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Sunday July 25th , 2010 FIVE CZECHS AND A MIKE! One of the best things about coaching basketball in Europe is the chance to meet new people, see new places and do new things. I have been fortunate enough to meet many great friends throughout my travels both in and out of basketball. But anyone who has been a part of a team knows that what really counts are not statistics or scores; what really matters is people. During the battles what you really feel are the friendships; Long after the last shot, what you really remember are the relationships. As an American coach coming into the Czech Republic National team, I took the position very seriously understanding what an honor it was. Thankful for the opportunity, it was important to me to take things slowly and work my way into the team. Confident my positive approach and enthusiasitc energy for basketball would eventually make an impact, I listened well and took things one step at a time. At training camp in Liberec, Pavel supported me tremendously putting me in positions to be successful within the team. As the first American coach in Czech Basketball Federation history, all eyes were on how this experiement would work. What made training camp in Liberec fun was the fact that the chemistry with the team was not the only positive team-building taking place. Behind Pavel Budinsky, the newly assembled Czech basketball staff hit the ground running quickly jelling with synergy. Of course, Pavel's new approach to a positive team spirit and aggressive playing style set the tone. As new assistant coaches, Jan 'Honza' Slowiak and I brought our best to the table. Along with our production within our roles, physio Petr Toncar, conditioning coach Vladimir Hojka and manager Kuba Dura were also new to the national team situation. Entering training camp in Liberec, our coaching staff probably had more question marks than returning players! But early on in Liberec, you could feel the positive teamwork amongst the staff. Heading the staff, new manager Jakub Dura was on his home turf as he is the manager of the Liberec Condors in the Czech Republic second division. Kuba keeps a sharply organized schedule and is on top of details all the way down to informing the staff what color t-shirts and shorts to wear or keeping up on the pages and pages of national team paperwork. Quickly we all were impressed with Ladja's conditioning work. Although a track and field expert, Ladja loves to follow the NBA and his work with the team made immediate positive impression on the players and people involved. Physio Petr Toncar, who formerly was a physio in Decin for Pavel, brings a terrific personality and expertise to his craft. Pavel praises Petr for having the 'magic touch' when it comes to massage therapy helping players recover. Together, Ladja and Petr provide the Czech national team with a terrific support staff. The head coach of Pardubice in the Czech League, Honza also served as the head coach for the Czech Junior National team and brings excellent knowledge of the game. While I focus on the teams offense, Honza is the defensive coordinator and video guy. Finally, there was the new guy. Not just any new guy. A foreign new guy, an outsider. Thankfully, we all connected early in Liberec and had fun together while giving great effort to our cause. When it was finally time to break training camp in Liberec, everyone was happy. Everyone had worked extremely hard and remained focused throughout the entire intense week. As we checked out of the Hotel Babylon and hit the highway for Prague, we were all excited about the road trip to Bulgaria for our first real action. Of course there were question marks about the new team and the new staff, but together we felt very good about where we were at. I rode down to Prague with Pavel and we talked about basketball and life. The ten years ago from Chemnitz and Chomutov seemed like ten months. Pavel called his wife Eve and talked with his two young children Babu and Pavlick reminding us of the real time in between the decade since we had met. I guess time does fly when you are having fun. On the trip down, Pavel stopped for gas. I went into the quickstop to get some snacks and bought us both a Magnum bar. We were happy. Two guys driving down the road, talking basketball, eating Magnums. Randomly, I asked him if the hotel had internet. It was then, he warned me about the nights accomodation. I think his exact words were 'it's for scouts'. I said 'what like NBA scouts?' He answered 'no you know, scouts'. Wait a minute? ' Boy scouts?' We pulled into the parking lot at the Jiri Welsch Academy at Sparta Prague. As one of the most famous Czech basketball players of all time, a former NBA player, Jiri Welsch had done something special for his home country by establishing this basketball foundation in Prague. While it was an outstanding place for boys and girls to play basketball, it was a surprise to me for our nights stay. We walked up the high wooden stair case to our rooms and I put my bags on the bed. I had a difficult decision on which bed to use because in my room there were SEVEN beds. Eliminating the bunk beds and checking around the room, I settled for the one in the middle. When I laid down, I did feel like a scout. We went down to the restaurant and chatted with a nice woman named Alena. The care-taker of the place, she was proud to have her favorite basketball coach in for a drink. She brought out magazines with Pavel on the cover as Petr Toncar and I gave him the business with alot of jokes. The Mummy was on TV in Czech and the Rock had a high-pitched voice. Sharing some stories, Pavel took me into