Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Multi-dimensional Athlete


I am not a machine
I can think on my own
Creativity, ingenuity, and passion drive me

I have many dimesions if you take the time to get to know me
I go much deeper than my outward appearance and your preconceived notions
You must listen, you must watch and you must pay attention

To understand my game you must look from different angles
You must have great anticipation because I am unpredictable
I can handle the ball, pass the ball, and I can shoot the ball.

To understand my hard work you must feel my heart beat
Careful preparation and focus on detail produce my great accomplishments
My blood pumps with the desire to learn, to improve and to master

To understand my respect you must first understand grace
You must do nothing to gain my respect, but you can do much to lose it
I will always be loyal and true for as long as you accept me

I have many dimesions and that is why I succeed
I am not a closed circuit there is no way to break me
I will never stop charging towards my goals

I am multi-dimesional try to stop me!

the multi-dimesional player


 I am not part of a formula
I am not part of a machine
I am not part of a system

You cannot hold me back
You cannot predict me
You cannot stop me

I am a passer
I am a shooter
I am a ball-handler

I give my time to hard work
I give my time to detailed practice
I give my time to perfecting myself

If you take away my dribble I will shoot
If you take away my shot I will pass
If you play me too close I will dribble by you

No matter what you sceme
No matter what you plan
No matter what your momma says

You can never stop me!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Adidas Weekend

So this last week we have been blessed to have a visitor from Adidas come to join us at PJB. I do not know if I updated everyone about it, but PJB has just signed with The Adidas Fund and we have received funding for a new basketball court and a whole lot of shoes and basketball jerseys and gear. Last Monday an employee of Adidas, not one that works for the fund, but just a basketball loving employee that heard about the project decided to join us in Goma to check out PJB.

Robert, the “Adidas ambassador”, came at a very interesting time here in Goma. As many people know the DRC is going through a historic election period. Along with the busy schedule we had planned for Rob, he was also here during the last week of campaigns. The town of Goma was hoping as each of the many candidates for cabinet worked to get their last strategies to play out to win the hearts of the people. The atmosphere is very hard to explain, but we’ll see how it all turns out.

So after a busy week of trainings, meetings with board members and partners, and some touring of the town we filled Rob’s weekend in Goma with Elite games. On Saturday we played our third match against the Gomabulls. The game started at 10 AM, which as you have probably caught on means that the tip was around 10:45AM. If you look through past blogs you can see that the matches between us and the Gomabulls are usually fast and tough fought games This game was exactly the same. The bulls led most of the game, but in the end we ended up winning by one point, giving us a 3-0 record against the Gomabulls for the pre-season so far.

After the Boys Elite match, we had a girls match against another basketball initiative team called TBC. PJB girls are actually very tall and pretty good players, and the other team just could not match our size. We have four girls that are about at 6 feet tall. The match was never close and we ended up winning by about 50 points. It is great to watch the girls play though because they play with great enthusiasm and just have a lot of fun as a team. It reminds me of when we were in High School playing with my brother and best friends.

If two games on Saturday wasn’t enough for Rob, we scheduled a rematch against Virunga, the team we beat by 40 last week, for Sunday morning at 8. So, as always bright and early we began another game against Virunga. This weekend wasn’t as good as the last game we played though. Our team was slow and sluggish, I don’t know if it was because we played the day before, or the heat, or if the other team had a burst of energy, but they ran circles around us. We ended up losing by about 15 points, and I would estimate that we had more turnovers than points. It was a very frustrating match for me because I was playing and not coaching, so I tried to keep my mouth shut for substitutions and timeout situations. The head coach for PJB on Sunday though did an extremely poor job of coaching. I think with proper coaching, even though we played terribly we still could have beaten Virunga because they just aren’t that great a team. Now I am in a Dilemma like Nelly and Kelly because I think I might just want to coach instead of player/coach because I want to win. I am starting to develop a competitive side, and after Sunday, I don’t want to lose ever again!

So it was a busy, but very fun weekend, and I hope that Rob got a good taste of PJB’s competitiveness and passion for basketball. You know, it is a great testament to the hard work that everyone in the organization puts in when you have three games in a weekend and the stands are packed for each one, especially during the election time that we are in right now. It was great to see kids and adults come to the court to have fun and forget for just a second about the stress and madness of the elections.

