This is like a dream. I thought I should give up my dream of basketball completely.”
On the 17th, we met at the Anyang Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do, and Kim Sang-sik, coach of Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation, a professional basketball team, looked back and said that he felt like he had emerged as the main character for the first time in his 17-year-old ‘Leader’s Life’.
In the meantime, he was a thorough ‘person around’.
Coach Kim was labeled as the son of former KBL president Kim Young-ki.
Former president Kim led Korean basketball in the mid-1950s during his active career, and after his retirement, he made a name for himself as a leader and sports administrator, including national team coach.
“I thought it didn’t suit the central role of being the main character in anything and me, who was about to give up basketball completely.” Director Kim said.
After ending his career as a player in 2003, coach Kim’s leadership life was a ‘continuation of acting’.
It was the beginning of the 2006-2007 season when he held the baton as acting manager of KT&G, the predecessor of Ginseng Corporation.
At that time, Yoo Do-hoon, the current head coach of Daegu Korea Gas Corporation, took over as KT&G’s official command tower and returned to the role of head coach, eventually leaving the team.
After serving as acting coach for the 2007-2008 season Daegu Orions (currently Goyang Day One), he took over as official manager the following season, but resigned midway through the season due to a series of injuries to key players, including Kim Seung-hyun, the team’s ace.
Looking back at that time, coach Kim said, “It was the most difficult time in my basketball life.” “At that time, Daegu fans were very strong.
Prior to the 2012-2013 season, he took over as Samsung’s head coach following former Seoul Samsung coach Kim Dong-gwang, who was his mentor during his active career.
At that time, the youngest coach was coach Lee Sang-min. I was appointed as acting coach again, and the atmosphere was not bad after winning 3 consecutive wins. Talks about official coaching came out and I set a goal for next year, but suddenly coach Lee Sang-min said he would become the manager.”
Looking back on 2014, director Kim said, “I thought this was not it. The feeling of ‘this is not’ kept repeating.” At that time, Samsung left coach Lee Sang-min at the helm instead of coach Kim, who took care of the rest of the team’s season.
Coach Kim’s ‘cruelty’ continued in the national team as well. Heo Jae-jae, who assisted as a coach, resigned in 2018 amid a ‘player selection controversy’ and took on the position as a temporary firefighter.
Afterwards, coach Kim’s leadership career, which seemed to lead smoothly as the national team command tower in earnest after removing the ‘acting ticket’, reached an inflection point after the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) pandemic in early 2021.
At the time, as the management of the national team became difficult in the aftermath of Corona 19, professional team coaches continued to protest over the selection of players, and eventually coach Kim decided to resign from the national team coaching position.
After the 2021-2022 season ended, coach Kim was hopeful but frustrated again as winds of manager replacements blew in various teams.
Director Kim, who was born in 1968, said, “As I passed my mid-50s, I thought, ‘Oh, now I want a young leader.'” He moved to Jeju Island and tried to cut ties with basketball.
He was not satisfied with his obsession with the leadership position, and he tried to bury his entire basketball life, thinking that it had a negative effect on his family.
Two weeks after completely relocating their home, including their residence, to Jeju Island, the basketball world called for coach Kim. In April of last year, Ginseng Corporation offered the managerial position to coach Kim, who left Jeju after hearing the news of the death of former national team coach Heo Jae’s mother.
Coach Kim’s Ginseng Corporation, which finished the 2022-2023 regular season in first place (37 wins and 17 losses), also became the first winning team in the East Asian Club Competition East Asian Super League (EASL), and in the professional basketball championship match, defending champion Seoul SK and After a bloody battle that went up to the 7th game, he took 4 wins and ascended to the throne.
Director Kim, who made a ‘great reversal’ in his coaching career, said, “I had repeated expectations and frustrations. My family said ‘I can’t do it’ when they saw me obsessing over the official manager position even though I was an acting manager. So I put the car on a boat and went to Jeju Island. “I decided to give up basketball as I went,” he looked back.
The leadership coach Kim showed this season is evaluated as ‘soft and common sense’.
Even if you don’t like the team, the coaching method of not yelling at you, first exhorting you with words and then giving encouragement was captured on relay cameras throughout the season.
Director Kim explained that this was also an “irresistible” guidance method formed following his long acting career.
“I didn’t do this when I was young. I did it with a strong scolding,메이저사이트” said manager Kim, who laughed and said, “I have experience as an acting manager. When the coach leaves, the players feel apologetic, but it’s hard to bully at that time.” The results weren’t bad. There are many good memories that led to results when we said let’s work hard together.”
At the same time, he said, “I also put up with the feelings that come out from within. It’s hard when you have to suppress them.”
In fact, coach Kim put up with his anger as much as possible during the operation time 4 minutes before the end of the 3rd quarter, when he was trailing 47-60 in the 6th game of the championship match (4 wins from 7 matches) with Seoul SK, who would be eliminated if they had one more loss. Don’t worry and let’s play,” he said, reassuring the players.
After coach Kim’s operation time, which was full of facial expressions at the time, Ginseng Corp., centering on Daryl Monroe, from the 4th quarter unraveled SK’s regional defense and wrote a thrilling comeback that will remain in the history of professional basketball. At this time, based on the power, I was able to hold the 7th game, which went to overtime, and lift the championship trophy with difficulty.
Director Kim said that he hoped that his leadership would not be generalized.
He saw that he did not have the right to dare to judge that he was ‘wrong’ even if the coaching method of shouting and arguing made players feel intimidated.
Coach Kim said, “Everything is result theory.” “If a certain method works out well and produces results, public opinion that ‘we must be harsh with the players’ may become stronger. I can’t say anything about this.”
Still, he said, “I will stick with my method in the future. I will not bully you.” “When players enter the game, basically a lot of friends and acquaintances come. There are fans, but I have a problem mind if it’s right to openly reprimand them in front of them.”
Coach Kim sees this victory as a strategic achievement. He believes that the ‘motion offense’ implanted in the team has paid off.
Unlike the 2021-2022 season, which relied on players called “main guns” such as Jeon Seong-hyun, who left for Goyang Day One, coach Kim tried to plant a strategy in which all players play their part in the attack.
Filipino player Lens Abando, outside strikers such as Bae Byung-jun, Jeong Jun-won, and Moon Seong-gon, as well as big men such as Oh Se-geun, Han Seung-hee, and Omari Spellman, all tried to play basketball that showed off their individual offensive power according to an organic passwork.
The plan is to introduce basketball next season, in which players in all positions move to secure space to attack and actively try to break through and shoot in front of the opponent’s defense while recognizing the angle and position of the pass.
Coach Kim said, “In a sense, the next season is a challenge.”
Referring to SK coach Jeon Hee-chul, the enemy general who had a ‘blood fight’ leading up to the 7th game of the championship match, he said, “He said that he had worked hard. He asked me to eat next time.” laughed