Tab Baldwin. Photo from Fiba.com
Admittedly, Tab Baldwin prefers to keep it old school.
But to adapt with the changing times, Baldwin, the Philippine men’s national team head coach, has been active on social media, using it as a tool to connect and interact with his growing following on Twitter.
“It’s more of an avenue that was never around when I was younger,” he said. “I love the past, I’m an old school guy. I’ve tried to adapt as we move on with life and it’s up to others to say whether I’ve done a good job or not.”
Already having close to 5,000 followers, Baldwin’s account @iHob1111 consists of his thoughts on the PBA, NBA, his time with Ateneo, and even bits about his personal life.
But what floods his timeline is the hashtag #Gilasonmymind, as he shares some of his thoughts on the progress and how he envisions the national team.
“I created that hashtag #Gilasonmymind because it’s on my mind all the time. That’s the conceptual part of the job,” he said.
Though the responsibility is big, Baldwin noted that the true work could be summed up in a few weeks, as he said that for the majority part of the year, his obligations with the national team are all “conceptual.”
“Much of the year is conceptual. How do we want to shape this team, watching the players, watching them try to stay healthy and praying they stay healthy, and when they don’t, calculating how that impacts the chemistry of the team. That’s all conceptual. The part where we actually go to the court is actually six weeks,” he said.
“The workload, it’s actually very limited part of the year where we’re out there with tools in hand and really digging the trenches. The workload isn’t oppressive. Even in those five to six weeks, I can work myself to the bones and recover in two weeks. There’s no daunting nature to that task but the responsibility is there all the time. There’s a lot of privilege that goes with that, but also a lot of responsibility.”
That’s why even months before the team convened in preparation for the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Baldwin has already kept the public in the know with what’s on his mind as Gilas Pilipinas makes its grueling journey towards a possible stint in Rio.
“Social media is not just a way to get things off my chest. It’s a way to share by keeping a certain standard as well. I want to keep it classy, appropriate, but it’s a way to share an occasional thought, an occasional event or occurrence that happens with the team. I don’t want to go overboard with it,” he said.
“I’m a rookie at it so I’m not obsessed with it. I don’t spend a lot of time at it but I enjoy it and we’ll see what it evolves into.”/rga