Stay Tuned!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011


PJB vs. Virunga

            This weekend we (PJB) were slated to play a friendly against the highy touted Virunga NBA (NBA is the team name J) team. The match was scheduled for Saturday at 3 PM, but from the time I woke up the clouds loomed it rained most of the afternoon. There was a slight pause in the rain though, so we began the game at 4 PM. The game began great for us. We jumped to a 10-0 lead (not bragging but 8 of those 10 points were scored by yours truly). It was a very fun first quarter where our starters really showed their dominance. The coaches went to the bench and at the end of the first we led 19-16. At the quarter break it began to drizzle a little bit. The bench stayed in the game the whole second quarter and they didn’t fair so well.  At half time we were down about 8 points. The coaches decided to re-insert the starters to begin the second half, but the rain picked up from a drizzle to a steady downpour, and we played about 2 minutes before the game had to be called. We were down 34-22 when the game was called.
            So the game was reschedule to the following morning; a tip-time of 8 AM Sunday morning. Starting at 7 was a PJB girls (fille elite) game that I had to coach at so it was an early morning Sunday morning. The girls game was the PJB elite team against a group of the best youth girls in Goma, who are part of PJB but play for other club teams. It was a fun game, we got killed, but that is because the other team was like an all-star team. Its always fun though coaching girls. The girls here are also very motivated which makes it even more fun.
            Out game began at about 8:45, which is Congolese 8 AM. It was a slow start for us as it took us about 8 offensive possessions to score a basket. It was not a bad start though because we began the tip with great defensive intensity and they only scored 3 points before our first basket. Even though our start was slow offensively, it was a great start for the game because it really set the stage for our defense the whole game. We benefited by having our whole team there, which consisted of two new grown men players who are very big and aggressive. Slowly our offense got into the groove and our defense continued giving Virunga problems scoring. By the end of the first quarter we were up about 10 points and we never looked back from there.
            Our attack consisted of a strong fast break, but also good penetration by our guards. By half-time we were up by over 20 points. I actually acted only as a player during this game because one of our players (and PJB founder), Dario, was suffering from an ankle injury, and he acted as a coach. I can never play basketball as just a player anymore though, so I had a lot of things for the second half to tell the guys, but Dario and Bienfait, the other coach, said everything I had in mine. We must still treat the game as a game and not a joke, even though our lead was great. They also said that we should practice getting the ball inside. This is a skill not mastered yet by any Congolese. They don’t really understand getting the ball inside.
            So to start the second half I purposefully made a conscious effort to get the ball inside. On problem was that the big men weren’t used to getting fed, so they played on their heels. It is important that big men gobble up their passes with a strong jump stop. I actually got a few buckets off of the post feed, but it didn’t seem that many of the other guys understood how to get the ball inside. I don’t know why but they love to lob the ball to the inside, which usually gets stolen. So This is one thing that we will be working on a lot of, entering the ball into the post.
            But the rest of the game just got out of hand in our favor. We continued great defense and allowing only one shot each possession with our rebounding, but we also scored everytime down the floor. By halfway through the fourth we were up by 37 points and began entering the victory cigars into the game. Funny thing is, even the 12th man on the bench scored and actually played pretty well. It was great to have  agame like this to show our dominance, but also give some confidence to our bench. We ended up winning the game by about 27 points (sorry I don’t have an exact figure, I forgot to write it down, but this is also because I was playing and not coaching). It was a great win for us to prove to the other teams of Goma that PJB is no joke, and that we will be ready to come play once the season rolls around.
            

Friday, November 18, 2011

The language of basketball

Can you interpret the passion screaming out of my eyes?
Can you interpret my love, Do you speak heart?
Can you interpret the drops of sweat hitting the hardwood as they ring out the with the melodies of hard work?

I teach wisdom not through proverb, but the choices I make with the ball in my hands.
I express my faith not through scripture, but through my focus on the system.
I give dedication not through oath, but through my time I give to preparation.

Understanding poise comes through confidence not definition
Understanding sportsmanship comes through respect not friendly banter
Understanding success comes through self-satisfaction not fame

The definition is yours
The definition is creativity, passion, wisdom, and poise
The definition is attempted by many, but mastered by few

Do you speak the language of basketball?
Watch me play and I’ll translate for you.

blog post 11/14/2011

I was sitting by the lake at 6:15 this morning after finishing my morning workout (insanity for now). What a beautiful day it was. The sun was already risen in the sky and the lake was so calm and flat it looked like I could throw on some ice skates and glide around on it. I found a rock to sit on and dangle my feet above the water and listen to some music as I enjoyed the peace and still of a beautiful new day.
            It takes a conscious effort to look and count the blessings you receive every morning. As I sat listening to “Still” by Hillsongs, I saw a reflection of a flower next to me on the rock I was sitting on. The flower was in bloom peeking itself out of a crack in the lava rock I was sitting on. I looked around at all the other hundreds of large lava rocks which make up the shoreline and realized that this was the only flower on all the rocks, and it was next to me.
            How could a beautiful flower bloom from the inside of a rock? It shows that even from the ugliest and darkest of situations a flower can grow. Taking away any scientific thought or wikipedia explanation of how a flower could grow from the inside of a rock, it seemed pretty cool to me. It made me think of all the people and places in the world that we can look at from the outside and write off as hopeless, and even the people we may look at as “lost causes”. People and places in this world can portray an empty, baren, and hopeless feel that we give up on, but could there be a flower blooming from within these people or places?
            This is my mission as a coach, to grow flowers. I want to take kids and foster the growth of the flower within them. Even the kids who act the hardest, have the least, and seem to have no direction in life, I want to be able to water them with teachings and direction so that within them can grow a beautiful person, and also a great basketball player J.
            Its funny that it is the little things in life that spark so much thought. This little flower that I would usually not even notice stuck out to me today. Makes me wonder, who have I been neglecting that might have a little flower inside of them that I should be helping to grow? I feel like being here in Congo I hope to plant a seed with the children so that even in this desperate, war-torn, seemingly hopeless nation can begin to bloom into the culturally and resourcefully rich country that it has so much potential to be.

            When we as humans begin to learn that within every situation, within every person, within everything there is a flower waiting to bloom. No matter how desperate, how neglected or how hopeless it may seem, we must always do our best to recognize the potential for growth. It is our duty as human beings to not only plant the seed of growth, but foster that seed into fruition so that we can change the world for the better.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

thoughts on a quote


“Never put players in a win-lose situation, always put them in a win-win situation.”

Failure is not a state of being… It is a state of mind.

