Last post was 30 of August

And since then lots of things has happened, my cellphone has died and resurrected again like someone from the bible. I have with many others managed to arrange the first Boys 98 Pre Season Invitational in the weekend of 2-4 of september. A tournament with 7 invited teams and of course my team from Horsholm Basketball

Winners was 08 Fryhuset from Sweden that also last season was nordic champions.
Runner up was ALBA Berlin from Germany and third place was taken by Norrkoping Dolphins that beat my team for the 3rd spot.

Lots of great games and one reason for that was the level of the refs that I had brought from Poland. They where excellent and held the same level all through the tournament and called it like it should be called. Many refs from Sweden and denmarks could have learned a lot by watching these refs in action.

On sunday at the tournament we managed also to get the Young Coaches Academy started with 3 clinics. Whats new with YCA this season is that it goes out to all new and young coaches in denmark and there was a great turnout at the first with 14 in attendence.


The weekend after the tournament (9-11)I went to Stockholm for a youth tournament with my girls 98 to play with 3 even teams in all 24 of 25 players went on this trip to Blackebergs tournament
We had some great games but also a trip with a Harry Potter train

on our way up to stockholm, the train was from 1960 (no joke I asked) and we where delayed almost 2 hours because of different things, one thing was a lady who had to much time to drink red wine and ambulance had to come. At start from malmoe the train was already 50 minutes late, but thanks to the tournament staff our games in fridat was scheduled later so we got to play them. Everybody was happy with that accept for one ref whom I guess dont have any love for the sport at all and he stressed already stressed girls by almost helping (yelling every 20 second, hurry up) with putting on their shoes.

Great tournament and teams learned a lot I can recomend it.


Guess I`m back :-)

Spain vs France in Eurobasket final, will be a nice game, but cant understand that Russia manged to lose to france, but one answer is of course Tony Parker.

Macedonia with Mchelab thats an upgrade if there ever was one. Warp speed captain, YES sir and *meep* *meep*

Basketball country

Lithuania is a great basketball country a matter of a fact is they call themself "basketballcountry" and soon time for Eurobasket in basketball country it will be a magical atmosphere and I wish I could be there in the middel enjoying Lithuania and their love for basketball.

But I cant afford to go there this year, so I have to admire this basketball celabration from a distance on TV on the net, but thats ok, but not great.

The Lithuanians are crazy in love of Basketball and look at this their TV tower has chenged a little bit for the coming eurobasket 2011.

This is not the end

Sorry to all readers of the blogg, but as you know if you have read this blogg its only one week until the tournament for boys 98 starts and since I`m the creater of it of course I have lots to do.

I will be back after the 4th of september, but you never know if something ends up here before that.

Peace & love and Basketball

I dont hear you!?

Well basketball is a world sport all almost everything is the same except NBA withits special rules, but there are differences and they are somethings huge in the cultural side of it.

Yesterday I watched the Nebraska Huskers play against Hørsholm ladies team and the day after against the danish womens nationalteam. The differences hits you directly when you enter the gym on the warmups. Nebraska owned the gym from they started warming up until the gym was empty.

They make så much noice in the warmups and YES sometimes its to much, but the effect it had especially the Hørsholms ladiesteam is huge. Some talk about winning the warmups and they won it big and already before the game had started they had put small mental ghosts in the head of danish players.

When game was played the Nebraska squad talked more in offense than the danish did in defense and that says a lot. But to be totally honest if you dont find a balance with what you say the effects will be less and less of a factor.

I mean talking just to talk is not the goal, but to use voice to controll the game in offense and defense is something totally different.

Nebraska is ranked around 100 in the states and this team had many first and second year students, so they lack a lot of experience but what passion they play with. American athleets in almost every sport are known for their hustle, the never give up attitude that makes less of a talented player outplay the more talented player.

That was a factor in both games, they crash the bords every single time for hustleplays and they go hard.

Another difference is the unity they have on the team you can almost taste it in the gym and they are liek usual very good at creating that unity. Collegeteams alway have nice teamclothes, the communicate loudly, the are focuses on the tasks, they have lots of people around the team ass coaches, managers, adm personal, phsyical and more. There are all the keys to creat a good enviroment for the player to develop. Of course you can always discuss player development in college, focus is winning but still the players if the choose to have all the possibilities in the world to develop, but focus will be on winning so the extra works needs to be done before and after.

