PATH FROM BEING AN ASSISTANT TO HEAD COACH

Abstract

In his motivational speech, Erdem Can shared his personal journey from assistant coach to head coach. The path was anything but straight; it was more like a rollercoaster. I began my career as a basketball player. All I knew was that I wanted to be the best basketball player in the world. But I got hurt when I was 17. At the age of 19, at my university professor’s advice I began coaching children aged 10 to 18 in all categories. I realized that there was another way to love basketball. The game has embedded itself in my body and soul. This is how my lifelong commitment to basketball began. I didn’t speak English at the time, but I recognized the value of knowing the common language of basketball, so I studied it diligently. I attended a basketball camp in the United States where I learned that the only way to improve yourself is to invest in yourself.