Going into a new season (as a coach or player) or a new job, many people throw themselves into win-lose situations. The individual or those around them set goals, standards, and expectations. It is when those goals, standards and expectations aren’t met that an individual is viewed or views themselves as a failure. This is what causes a win-lose situation and causes an unhealthy environment with unhealthy competition.
            Sometimes people find themselves in lose-lose situations, which is caused by corruption and malicious intent. Lose-lose situations occur in environments or situations that lack integrity. The objective of success is lost and selfish materialism takes over. An example of a lose-lose situation would be taking steroids as an athlete. There may be short-term glory, but in the end every party involved will lose as a result.
            At all costs, as a leader you want to avoid both lose-lose and win-lose situations. Whether on the basketball court, in the classroom, or in the office you must put those in which you lead in win-win situations 100% of the time. By doing this you ensure the success of everyone around you and the organization. To do this you must teach/show that no shortcoming is enough to be called a failure unless the individual allows it to be. Even in a losing period an individual can succeed. No one is a failure (a loser), unless they allow a loss to destroy their focus and ruin their happiness.
            An example I can think of is the Butler Bulldogs and their coach Brad Stevens. I believe that Coach Stevens is a coach who always puts his players in win-win situations, which is exemplified by the play of his team leaders. In 2010, when Butler made the National Championship they were in a win-win situation. They were a Cinderella story and if they won it would be a miracle. If they lost, however, they would not be criticized because they had already exceeded expectations and succeeded in making it as far as they did.
            Going into the 2011 season, Brad Stevens could have been a common coach (and leader) and allowed his players to begin the season with a win-lose mindset. After a Cinderella moment a team is quickly forgotten, especially when their best player (In this case Gordon Hayward) jumps to the league. Coach Stevens could have lowered his standards and allowed his team to return to their non-contender mid major status, but Coach would not give in. Instead he developed a win-win attitude among his team and University.
            The attitude of his senior leader Matt Howard exemplifies that confidence and will which can be best developed in a win-win program. When there is no fear of failure is when you see gritty defense, Cinderella’s upsetting powerhouses, and in the 2011 NCAA’s exciting comebacks and buzzer-beaters. In 2011, Butler again fought and clawed its way into the National Championship for the second year in a row. When watching Coach Stevens’ team you can see that the players play without fear of failure because if they give their all, play harder and smarter than anyone else, then no matter what the scoreboard says, they will be a success.
            To develop a win-win system, a win-win situation, and a win-win mentality should be the goal of leaders in every aspect of society. To do this you need to teach those under you that failure is a state of mind, not a state of being. Failure occurs when an individual cannot see that giving his/her all is a success in itself. A win-win situation can occur even in a lost match because nobody is perfect, nobody will win 100% of the time, but you can succeed 100% of the time.
            As a leader, to put those who you are leading in a win-win situation, preparation is key. Like Shakespeare so simply puts it in Macbeth, “The readiness is all.” Preparing for success, preparing to win, is key but you must prepare in the right ways. First is developing a win-win attitude. Making sure that those in which you are leading have a healthy view on success and failure, and will put forth maximum effort at all times is the basis of a win-win attitude.
            Next as a leader you must always develop a win-win situation by teaching all aspects of your business strategy, game plan, assignments, ect… You must equip those around you with the skills to tackle the task at hand. In the case of being a role model you must equip those around you with the skills to change the world for the better.
Skills are important to have, but they are useless unless you know when and why to use them. Because of this a leader must always teach the importance of a skill and when and how to use that skill properly. If you master a skill and always use it properly you can never fail.
            The media, capitalism, and society today strive to create win-lose situations. They always want there to be someone who is gloried and someone who suffers. Of course this is what sells, but it is not what is best for the world. I try to live in a way that what sells, what brings in the money, what attracts the most attention is not my focus of attention. Sure these things play a role in my life, but I want to focus on what brings me happiness, and what makes me successful. What makes me successful is not the amount of money I make, what material goods I have, or what others think of me, but it is the happiness and contentment of my being.
            I give my all to understand the why and how I am using my skills so that I will never let myself, or more importantly anyone else down. I have put myself in a win-win situation. I hope that I can do the same for those that I lead

Monday, November 7, 2011

Birthday Post


So today is my birthday, or my born day as my momma would say, its really her birthday because she gave birth to me. I am now 23 years old, even though I feel older. I tell everyone here in Congo that I am 27 to make myself feel better. I have probably had the most exciting and awesome 23 years of life anyone has ever lived. I was born into the best family ever. I could not wish for better parents and cooler siblings. I have great friends that I can always count on no matter what, and I can find these friends in countries all over the world. Finally, I am blessed because I am able to do what I love as a job. I wake up everyday to a job that excites me, challenges me, and rewards me through the satisfaction of knowing I am doing something important.
            Being alone (as in away from family and friends) on my birthday gives me the opportunity to really reflect on what has been important to me over the past 23 years. I have thought about my FOCUS group, the Ju$t Cuz Thugz, high school sports, my “Olivet experience”, and now currently my African Coaching adventures. I wish I could put into words what all the people in my life that I love have taught me and given me, but that would take forever. Id just like to write to everyone reading this that in some great and magnificent way you have touched my life. Even if you feel like you hardly know me, you know me, and you mean something to me. That makes all the difference in the world! I love you guys!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Man I miss you guys

Many different Ingredients go into making us what we are. One of the most important is true friendship. True friends occupy special places in our psyches. They don’t have to interact with us everyday, or every month, or every year. They’re always a part of us. Its not that we take them for granted. We just incorporate them into our lives so naturally…” Bill Russell