the gym where we took some pictures, checked out the retired jerseys on the wall and talked about the academy. After I learned about the Academy and saw how much fun Pavel, Petr and Alena were having, I was really happy we stayed there instead of just another hotel. Parking personal cars at the Academy, players met for breakfast at 8am. Everyone was on time. We all saw Ladja walk up from across the street. We laughed as we found out he lived five blocks away. Finishing breakfast, we all loaded up on a bus and enjoyed a short, early morning ride to the Prague Airport. Pavel told me that he really liked the chance to park his car at the Academy which was so close to the airport, then he would not have to fight traffic in Prague on his way to catch a flight. There was not much sightseeing on the way as the early Prague morning was cool, overcast and gray. We got to the airport and checked into our flight --- Czech Airlines OK 856 to Sofia Bulgaria leaving at 1130am. We checked in as a group and everything went smoothly. I was impressed with the Prague airport. Pavel called a staff meeting so we found a coffee shop just after the security screening and we sat down. Pushing two tables together the six staff members all prepared for a meeting. Pavel had several points to address and we went over the schedule and plans for the trip. Somehow in the meeting, my middle name of Richard became a topic with people enjoying some jokes. Having just completed our training camp, we were ready for the next steps as a staff. Everyone was happy and ready for hardwork, focused and ready for fun. Finishing the round table discussion with a 'good talk', I asked the guys to ask someone nearby to take our picture. With our six member staff posing for the picture, the person who snapped the shot asked where we were from and who we were. Like a planned punch line for automatic laughs, Petr Toncar said 'We are the Czech Republic National team....and we are Five Czechs and a Mike'. Taking the jokes as a compliment, I saw it as the moment where I really fit in and was accepted not as an American outsider but as a unique personality bringing something positive to the group. Moments like those are what you remember. Walking through the halls on the way to the gate, I was talking with some of the team when a hat caught my eye. A classic Czech Republic hat that only a tourist would wear, was on display in one of the news stand shops. Walking over to take a closer look, Lubos Barton greeted me in the shop as he searched for a book. While Lubos settled on a Dan Brown book, I settled on the red, white and blue hat. He looked at me and asked me if I was sure. As I waited behind Lubos in line, he asked me how much the hat cost. When we found the tag, he alertly pointed out that his book cost about the same. But my mind was made up --- early! I am an instinct shopper --- if I see something I like it's a quick decision. And how perfect was this? An American guy with a classic tourist Czech Republic hat trying to pass it off as official Czech Republic basketball gear but everyone would know it came from the airport newsstand. I didnt care, I liked it and I convinced myself I would make it work. Some how the hat not only fit my size, but it fit me. I was the only American with the Czech national team but I was also the only one who would wear that hat. I was proud of it. When we landed in Bulgaria, I was very interested to look around. It was my first trip to the Balkans and I was excited about Bulgaria. The first thing that struck me was the different letters and words. Some words looked like they had number 3 or number 4 in them. Next, while waiting in line for our baggage to arrive, some guy was upset because during the flight the ketchup bottle in his bag came open. I was surprised too because it was a Heinz bottle. But it was funny to see him so mad as he was trying to close the lid and repack it. As Pavel and I watched him, all I could think of is 'that is what you get.' We collected out luggage and rolled the black bags out of the airport through the revolving glass doors. The air was hot with a breeze. A young guy named Sascho greeted us at the bus and would be our host from the home team. He was wearing a St Johns' basketball shirt so I immediately tipped off conversation with him. He was a huge basketball fan who covered the Bulgarian leagues online and had several friends who played in college in the states. Instantly, we found common ground in basketball and Sascho and I would enjoy daily conversations throughout our stay. An old guy with unbuttoned button-down shirt and a disheveled 1965 look loaded our stuff onto the bus while smoking a cigarette. He was the bus driver. Riding on the bus to the hotel, the drastic contrast in Bulgaria between new and old, rich and poor or clean and dirty stood out. A beautiful new building would be directly next to an old-run-down area. Parts of the city were all glass windows while other parts were all concrete. The sidewalks were basically desctructed and the roads had more ups and downs than a roller coaster ride. We all had fun riding the bumps and making noises 'ey-yei-yei-yei-yei' while our necks snapped back and forth to the momentum. Despite more turbulence than the flight, we made it to the Hotel Triada in one piece. Unloading the bus and settling into the hotel, the players were ready to face the challenges in Bulgaria having grown into one team. And the staff was ready too having grown into Five Czechs and One Mike! Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm and international baketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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