Greece likes this. basketball, which gave huge differences, both at the level of national teams and at the collective level. But what happens behind the scenes? How far can a brilliant final 4 be, from the small categories, in the regions of the Greek map, far from Attica, where there is no “brilliant” basketball?

cathimerini.gr met a man of sports who has been working with youth since 1990 and in a difficult area: northwestern Greece, i.e. ESKABDE, a large union including the prefectures of Aetoloakarnania, Arta, Preveza, Lefkada, Thesprotia, Ioannina and Corfu.

Sotiris Farandos, a physical education teacher, an excellent player in his time, and now the coach of Leotas Messollogiou (A’ESKABDE), the second team of the city after H. Trikoupis, told us about the situation in … the west, since he himself ate with a spoon of the field this region.

“Leon came to claim promotion to the 3rd National League, with many boys in the men’s team, although the original goal was to remain in this category as five of the 10 teams were relegated (Doxa-Pyrros Artas was relegated to the 3rd League ). National League).

“The team took 2nd place after AGS Yanina. This is the first time the Messolonghi team has reached the final four of the ESKABDE competition. The same team will be strengthened by teenagers in the new season to claim something better in the youth panhellenic championship,” emphasizes the 57-year-old coach, who is looking to further strengthen the youth in the men’s category. But what happens there?

“Things could be better this year because ESKABDE will have an expanded division with 14 teams. It will start in Nafpaktos and end in Corfu and I think that is the motivation for both players and coaches to work harder and achieve more. Because so far he has taken off one at a time. There was no league. Teams might say, “Why invest when only one comes up.” It’s not how you level up. Three will drop out of the new season.

“Mantsoukas came to Panathinaikos under the Prometheus program, which organizes a big tournament and gathers players who will stay there and go to school. Players from all over Greece, not just from the west. That’s why he wins panhellenic championships. They have excellent conditions with courts and hostels. He has children from Lefkada to Corfu.”

“Everything that is good in Greece and not only in the West usually goes to Prometheus.”

“Everything stops in the 3rd Lyceum”

“Now with the Internet, everything is easier. Managers can identify talent much more easily than before. The problem is that ESKABDE is a huge union and the biggest problem with its championships is that it has no universities except for Ioannina. Good players have a two year plan. When they go to the 3rd lyceum, they leave. If they continue to play basketball, they will do it elsewhere, where they will spend the next 4-5 years of their lives. So we have no continuity here in the region and as a club. We must find materials to build from scratch. I think this is the biggest problem in basketball in the west of Greece.”

“Become Sports Schools”

“The level is good in terms of development. But again we have the “bleeding” we talked about earlier. I have a talented player who tells me: “Coach, I will come this year, but from next year, do not discount. I will have a lot of lessons and reading, and I won’t have time at all.” There should be 4-5 good sports schools in Greece, like in France, for example. Let the children go there on scholarships, study at the same time and play their own basketball. So I think something good will happen for these kids and for the sport in the country. So that there is continuity and not stop at the 3rd Lyceum.

“It takes faith to move forward”

– At the male level? At some point we had Lefkada on A1, then X. Trikoupis and finally finally.

“It’s hard for a team to keep up with homegrown players. Back in the 3rd National League, X. Trikoupis had 10 local players and when I say “local” I mean a wider area, i.e. Messolonghi, Aetoliko, Neohori, Agrinio. With two transfers, the teams were competitive. You need two players, 15 more. The larger the category, of course, the harder it is to find native players. There may be some children playing there that I think have been overlooked and lost. Even as the 11th or 12th player on a good team. You see that now foreigners are placed in lower and lower ranks. The Greek does not play. He doesn’t have time to participate. And if you don’t have time to participate, you can’t get better. In addition, in basketball, as in many other sports, you first need to be a good athlete, and then a basketball player or football player. If you are not committed to what you are doing, you will not move forward. If you don’t train 10 hours a day, then what? In the protocol in the developmental, in the children’s one, which I have, it is written only 20 days of vacation all year. And it’s not in a row. Another factor in basketball, of course, is size. If you don’t have it, it will be difficult for you to move forward.”

“During the pandemic, children left the fields and football”

“As you say. Do not forget that this is not only basketball. It is football, volleyball, athletics, handball, martial arts. In such a small town as Messolongi, there cannot be 500 athletes. Perseverance, patience, persuasion are needed for people to come basketball The pandemic has helped sports like football because they are played outdoors Kids have been out playing outdoors during COVID-19 Sports like volleyball or basketball have been left behind We are now starting and going back to normal conditions in terms of attendance”.

“He has to believe it. Have character, because sport is asceticism. You have to introduce all of this little by little. The child must first love basketball, then he must also feel that he is good at what he does, experience recognition, and in order to move forward, he must have size and athleticism. In today’s era, whatever sport you want to do, you must first and foremost be athletic. In modern basketball you can be 2.17 – 2.18, but if you’re not athletic, you can’t play. It’s complicated”.