Monday, October 31, 2011

Our First Loss


     Today was the first loss that we have had as a PJB elite team, which puts us now at 2-1. It was somewhat of a bummer, but under the circumstances, we learned a lot. Early in the morning at 7 o clock we met at circle sportif (our home court) and set off for Gisyeni, Rwanda. Gisenyi is a beautiful tourist town that borders Goma on the Rwanda side. It is about 5 Km from our court. We had a group of 12 players and a couple boys and girls that wanted to come watch, so we had a big group, but had no transportation. Luckily two of our elite players have a huge Lexus SUV, so we were able to drive most of the team to and across the border and to the basketball court. One of the coaches and the people coming to watch ended up walking or taking public transport to the court in Gisenyi.
            The court we played at was out from of a church, and kind of reminded me of the old SIS soccer field. It had two outdoor courts, and a dirt/gravel soccer pitch. Anyway, the court was horrible. It was small, the rims were each bent to about 9.5 feet and there were dirt and water patches all over the ground. The other team’s coach suggested we move courts, but the team from Gisenyi didn’t want to. It turned out to be great for them as it gave them an incredible home court advantage.
            Nothing against their team… they had great size and jumping ability. Had about 4 or 5 guys between 6’5-6’8. We should have beat them though. Right from the tip off I knew we were in trouble. Our guys were slipping all over the place and had trouble judging the way that the ball would come off the rim. They were getting every rebound and scoring all off of fast breaks. They also played a zone, and the first couple trips down our team had no idea what to do against it. It was like we were trying to deflate the ball we were dribbling it so much. We had no ball movement. Yet, we kept the game close, and after the 1st quarter (the time guy didn’t understand how to stop the clock, so it was a very short quarter) we were only down about 2 or 4 points.
            The second quarter was much of the same. A very short quarter again and just completely unorganized fast break crap. It would have made any coach in America sick to watch. So the first half ended in almost exactly 20 minutes and we were down about 4. The third quarter is when they began to blow us out. I cant really recall how it happened, but all of the sudden we were down 14 points and my assistant coach was taking a jersey from one of the players that wasn’t going to see action, so that he could get in the game. Our guys were playing without any knowledge of the game, so us coaches felt like we needed to get in to show them how to work a zone, get back on defense, and be patient. After that though it was between a 7 and 15 point game the rest of the game. It also wasn’t due to Gisenyi’s dominance. Instead I feel like we beat ourselves. Our defense was horrible, and our offense was even worse. I wish I could have put it to the guys as clearly as the speaker at Brent’s 2005 APAC when the principle (atleast I think that’s who it was) told us bluntly, “when in doubt… shoot the ball.”
            A guy told me after the game, its ok because if you win all the time you get to happy and forget about basketball. When you lose you are able to take a step back and evaluate and learn more about basketball, your teammates, and your strategy as a whole. As a coach I try to take that step back in a win as well, but it is just easier for some reason to do it after a loss. When things go wrong is usually when you see people evaluating situations, but when everything goes right you usually see people just riding along with no evaluation of what is going on. I think it is always important to step back in all situations, good and bad, and evaluate and learn from each of the situations. This is the way you grow, either as a team or an individual.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Weekend to Remember


Blog Post 10/25/11

So it has been a minute since I have left a post. As I move along here in Goma and I become more and more busy I have less time to try and go get the Internet because I am less motivated to try and find it. I feel like I have become less dependent on the internet. It is a good feeling because I think in America we are to dependent on it, and its not really until you go without it that you realize how much you used to depend on it.
            Anyways, a lot has been going on. We just began construction on a new basketball court in town on Sunday. Much of what has been done so far is just clearing the area that the court will be built on. The land used to have trees, a mini garden, a little parking lot, and some useless big Hyundai freight containers. We spent Sunday chopping down trees, which was really fun. We also didn’t have a chainsaw, so there was about 6 of us taking turns hacking at trees with small axes until they came down. It was a great workout! It was interesting though because my main job is to just oversee that the work is effective and actually being done, so when I asked to help cut the trees down the workers thought that it was hilarious. I guess they don’t get a lot of muzungus offering to help do the hard manual labor. I just love interacting with the locals here. They really are great people.
            The day before we started construction, Saturday, was an amazing day. Hopefully I can add some pictures below, but I spent the whole day watching the High School Basketball Championships for Goma. It was an awesome atmosphere. It kind of felt like an AND1 game or a game at the Rucker because it was outside and the court was filled to the brim with people. People standing, people sitting, people up on the roofs of their homes with plastic chairs looking down onto the court, it was a great basketball atmosphere.
The games were really fun too. First was the 3rd/4th place game, which had a handful of PJB players on both teams, so it was good to see how the training we have been doing, paid off. The game was pretty lopsided as the team that won should have been in the championship. The team that won was also on of the coaches that I am teaching and working with at PJB so it was cool. What was awesome about the game was that the people treated me like a VIP guest. They took me to this area where the president of the tournament and the North Kivu Basketball Association was and other older basketball heads were sitting and gave me a seat right at center court. Then some of the announcers and random people would come up to me and say “hi coach” with a really big smile. They welcomed me really well. It was great! I felt like Spike Lee at a Knicks game.
After the consolation game was the Championship. It was fun to see again some of my PJB players, but also almost the whole Goma Bulls team was playing in the final. It was a very competitive game, and the Eminem that the DJ was blasting the whole game made it that much more intense. The players really played hard, and it was a very physical game. Very exciting to watch! Half time was the highlight of my weekend though. A street kid came out and began to break dance. The kid was incredible. He looked like he was about 5 but he could have been like 10. He was bending, flipping, and dancing all over the place. Many people in the crowd were impressed and would run out whenever they saw something they liked and threw some money at the kid. By the end of halftime the kids probably made 20$ worth of tips, which was great!
The weekend was really exciting. The tournament really made it great. I am really excited now because we will hold a PJB tournament in November which I hope is similar n entertainment, and can get out as good a crowd because it made for an exciting environment. Basketball really is the perfect weekend getaway. It is a safe and exciting environment for people of all ages and it allows for great camaraderie. That is all sports really though. That is why I love them so much. You can learn so much from sports, yet they are still the most exciting and fun things that you can do.






