A strange year has passed

In my soon 25 years in coaching this year has had its highs and lows like no other year. I have never felt more disrespected than this year that now has passed and its all about bball.
At the same time I have had one of the best years basketballwise in 2016 in all my years in this great sport.


But being talked to like a 5 year old, getting bullshit explanations that no experienced coach will ever fall for and having no choice but to swallow it and go on. And sure thats LIFE not all will be great and smooth, but at least give me the respect I actualy deserve and if you dont like me, well at least respect the the years I have put in.

Well im not gonna bitch about more, but this was the first time in 25 years that I actually thought about QUITTING and that scared me like nothing else has scared me in my life.

Its NEVER been about the MONEY for me in coaching and it never will be, but Im good at one thing in LIFE and thats teaching kids basketball, so please PAY me that respect.

I wish for everybody a great 2017 and for my current and former players I wish more than that.
You are my OXYGEN keep working hard and BELIEVE!
Happy New Year to all!
Coach out!

Im tired and I need to get some things of my chest

I have spent more than half my life involved in basketball 24 years something in coaching. I have worked part time, fulltime in clubs for over 9 years of those 24. Some things are the same even if we go back 24 years in the clubs and some have evolved, some have gone the other way.

I will not go in to everything and I must stress that these are my word and not my clubs, these words come from 39 year old man that fell in love with the game watching the great Magic Johnson play on Super channel at my grandmothers place when I went to 4th grade. Ever since Im stuck, still in love with the game.

I have seen/met/worked with great coaches, great talents, great humans and coached amazing people during all these years. Everybody has bad days and most of my bad days are saved by the kids I coach even if they give my headaches and a sleeping pattern that would make most quit. I cant Im in love with the game.
If it aint the kids that I coach in present time that saves a bad day, most of the time its somebody I used to coach sometime ago that has gotten a new job, made a new hit single, made it to college or in some kind of way found success in their life that makes my get back into a better mood.

As a coach and as a person I like to have fun, I like to laugh I think having fun still is one of life`s most important things. I also believe we humans forget that as we get older. People might think about me aint he to old for that, dress like that, talk like that, listen to hip.hop. Come on you to old for that...........get a job!

Well I have a job I challenge kids very week on their path to their dreams. I try to give them the tools needed in basketball and in life. Im not saying I have all the answers but im dedicated to this and if my former players dont have any use of what I taught them while they where playing for me in their life after basketball I HAVE FAILED!

The most frustating thing about working with basketball is its worth in general in Sweden. Yes, we have ourselves the blaim for the most part. I never EVER will forget the words of Hans Crunak former headcoach for the swedish nationalteam in Swimming at a time when sweden owned the pools on the mens side. I listened to a lecture he had and he talked about one of the women swimmers came and talked to him about the men getting all the attention in media, sponsorers and so on.
His answer was SIMPLE: Swim faster!

She was properbly clueless at first, but as I remember he explained it a little more to her. WELL, in a few years time the table had turned the women swimmers was swimming faster, winning and now most the male swimmers was in background eccept one.

BUT and i have a BUT.....in later years the attention in general has gone the equal rights, integration, lettingkids be kids, eqaulity in general in society and that is of course good that everybody tries to make the world a better place for ALL.


BUT....businesses, goverment, city boards are willing to pay millions and millions to people talking about these subjects, issues, but us sport clubs and especially in the case basketball which is the best sport in integration, most equal girls/boys playing and so on have to struggle year after year while.

Companies, goverment have great values out on every webpage, but a sport that actually does all these things still have to struggle. In Malmoe my club takes a huge responsability and we know and want to do more and better I can garantee everyone but this has nothing to do with SWIMMING faster this is putting your action to fancy words by those whom have the resourses to help a club like mine to grow.

Simply put your money, time and efforts where your "mouth" is. We share your values, and together we can make it a better world if we put together Basketball, resources, time and this amazning sport that sees no colour, has good values and allows everyone to play this game regardless if you are from a forein country,colour of the skin,  old, young, girl, by, gay, handicapped, athletic, short or tall.

My club is integration!
My team has 17 nationalities in 24 players, we made a T-shirt for last years FINAL FOUR in the swedish chamionships that said "Winning integration" and it was/is in so may ways. It was a statement, Im tired of the talk, tired of well written papers/values. Lets se some action and resources put in the right places, then WE will see CHANGE and only then.

BUT you wrote swim faster....well yeah that is mostly for the senior teams, nationalteams and of course more. Im talking about youth in most part in the ages where we can mold them, shape them, lift them, inspire them to greatness in basketball and after.

