After a few months of being away and becoming a certified sports couch potato in the United States, I was able to see things from a different perspective and thereby learn a lot.
Being a former basketball sports analyst, I could not help but admire the quality of the TV production and the analysis of the games by people who have been around the sport for a long time.
I had in front of me a “sports buffet” on television to choose from everyday.
Tennis was unbelievable to watch. With the reemergence of Roger Federer and the comeback of Rafael Nadal, the sport has again been brought back to life.
But what I really enjoyed and learned a lot from was watching the so called “March Madness,” wherein all the US college basketball teams are grouped and play knock out games against each other according to their performance throughout the year.
As a former basketball coach, I learned a lot in seeing how the college coaches have really made a big impact of the development of the game, grooming their players to the system that they believe in.
This is the system that feeds the NBA. It entails very aggressive movements that require a lot of physical contact and teamwork.
Most college coaches in the US have the luxury of job security and tenure that allows them to select the players from high schools that they feel will fit their team. In other words, they are tasked to build their team.
Even in college basketball in the US, players are allowed the freedom of physical contact as long as they do not intentionally harm the other player or impede the course of play.