Sunday, October 16, 2011

Bull's Rematch


Goma Bulls Rematch

            So today was another Sunday and another game. We had another match against the Goma Bulls, the same team that we played two weeks ago. This week was a good opportunity for us though because they had their whole team this time. They had reloaded with all their best players. There were 4 new starters this week. I also found out that this team that we are playing is one of the top 10 teams in all of Congo, so we were facing a pretty big challenge today.
            Tip off was scheduled for 7:30 AM, but being on African time it didn’t start until closer to 8:15. It didn’t really matter though because I am at the basketball court every Sunday morning at 6:00 anyway officiating a league that we set up with all the kids in our program. We like to get going early here in Goma.
            The game was very different than the last one. We spent most of the game down, but we were also doing a lot more things right then the last game. Right from the very beginning we showed that we would play defense and rebound, unlike last game where all of their points were on fast breaks and offensive rebounds. To start the game I told the guys two things. 1st and foremost was that we only send two guys to the offensive glass and three guys get back on D. This was nothing against us, but they are just more athletic than us so we shouldn’t really expect to get many offensive rebounds, and their guards leak out real well so we need guys back if we aren’t going to get the offensive board. So that was my first emphasis, getting back! My second emphasis was that dribble should only be used to better a shot or passing angle. There is no other use for a dribble. We dribble way to much, but that is because the understanding of the kids here is very limited. We must get the ball moving “muzungarookai” (if that’s how you spell it). That means we need to get it going from side to side.
            Those were my two emphasis’ and for the most part I think we did a good job of it. Of course there were lapses where we dribbled too much, or lost a guy leaking out, but we did a good job listening and learning as a team. The first quarter was close, but we were down by about four after the first quarter and probably about 5 or 6 at the end of the first half. The 3rd quarter was bad for us as three of our starters got into foul trouble so we played with the lineups a little bit. At the end of the 3rd we were down by ten. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the 3rd but we kept it to a 9 or 10 point deficit. With three minutes to go we took a timeout and really just focused. We had to tell the guys to be patient and take their time, because that is when we would score. With about a minute 30 to go we were down 7 and hit back to back threes to cut the lead to one, then got a big stop on defense and with about 28 seconds left were shooting two free-throws down by 1. Dario, the founder of PJB was on the line. He missed his first and the other team’s coach called a timeout to try and ice the free-throw shooter. It worked, Dario also missed his second, but came up with a spectacular hustle play to run down his own rebound in the left corner. He then kicked it out to Jospan, our 17 year old point guard and he cold-bloodedly knocked down a three from the left wing. This put us up two. Best part is is that it was the first three I have ever seen Jospan hit. Anyway, that really sealed it for us. They drew a foul next time down with about 10 seconds left, but only made one free throw, and then the game kind of went from there. The last 10 seconds took like 5 minutes as any close basketball game does, but we ended up winning by about 5.
            It was a great and exciting game. Very emotional game, many of the Goma Bulls players were in tears after the game. PJB turned the page in Goma basketball. The Bulls are used to dominating but PJB is on the rise. No disrespect to them, they are a good team, and many of their players are my friends and great guys, but PJB is going to give it to whoever we go against. PJB! DEFENSE!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Is it better to believe in something true or avoid believing in something false?

So this is a question I wrote down in one of my notebooks. i don't know where it was asked, maybe in a lecture or a talk that I went to. Anyway, the question: Is it better to believe in something true or avoid believing in something false? really is a mind boggling question. Its really important to think about though. I think you can learn a lot about yourself if you really dive into what you believe regarding what is true and false. Anyway, while I was just sitting by the lake the other day I jotted down quick thoughts about the question:



In life you can only control what you do, what you think, and what you see. If you seek what is real in life and only that then the truth will reveal itself to you. If you indulge yourself with lies, gossip and false teachings then the truth will grow father and farther apart from you.
            In every human there is a divide between themselves and their true happiness. This divide becomes greater and greater as one allows bias, ignorance and selfishness obscure their truth. They forget to seek truth but instead are content with being told what to do or how to think. Wisdom manifests itself in the quest for truth. Ignorance manifests itself where there is an emphasis on what is false, even in the search for truth.
            We are born to be lifelong learners. We were MADE to seek wisdom and truth. If we concern ourselves with even the avoidance of what is false then we lose sight of the prize, which is truth.

Being here in Goma, even the decision to come to Goma makes me think a lot about this. Many people hear about Goma and the instability, the volcano, the lake, the poverty and they get scared. These things were definitely things that I had to take into account when deciding to come here and even these are things I need to be aware of while I am here. But I cannot dwell on these things. What I need to focus on is the truth. And the truth is that I am here in probably the most beautiful place in the world doing the thing I love most, coaching. I am hopefully giving hope to some kids, but even more so the truth is that the people here are giving me hope. Their reality is one with little hope and little happiness, but the people here don't live in a way that they try to avoid their deficiencies. Instead the people here enjoy their life, they take every second they can to be happy, they focus on the truth that they are living and are able to enjoy the people and world around them. That is all that is really important. 

I guess im really just an eternal optimist, but I want to enjoy life to the fullest!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

BALLIN


Believe that you can do anything
Always give your best effort in everything you do
Live with integrity
Love without fear
Indulge in the interests of others, not just your own
Never say, “I cant”

