"Gym-Rats"..........Players are made in the off-season .. and games are won in the countless hours of practice that good players put in between the games...Ray Ingram
Als ich aufgewachsen bin in Philadelphia, Pa (USA), einer meiner frueheren Trainer hat mich "Gym-Rat" genannt. Es stimmt! Das war ich und ich glaube das ich das auch noch als Trainer bin. Als ich 13 Jahre alt war, habe ich angefangen Basketball ernst zu nehmen. Mit 15, war mein Basketball und meine kleine "Transistor-Radio" immer bei mir. Ich habe draussen im Regen trainiert. Im Winter habe ich draussen mit Handschuhe gespielt.
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An der Ecke "5th Street and Allegheny Avenue" stand "Mann Recreation Center" ... bei jeder Gelegenheit konnte man mich finden dadrin. Entweder habe ich gespielt, zugeschaut oder kampgericht gemacht. Da habe ich als "Wanna-Be" meine erste Erfahrung gesammelt gegen College Spieler wie Jim Valvano, Bob Lloyd and Matt Goukas dann gegen NBA Spieler wie Wally Jones, und Hal Greer. Als ich meine Basketball Stipendium bekommen habe und nach New York aufs College ging, hat sich nichts geaendert. Ich habe nur zwei Sachen im Kopf; studieren und Basketball spielen (und nicht unbedingt in diese Reihenfolge).
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Im Sommerferien bin ich in New York geblieben um zu trainieren und bei verschiedenen Basketball Camps als Assistant Coach und dann spaeter als Coach zu arbeiten. Ich habe immer mit grosses Interesse zugehoert wenn die "groesse" Coaches und Profi-Spieler ihrer Rede gehalten habe. Ich wollte alles lernen.
Abends und am Wochenenden war ich meistens zwischen 17:00 und 23:00 Uhr in "Prospect Park" in East Meadow, Long Island zu finden. Nach meine dritte College Jahr war meistens mein bester Freund, Bob McKillop (noch eine Gym-Rat) auch dabei. Da haben wir mit und gegen eine "Who's Who" von College Spieler und Profi-Spieler (... Kevin Joyce, Tom Riker, Beaver Smith, Mike Dunleavy, Matt Doherty, Julius Erving, Mike Riordan, Billy Paultz, Joe DePre, Billy Schaefer, Rick Barry und viel mehr) gespielt. Wir sind ueberall gefahren um in Sommer-Ligen und Turniere zu spielen.
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Im Gegensatz zu viele junge Spieler(innen) heute, ich habe nie daran gedacht meine Freizeit fuer "Rauchen, Trinken und Parties" zu opfern. Als ich in meine erste College Jahr war, habe ich etwas von Bill Bradley (ehemalige Star ...Princeton University und New York Knicks ...heute Candidate fuer President der Vereinigten Staaten....denkt daran das naechste mal wenn du sagst, ich habe keine Zeit...!) gelesen.
Er sagte ... "Draussen ist es 35 Grad und du moechtest am liebsten in einem Kino mit Klimaanlage oder in einem Schwimmbad sein... aber denkt 'dran, irgendwo gibt es jemand der, unter die gleichen Bedingung, hat sich entschieden zu trainieren .... solltest du gegen ihm spielen muessen, wer wird gewinnen...?" ...
Ich bin stolz Gym-Rat zu sein........ Was ist eigentlich einen "Gym Rat" (Vielleicht findet man hier die ersten Antworten auf die Frage ... Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Basketball-Spielern und Leuten die Basketball spielen?....)
"Gym Rats"......
While growing up in Philadelphia, Dante Spizziri, my coach at Olney High School, called me a "Gym Rat". I was then and I believe that even today as a coach, I still am.
Somewhere between the age of thirteen and fourteen, I began to take the game of basketball seriously. At fifteen my basketball and transistor-radio were my constant companions. I practiced in the rain. In the winter, I practiced outside with gloves on.