For when it comes to above mentions things like equality, human rights, integration we have THE WORLD RECORD so we can only beat our selves and we shouldnt have struggle in a great country like sweden with founds for those things, for education, for coaches, gyms so we can practice.

If the kids are in the gyms they are not in the street it cant be put more simple than that. We need to make coaching a real job and respect it, so we can do better.

Im tired.......and need to sleep, but I havent written in a long time and had to get this rant of my chest. Agree or disagree no matter what I hope I made you think and if you thought what was written above as garbage, why did you read it to the ned!? :-)

Cant wait until practice tomorrow night! See you in a gym somewhere, sometime the future is ours :-)
Good night! Coach out!

Almost a year since my last post

I´m not the best at writing or spelling but I love it! I write when I have the energy and inspiration to do so and to be honest for the last 11 months the only things I could have written about would have been in anger and would lead to nowhere.

So I wrote nothing or deleted it before I publish it.
Now after 2 weeks vacation I feel a need to write and I have the nergy to do so....so here it goes........

So many good things has happen over these months but it has been burried among a workload that has been crazy. Its hard for most people to relate to being a BASKETBALLCOACH and one that takes it seriously. Most people think its like any other job you go to work do your hours go home and have freetime, well it aint!

In most cases for example you have do a lot of other work to make ends meet. Maybe a stupid choice for a job, but anyway it was my choice. Been coaching for 24 years and around 9 years fulltime. (meaning just basketballrelated work)

I havent coached except for 5 games at the highest level, but the pressure, responsability, time, sweet and tears are the same in youth basketball that I spent most of my time in. Countless sleepness nights before important games (worrying, thinking, if my kids gonna reach what that want). I never really been a TROPHYHUNTER, but guiding my kids to fulfillment being apart and teacher on their journey towards their goals, dreams is what Im all about.

I write "MY KIDS" I dont have any kids of my own, but I have "thousands" of kids instead and as coach you get all the good and bads with it. All the hours of talking to players that are sad, worried, feeling bad for whatever reason it could be issues at home, girlfriends, boydfriends or selvconfidence issues. There is not a day that passes by when I dont think of past or present players and when they succeed at something I feel proud as an rooster. But when they have problems my brain will automatically switch to how can I help them.
                             
Maybe you could call my crazy, but thats how I work its the same with my friends if they have a problem I can spend hours, days trying to find a solution. Maybe I care to much, but I rather care too much than to little. Some players call me COACH and when they do I feel a sense of pride. I guess thats the same kind pride that someone feels when called FATHER.

BASKETBALL is a great sport and Im glad I fell in love with it. So many great people I have met during the years and so many great experiences. Im glad for all the players from the past I still have contact with and I tell you everytime an old player ask for advice or maybe a workout its like getting injected with "happyenergi". I see and know other people with the same crazy passion as me, dont get me wrong im not special in anyway. But my kids become special! At least I like to think so :-)

I chose to work with basketball a longtime ago knowing that it was back then almost criminal to pay for basketballcoaches especially youth coaches. Seniorcoaches has always gotten paid in some kind of way, but youth coaches was almost like you had to pay to coach.

I had a dream and I gueess I still do that the climate would change, but has it?
Well its finally starting to but its been like 15-20 years and very little has happened. Im glad to see that some clubs nowdays understands the value and work of youth coaches and actually let them work with what they are good at. But those jobs aint very common in the nordics. But at least I see progress in that department. We expect our kids to compete with other countries that have paid, educated coaches that focus just on the kids. We tell kids to follow their dreams, but we cant really give them 100% help that they need to fulfill it or get as close as possible.

But still some of us try and almost bury our self in the process. I guess you need some kind of switch to turn OFF and ON as coach, but this much I know I dont have that switch. If somebody has a spare let me know about it :-)

Every week a talk with other coaches around the world about problems with players, parents, tactics or specific drills and thats almost like a therapy group online or phone Dr Coach. Im thankful for those coaches that are close to me and put up with my problems and I hope they feel the same with me. Problems are there to be solved, but man have they changed during the years. With the schoolsystem failing (as I see it) and a more "ME" aproach in society in general has made so many "new" issues as a coach, which you didnt even need to think about before.

Selfishness in team sports are real killers im not talking about taking more shots than others or having the ball more, but the attitude that I`M the only one that MATTERS thats the issue.
This is not the kids fault it is us grown men and women that in all goodness put wrong values in them. I like to think I put good values in my kids, but sometimes its a struggle but I aint giving up anytime soon.

One of my old danish players asked me some days ago if he could come over and do some workouts and I tell you Im still smiling. My vacation is raining away, but he made my vacation special and he will regret asking. lol just kidding!

Will be nice to see one of MY KIDS!
I may be wrong but I doubt it!, coach out!