I am finally getting into a groove here in Goma with basketball and building relationships with a bunch of different people. The people here really seem to be wise people, but also really crazy. The thing I love about it here though is the genuine happiness that people have. Even though their lives are hard they are always willing to give you a smile and show you respect.
            Basketball has taken a little while to fit in to. This is mainly due to the language barrier and the lack of prior training and knowledge of basketball. I learned in teaching education that at the beginning of a unit you should always check for prior knowledge. This is one thing that this past week has taught me. I thought that I could just jump in the program and teach the fundamentals focusing on a couple skills a training session. This past week though served as a prior knowledge test for the players and I realized that they have little to no prior knowledge on the game of basketball.
            Due to the fact that the kids have no access to ever watching professional basketball (or even any type of proper basketball), good basketball facilities, and competent trainers, no players here in Goma really have a fundamental base. Each player plays off of pure athleticism. I really came to this realization this week.
            Now I am in the process of retooling the program in a way that we can best teach these kids the right way to play basketball. In this way I can hopefully also teach my fellow coaches how to properly run a practice. This past week I gave each of the other coaches reigns on the practice and their practices were really a waste of time. They did the same drills for 30 minutes at a time and spent almost half the practice running the kids. This is not a way to develop basketball players, or foster a love for the game. Really, who wants to come to basketball practice after a long day of school and run for half of the practice? Now I am trying to show the coaches all of the fun drills that we can use to further develop the kid’s love for basketball.
            One aspect of coaching that really drives me is the opportunity to serve others as an inspiration and a motivator. It is hard for me here and a little discouraging because of the language barrier that I cannot do this as well as I could in America. I love to give quotes and teach the important ideas in basketball such as a few I wrote in the poem at the beginning. This is one reason that I am really trying to learn French, but I am terrible at learning languages. I just hope to be a role model to these kids in action because I cant in word. I wish to be to these kids what all of my role models have been to me. I have been so lucky to have amazing models for the way to properly conduct myself, treat others, and treat life. I am very blessed. 

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Here are a couple pictures that didnt load last time from girls practice. I am struggling with the internet right now. Practice has been going great though, and it seems that we get more and more players out every practice which is good. I will post again soon with updates. A couple things that we have in store though... Meeting with Addidas to become our official sponsers, building a new basketball court with 6 rims, working with a sponser who wants to begin construction on a library, selecting the players for the elite teams to begin pre-season practice for our season in January.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

PJB vs. Goma Bulls


         Today I was part of my first ever match. I was a player/coach for PJB as we played the Goma Bulls. The league here in Goma is interesting because they don’t really have leagues for teenagers. It is like a regular adult league and there is a veteran’s league for the old guys. Anyway, from the kids I am training I will be selecting four teams: two boys and two girls. These teams will be playing in a league with adult players both men and women, so out teams will be teenagers in a league full of adults.
            Anyway, today was my first taste of Goma’s basketball league. We had a match against the best team in Goma, the Goma Bulls. Early at 7 AM we arrived at the basketball court for the 8 AM game. Even though the game was set for 8 AM, we are in Africa, so the Bulls didn’t show up until about 8:10 then had to warm up. So we ended up having like a 40 minute warm up. I was exhausted before the game even started. Goma is at a higher elevation than the Midwest, so it has been hard for me to breathe when I do anything active.
We were playing with PJB's founder, my boss, Dario, a PJB graduate who is 24 named Tchitchi, and a two Congolese brothers from the US named Adler and Christian, along with about eight of the boys that we are training for the regular season. We jumped out playing very well and led at the end of the first by about 12 points. The tempo of the game was very fast paced with most of the points coming off fast break lay-ups. The players in Goma have little to no fundamentals, but they are really good athletes.
            The second quarter the Bulls began to come back. This was due to the fact that they had three guys about 6’5” and they were pulling down every rebound. Even their big guys are fast and can jump high. One thing that I love about the way they play here is that they go after the ball on the glass. Everyone crashes the boards hard, and they make sure that no one else gets the rebound except them. It makes for a very physical game, but that is the attitude you need to be a great rebounder. So their big guys really hurt us by pulling down the rebounds which led them to some fast breaks.
            At half time we were up about 7 points. The second half was rough for us. We seemed to be very tired and looked beat up as a team. They had bigger guards and bigger forwards than us and they were just playing very scrappy. They scored a lot of fast brake points in the third and fourth to pull the game to a one-point advantage for them with about 2 minutes to go in the game. It was at this point that I called time out. I told the team that we had to control the ball. We had to slow the pace of the game and even though we are down we only should take a wide-open lay-up. As we slowed the ball down and passed it around we exposed the defense a lot. Within 15 seconds we had a wide-open lay-up to go up by one. The Bulls called a timeout, and so this time I stressed defense. They were terrible shooters and not great ball handlers, so we decided to pressure the ball handler with the point guard and then pack the paint with the rest of the guys. The other coaches also decided to put me in at this point. So we packed the paint, and our point guard forced them to take a contested three, and an air ball led to a fast break lay-up for us. Up 3. Next possession for them we trapped them at half court and got a steal and then slowed the ball down. We swung the ball around for about 30 seconds and got another wide-open jump shot and our guard, Jerry, knocked it down. We were up 5 with about 20 seconds to go so we just packed the paint and let the clock run out.
            We won the game, which was huge for PJB to beat the best men’s team in Goma. It also goes to show people that slow, controlled fundamental basketball is essential when a fast paced up and down game gets out of hand. It was a great day and a great experience. It also taught me a lot about what I need to focus my training on for the kids so that they can learn the right way to play the game.

Here are a couple pictures from girls practice:

Friday, September 30, 2011

"Will you give us your best?"

So yesterday I had the girls group for training. It was by far the biggest group we've had in the past 3 days. There were probably 60 girls out for training. They were very raw talent wise, but there were probably 6 girls taller than me, and a couple were really quick. It was pretty incredible to see their size compared to the size of the boys. I really dont have any boys with any size, but the girls are huge!

Anyway... at the end of practice was my introduction, because the other coach who could speak english didnt come until after practice. While I was being introduced, the girls began to ask questions. You know how that goes... "how old are you"..."did you play in the NBA?"... "Do you like Kobe Bryant?" but then I got a great question. One girl raised her hand and said, "will you give us your best?"

That really hit me. I have never been asked that before. even though I have played basketball and coached basketball I have never been asked "will you give your best?"I feel like my best was always either demanded or implied. But also how do you answer that question as a coach?

