champion in 2017 and, like Mārtiņš Gulbis, led TTT in the quarterfinals of the women’s basketball tournament. Gundars Vētra with many assistants fought without losses in the qualification of “Women`s EuroBasket 2023”.
Krauliņš, then Zvirgzdiņš and Vētra, worked with world stars. Siebart earns his living in the modern “Eldorado” – women’s Chinese basketball association. Kaspars Mājenieks and Matīss Rožlapa are paving the way abroad.
I wish everyone to sing the Latvian National Anthem with such dedication as Dignucis does @basketball! ? #6 player pic.twitter.com/dsg1DuVx1A
— Rihards Gromuls (@Gromuls) November 9, 2023
Myth 4: Campaigns Will Help Breakthrough Women’s Basketball
15 years ago, the European division of the International Basketball Federation announced the year of women’s basketball. With the slogan “We are also basketball” – we are also basketball. The expected breakthrough did not follow, because the slogan was chosen poorly and campaigns do not replace purposeful work.
A different approach was taken in the United States. “Basketball is basketball”. Basketball is basketball. The famous ninth article – Title IX – provided that state funding for high school and university sports should be allocated equally to both sexes.
The new standards completely changed women’s sports. Over the course of fifty years, a magnificent university sports system grew – today there are about 2,000 female basketball teams in the USA (an average of six per 1,000,000 population), including 350 that play in the first division of the NCAA.
The state unit is the standard setter. It reflects an ideal towards which one should strive. As Paula Strautmane aptly said: “In the national team, we show a standard – what a Latvian athlete should be. Someone has to be Latvian.”
Each team can have its own standards. The legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski in the book “The gold standard: building a world-class team” talked about the standards of the “Duke” team, applying a similar model in his work with the NBA stars gathered by the “Redeem team”.
Mārtiņš Zībarts used Krzyzewski’s method in working with TTT basketball players. Books have a powerful power – many things do not need to be reinvented, only models learned in the world need to be adapted. As in Billy Joel’s song “We didn’t start the fire” – we didn’t start the fire.
Standards are created by voluntary agreement – ideally by consensus. If there is no consensus, a majority – half plus one vote, or a qualified majority – two-thirds of the votes can be agreed upon.
Standards can be very different. For instance:
1) each player can freely express his opinion,
2) each player is always heard,
3) the day of the game is a day without telephone and social networks;
4) can play well in defense every day,
5) Latvia is the land of the first European champions – we continue to strive for excellence.
Krzyzewski and the Redeem team had 15 gold standards, the first five of which were:
1) No excuses: we have what it takes to win.
2) Excellent protection: the first rule for obtaining gold; we do the “black work”.
3) Communication: we look into each other’s eyes; we tell each other the truth.
4) Trust: We trust each other.
5) Collective responsibility: we rely on each other; we win together.
Others: care, respect, common sense = intelligence, confidence, flexibility, selflessness, aggressiveness, enthusiasm, quality of performance = performance, pride.
“The national team is where we show the standard – someone must be an athlete from Latvia. Someone must be Latvian.” #ThreeStars
France ?ﾟﾇﾷ – ?ﾟﾇﾻ Latvia #EuroBasketWomen ⁰? at 21:45, LTV7 pic.twitter.com/B9Br3uVw6i
— Latvian Basketball Association (@basketbol) November 9, 2023
A healthier environment is created in teams where there is a “Bottom – Up” model, not a “Top – Down” model. Or rather, smart leaders make policy by listening and listening to the players, not by creating a one-man dictatorship.
Yes, dictatorships tend to succeed in sports. Especially when there are unlimited human and financial resources. That is not Latvia’s way. The work of the State Unit should be based on voluntariness, mutual trust and standards of excellence.
Resources used:
Carmelo’s legacy
Maris Novik in America: The KKK and Article Nine
Kitty and Mums: What remained unseen
2023-11-13 09:54:05
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