On the corner of "5th Street and Allegheny Ave." stood Mann Recreation Center. If I was not in school, that is where you would find me. I was either practicing, playing, watching or keeping the clock during league games. It was there as a young "wanna-be" that I gained experience playing against college players like Jim Valvano, Bob Lloyd,
Matt Goukas and Cliff Anderson and then later against NBA Players like Wally Jones and Hal Greer. When I accepted a scholarship to attend Hofstra University in New York, nothing changed. I had only two things on my mind ... studies and basketball (not always necessarily in that order).
During summer vacations I remained in New York to practice and to work at various basketball camps. I listened with intensity to every word from the college coaches and pro players who came as guest speakers. I wanted to learn everything. In the evenings and on weekends I could usually be found at "Prospect Park" in East Meadow (together
with fellow "Gym Rat" Bob McKillop). The serious games usually started around 7:00 P.M. and lasted until 10:30. We usually arrived earlier so that we could get a few hours of practice in first. Competition... there was plenty.... Kevin Joyce, Tom Riker, Beaver Smith, Joe DePre, George Bruns, Julius Erving, Mike Riordan, Billy Paultz, Mike Dunleavy, Walt Szerbiak and many, many more....
In contrast to many young players today, I never even thought about what I "might be missing"... the Game.... that was the priority. I remember reading something written by Bill Bradley (former star at Princeton University, member of the NBA Champion NY Knicks and candidate for President of the United States of America.... Think about that the next time you say you don't have enough time to do all of the things you have to......) ... anyway, he said "If you should decide that because it's 95 degrees outside and that you'd rather be in an air-conditioned movie or in a pool, just remember that somewhere someone is practicing under those same conditions... and if you someday have to play against him... who do you think is going to win...?" I'm proud to have been a "Gym Rat"
What is a "Gym Rat"? Maybe this description will help you understand. It may also help you to understand the difference between people who play Basketball and Basketball Players.
**** "It is 7 o'clock on a bright chilly morning on a farm outside Cedar rapids, Michigan. Waiting for the school bus, a lanky 15 tear old boy wearing a letter jacket is working on his jumper. The basket is new and perfectly straight and his ball, a shiny leather Larry Bird, hardly disturbs the net as it drops through the rim. The music from his transistor radio is Garth Brooks. His mother sighs and prays he'll get over this fixation soon. His father prays he'll be back tomorrow, practicing change-over dribbles and jump-hooks until the bus returns.
It is ten o'clock on a muggy night in the Bronx. In the shadows of torn litter bags, street corner bums and passing cars, a group of shirtless youngsters are playing some three-on-three, their skinny frames silhouetted against the graffiti-scarred walls of the school yard. The basket is drooping, has no net and a bent rim. Their ball is a five-dollar Patrick Ewing, worn slick from endless pounding on cement. Their music is Public Enemy. Their mothers have long forgotten about them. They're "Gym Rats" and they'll shoot hoop long into the night, until someone chases them away - again and again.
It actually makes little difference where they seek the sport - ghetto, barnyard, or prep school gym - for their venue is less important than their motivation. They come in all sizes, colors, shapes and ages; dressed in knee braces, wrist bands, Michael Jordan T-shirts, cut-off jeans, hi-cuts, low-cuts and brand new sweats. They'll run 'til exhausted, then run some more. They'll spend an entire weekend in a steamy gym or on some deserted parking lot honing their skills. They'll walk, peddle or drive anywhere, anytime to find a game. And when they're not playing, eating or sleeping hoop, they're sitting at home watching a college doubleheader on the tube or draped over the second balcony at the Garden cheering the Celtics.
They're basketball's original hard-core - an elitist bunch filled with an all-consuming love of the game that constantly propels them toward an elusive target - the perfect game. No fouls, no turnovers, no mistakes. Shoot 100%, box out, move without the ball and squeeze every rebound. They're "Gym Rats". And while they have as much chance of
playing the "the perfect game" as they do of stuffing David Robinson, they're willing to pursue this ultimate goal, and this makes them not only better players, but better teammates."*****