I could give a simple answer which of course is yes, but is that sufficient? How many times have these kids been told that they would be given someone's best only to be let down, I did not know. I felt like she was asking me a question to gauge my intent for being here in Goma. Was I here for the same purposes as a lot of NGO's, to make great money, but also be doing a job that at the end of the day i can feel good because I did good for others. Was I here because I had an irrational expectation to think that I can really change the way things were in Goma? Was I here because I felt sorry for the children? The answer to most of these questions going through my head are partially true (except the money thing). Yes I want to do good, and it makes me feel good watching others improve and succeed, and yes I feel sorry for the kids of Africa. All those things are easy though. I am here to give them my best, and test out what my best is.

I answered them by saying, "I am here to give you my best, but I expect your best in return. I love basketball and if you give your best everyday then you will understand why I love it so much and you will have the same love for it as me. I promise to give you my best as long as you are giving me your best."

I dont know if this was the best answer, but it is the one I gave. Almost exactly in those words. I cannot promise that they will become great players. I cannot promise that we will even win a game in the tournaments, but I can promise that I will be prepared and give my best every second that I am with them, but only if they give me that in return. I hope that my answer gave them hope that I can help them achieve whatever they want, and that it gave them high expectations of me because I have high expectations of them. I just thought that it was a great question, and I still do not know exactly how to answer that perfectly. If I was asked that question in any circumstance I don't know how to answer it, but I gave it my best shot.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Promo Juenes Basket


Promo Juenes Basket (PJB)

            So today is the third day I will be with kids training. Monday I had the teenage boys, Tuesday I had the little boys and today I will have girls of all ages. It is very interesting to see how this whole PJB system is working out. For those of you that don’t know I will use this blog post to introduce a little bit about what PJB is.
            PJB was an initiative started about 5 years ago by a man named Dario Merlo Kasuku and some of his colleagues. Their goal was to make the game of basketball available to the kids of Congo, specifically in the Eastern Province and Goma. In the town there are right now only two functional basketball courts, and very limited access to basketball equipment. When there is equipment available it is very expensive (Second hand Basketballs go for close to 50$). So PJB’s aim was to make basketball available to the children of Goma.
            Moreover though PJB was developed to teach the children of Goma the important characteristics of life that can be developed through basketball. Basketball can be used as a source of entertainment, but it is also a very powerful platform to teach children good character. PJB aims to construct a firm platform to raise the children (many of whom are street kids with not even enough money to pay their school fees) so that the children may have a hope for the future.
            Right now PJB is in somewhat of a transition period. For the first five years the program ran well, but remained consistent. Right now the coaches and board are looking forward to a future that will hopefully see PJB develop from a strictly volunteer organization into a professional organization. This would involve having an organized program that is equipped for a large number of players, and having coaches that would receive a salary allowing them to comfortably support their families. In developing PJB as a professional organization this could create job opportunities within the community and foster a growth in the sport of basketball through the Kivu province and hopefully throughout all of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
            Some things that we are looking forward to is new ventures with sponsors, the development of a strong and organized training program for the kids, and within the coming month the construction of a brand new basketball court. This new court will be great, as it will have six baskets, which will be 150% more hoops that are available in Goma. Construction of the court will hopefully begin within the next month, the problems we are facing though are where we will be able to construct the court because there are problems with the land we had and the government not wanting us to use it. After this court is constructed we will be able to prepare for the competitions in January.
            So that’s a quick overview of the program. Yesterday I tried to teach the coaches and players so fun defensive line things so below I will attach a video to see how things go.... so the video is not uploading because the internet is too slow. It may be a week or so until I can figure out how to put video on... Stay Tuned

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Arriving in Kigali

This is a post i started writing when I got in town, but i never got the chance to finish it or post it. It has very little information, but I am really trying to settle in and figure out my schedule so I can start updating everyone better. I am doing great though. Today I start my second day of training with the kids. I have the 8-12 year olds today so wish me luck!  anyway... here were my thoughts the night I arrived in Kigali:



Tonight I arrived at Kigali international airport about 20 minutes late. I exited the baggage claim area and spotted a man with headphones on bumpin R Kelly with a sign that said “Welcome Coach Matt PJB Goma”. From the second I walked through the doors I was greeted and treated like a welcome member of the PJB family. We went to the taxi and Dario, the organizer of the program, gave me a call welcoming me and expressing his excitement of having me. The welcome was awesome.

One thing that caught me off guard was that I landed at about 7:00 PM and it was already pitch dark outside, and very pleasant temperatures. It was a very nice 24 degrees with a clear night sky above us. We had a nice 30 minute drive to our small hotel room. Then we went for a nice walk. Kigali has similar features to Seoul because it is mountainous. Our hotel is at the bottom of a hill, and at the top of the hill is the business center of the city, so we took a nice 2 mile walk up the mountain and grabbed some waters and had a tea while watching some football (soccer). The excitement that Kadi expressed is pumping me up. I am excited to go and see the smiles on all the players faces.

Me and Kadi had great conversations about basketball and the goals that we have for the year. We will have a great opportunity to develop many kid’s skills and hopefully help PJB grow into a famous African basketball academy. For now I am just excited to get to Goma and settle in. Apparently Kadi tells me that by November I will be fluent in French and will be very good at Swahili. I am very nervous about that part.  Anyway… I am super tired, but very excited to be in Africa. I cannot stop thinking about all of the people I miss, but I know this is where I am supposed to be. 