After the game sunday I had 11 of my 25 girls born 98 in the gym and players and coach of Nebraska talked to them about college and whats that like. The Nebraska squad was awesome in what they did and the where truly rolemodels for our sport.

After they talked with the girls they arranged something special. Alla of my girls got a Nebraska shirt, but there was a problem they only had 7 new shirts left. Problem was solved quikly when some of their players took of there own shirts and handed then to the girls. A great experience during the game and a great eperience after the game.

Will some of my girls play collegeball in the future only time wil tell, but after this talk with Nebraska players and coach its more likely that some will. If you dont know what the possibilties for playing basketball in the future are, what motivates you to continue practising and working hard?

Celebrate basketball - Eurobasket 2011

Great song the official eurobasket song for the mens championchips 2011 in Lithuania, I`m still hoping for a miracle so I can go there :-)

I have my thinking hat on

Well its time for another season as a coach and new season and also one more new team for me means that there are new players, new parents and all that comes with it.

New ass coaches to work with and it reallt takes some planning or else its to easy to go the wrong way or simply focus on the wrong things or the right things at the wrong time. Bad either way, so I have used a couple of hours to get some ink on paper.

I`m satisfied with it and really looking forward to have all my players back from vacations within 2 weeks. Season is planned to 95% only things left is really to decide what tournaments we will participate in during the year and thats the easy part compaired to many other things.

Tonight meeting with the girls teams ass coaches and we will go through some things and plan parents meeting and some other stuff for this season.

First time in many years I work a normla job and train 2 teams and all planning that comes with it. I´m glad I have som many years in my backpack as a coach so I have done these things so many times before and some things I can use again and again until I decide to change it for whatever reason that might be.

Now some food and then meeting
Greatest game in the world B A S K E T B A L L !

Long or short does it really matter?

Of course it matters in a sport like Basketball, but I beleive we often get stuck in some stupid inch decider on whom can play or cant play. Its not 2,5cm which will decide that, but when many coaches have to choose they go for the centimeters. Same coaches that would say Boykins, Nate Robinson, Mugsy Bouges, Spud Webb, Allen Iverson are to short or skinny to play on the high levels.


Its been proven so many times by the shorter players that it can be done, BUT the competition for thoose spots in the rosters are so much more harder than for the player who is 205cm or compered to the player that is 220cm nearly non excisting.

The shorter player has to be sharp as hell on certain skills to make it and I think one of the biggest obsticals is their surrounding family, friends and coaches that say they cant make it because of their size.

What is making it?
If making it is just to play in the NBA or Euroleague well maybe those people are close to truth, but to me being th ebest you can be is the goal and that means playing pro ball in some country is making it, not just NBA or Euroleague. College basketball is full of shorter skilled players and just like Allen Iverson that was told he was to short and skinny to play in NBA, you can also prove them wrong.

We are to fixed on height and height really is not the biggest factor at all, since reach (hands over head straight up) is much more important and wingspan (arms out to the sides) is 100 times more important in basketball.

What do I mean, well you can be 210cm in height but only have a reach, wingspann like a player with 190cm in height, that means that the player 210cm and the player 190cm have the same actual presence on the floor.

Some years ago this has become a much bigger factor in looking for talent and looking at top level you will not find many with - in wingspann or in reach, but you will find shorter players with enormous wingspann and reach. The supertall with T-rex arms is not there anymore,, because where to head is in the air is not important compaired to where the arms are.

Example from NBA in Kevind Durrant, he is 6,9, but has a wingspan of 7,5 player that is huge in what makes him the player he is. Thats is somewhere around +18cm, if he had -18cm he wouldn`t be in NBA.

He is and old article of turkey development and how the started looking at i some years ago.
http://mirror.www.fiba.com/asp_includes/download.asp?file_id=480

Where i come from Sweden and in Denmark where I`m active right now I do believe most clubcoaches (in sweden usausally nationalteams coaches know) and player dont know their wingspann or reach, so how do the coaches know which players are most suitable for the higher levels?

Being short or shorter than most is not the end, but it maybe makes the possiblities less and instead of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers or Partizan Belgrad you might play for some other team.

Prove them wrong, dont give up, you can always become the best you can be and thats always good enough.