A lesson from South Beach

MANILA, Philippines - Players have to be held accountable for their actions on and off of the court,” says Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, after a tedious one-day, NBA-style training camp for young basketball players at the Araneta Center.

Recently in town to headline the first-ever NBA Fit Week held in the Philippines, a nine-day camp aimed to promote and educate individuals and families on the physical, mental and emotional benefits of healthy living, Spoelstra talked about basketball and character development. Eighty of the country’s top basketball prospects, selected from teams in the UAAP and NCAA, were given an opportunity to take part in a development camp where Spoelstra, along with Heat assistant coach Dave Fizdale, conveyed a message of discipline and professionalism.

A native of Evanston, Illinois Erik Spoelstra is the first Filipino-American head coach of any North American professional sports organization. (His mother hails from San Pablo, Laguna.) His attention to detail remains his best quality. Before taking over as head coach of the Heat in 2008, he served the Heat organization as assistant coach/scouting director for seven seasons. His primary duty was developing game plans for upcoming opponents.

In his rookie season as head coach, Spoelstra submitted a stellar performance, guiding the Heat to its greatest single-season improvement in franchise history. As a result of a 43-win regular season, which surpassed the franchise record for most wins by a head coach, in his first season guiding the Heat, Spoelstra led Miami to the 2009 NBA playoffs.

In the development camp Spoelstra stressed the utmost importance of a tireless work ethic and proper personal conduct to improve the game from beginner to elite levels of play. This was echoed by his assistant Dave Fizdale, who Spoelstra expects to be a future head coach in the NBA. Like Spoelstra, Fizdale represents the new breed of coaches rethinking conventional basketball wisdom and presenting it to a new generation of players.

“I stress urgency. Are (my players) showing up on time? Are they staying out of trouble? You do everything like you’re trying to catch up to Lebron James,” says Fizdale. Both coaches strive to provide an environment free of petty undercurrents and distracting media uproars where their players are free to learn and improve weak aspects of their game. Both Spoelstra and Fizdale are strict disciplinarians and believe that, although technology has changed the coaching approach, there is not even a close substitute for repetition of proper technique and a tight grasp of fundamentals.

Coach Spoelstra also shared a few thoughts with some of the nation’s top coaches in attendance that day. “You do not tolerate uncoachable guys. Professionalism is important and it will reflect back upon your players. Your team will find what you find important.”

Because Miami is sure to be a virtual hoop crazy town under unprecedented scrutiny this upcoming season, the two coaches are constantly at work developing an effective system in hopes to render their monster-team vessel unsinkable. Strangely enough the same lessons taught to a big-dollar, high-profile NBA squad also apply to up-and-coming basketball organizations here in the Philippines.

“I can’t say we’re a defensive team and not work on it. If we have some time left over, we work on offense,” said Spoelstra, citing his desire to never allow his team to remain complacent and allow core game principles to slip away. “There are so many ways, styles and philosophies to win (in the NBA) now.”

In the same talk, Coach Spoelstra also indicated his sincerity regarding nationwide health and wellness and remaining close to his family by leading an NBA FIT basketball clinic in his mother’s hometown of San Pablo, a clinic aimed to encourage youth basketball participation nationwide.

“This game has allowed me to travel the world and my heritage is very important to me. It’s a great step but it’s only a step,” declared Coach Spoelstra. “I want this story to be told and hopefully it will open more doors for Filipinos in the future.”