Friday, September 23, 2011

On My Way to My Dreams


I’m sitting on a plane right now bound for my dream. Destination Africa. After a packed but very quick puddle hop across the Atlantic, I find myself on an unpopulated airplane from Brussels to Kigali. The plane is half full mostly occupied by African businessmen and earthy NGO-looking types. I stick out standing in the plane isle with a plastic bag holding about 5 pairs of shoes and some books that would have cost me an extra $200 in overweight baggage. I have a back corner window seat with an empty seat next to me. Currently I am staring out towards the mountains of somewhere in southern Europe… maybe northern Italy. The high peaks give way to the vivid blue of the Mediterranean Sea. There is no more beautiful water than the Mediterranean. Lupe is in my ears inspiring me to write about the liberated feeling that has overcome me in the past couple weeks. I have the most amazing life. I was blessed with the most beautiful family in the world. Even though the five of us are spread out in four different countries on three different continents, I feel closer than ever to them. The past months have taken me for an emotional roller coaster. Starting from the exciting weddings, to the knowledge gained at Wootten Camps, to the hectic and sad days of packing and saying bye to my parents and brother, to the tedious days of life guarding and packing myself, and finally the past two weeks I was able to spend the best 15 days of the last four years with the most gorgeous girl in the world. What a ride! Now it comes to a conclusion with me beginning the most important and exciting stage of the journey of life: real life.
            I have been asked what I will be doing and what my expectations are. I just give everyone the very small bit of information that I actually know about who I will be working for, and say that my only expectations are to teach the game I love, to have the time of my life, and to find myself. That is what real life is: you have to do what you love, always be happy, and always search and learn to improve yourself. I live the most incredible life!

Food For Thought:
“The successful capitalist is successful because he has no love in his heart… he has only the love of success. He devotes himself to work work work instead of to a woman he loved with all his soul. He attempts to fill the hollow in his heart with the accumulation of wealth and what it buys, whether things or power or both; but wealth, things and power fill it only for the moment, as water does the belly of a hungry man. The heart is empty once again and its cravings drive him to acquire more, yet he is never gratified… He soon learned that for the successful capitalist, there is no such thing as enough.”- Fitzhugh Martin

- I will always strive for better but I will also be grateful and satisfied with joy and happiness. I will always have clear vision towards the future and I will live with unconditional love in my heart. If I do this I cannot lose.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Apeing

  Planking is dead. Now Showing: The rise of the planet of Aping.... 


 How to ape: 
1.) must be on all fours- hands and knees.

 2.) Arms must be locked and straight. Fists are to be made with the hands

3.) Head must be facing forward with head, neck and back alignment.


4.) Back must be erect with your rump sticking out.


Bonus: You may add stunts to your ape if wanted.


P.S. Girlfriends are encouraged to Ape

                                        



Sunday, September 11, 2011

Eli Fat Mat

I have currently been awake for the past 38 hours... (Took about a 45 min. nap on the train, but whos counting) I spent the weekend in Chicago. At one point I hit up my secret spot where I like to go down on the lake. Its got the best veiw of the Chicago sky line. My sister actually is the first person to take me there. I spent a good deal of time there this weekend though looking out on to the city. Chicago has the most beautiful skyline in the world! I cant even imagine a tragic event like that which happened 10 years ago today happening to this city, this skyline, these great people. 

early this morning I was reading my book (Acts of Faith right now... great book!) and I came across an Arabic proverb. It is Eli Fat Mat, which basically to my understanding means something along the lines of "the past is dead". On a day like today where the cop filled streets and the countless American flags sat still for a moment of silence in the waking hours of this Sunday morning, I sat on an almost completely empty El Train thinking Eli Fat Mat.

The past is dead, but it is never forgotten. Though our present realities lead us towards new goals, new hieghts, and new ideas these present realities quickly become past experiences and they die off, but we must never forget these experiences. It is the past that defines who we are. 

As a global community we have moved on from 9/11, but we never for one second forget it. We let the fear, the hurt, the sadness, and the hopelessness of an incomprehensibly disgusting act of hatred and terror die to make way for the love, compassion, faith, and unity which keeps up moving forward into a better future. 

Never in my heart will I forget going to sleep at night hearing that a plane may have just struck the world trade center to wake up to the horrific images of the two towers collapsing, but I must let all the feelings that accompanied that experience die. I must move from my past and into my future. I will never be the same, America will never be the same, and the world will never be the same because of what happened on September 11, 2001. God Bless everyone who had a family member or loved one die in the incidents of the attack. 

We must never forget...

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

They Call me Coach Video

My brother is going to be a brilliant young filmmaker. I am proud to be the subject of one of his first peices. For those of you that havent seen it, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8AnGdAEuvA

Friday, September 2, 2011

My First Post

So I am sitting at home in my empty house. My brother is in Rome, my sister and brother in law are in Shanghai, and my parents are in Ankara. Its amazing how much you get to thinking when you are on your own. I have done a lot of searching lately. Looking for good books, good music, good movies (documentaries...). I've had a lot of great food, because of my family, but thats another story. Let me just say that I had a fridge full of food at the beginning of the week that I thought would be my food for the week, but it is just as full now as it was on Tuesday. My family is crazy, but the best... Anyway, my belly has been full with food, but my mind has also been filled with thought. Driving around today I had my Ipod blasting all day as usual and I ran across some good stuff. Let Brother Ali serve you a plate of food for thought:

"Something spiritual happen when them hands get to clappin
Can you tell me, what language do you laugh in?
The human reaction of smiles and cries
What language are the tears when they're fallin from your eyes?
You've probably seen the sunrise hundreds of times
But let a painter paint it or a poet describe
The very moment where heaven and Earth might collide
And God let the breath of life come outside
Uh, Satan doubted it, angels bowed to it
I'm so beautifully human and I'm proud of it
Soul of a soldier, heart of a scholar
I wrote this poem with the blood of a martyr
Imam Mohammed might pound on the podium
Popmaster Fabel work it out on the linoleum
Chappelle bust funnies, Mos Def bust rhymes
Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time"

I am defined by my life and the way I live it. I want to be proud of being who I am.

"I said the good Lord made me what I am and I play this game for keeps
Got to use what I have to get what I want, all the dreamer got is his dream
And the good Lord made me what I am and I play the hand I'm dealt
Said sometimes the hardest thing to be in this world is just yourself"