Essay On Erik Spoelstra

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Erik Spoelstra
Erik Spoelstra is the current coach of the Miami Heat basketball team, this team underwent a true transformation; they came from “rock bottom in the 2007-08 NBA season, to the top of the hill in 2013. In 2007, Dwayne Wade, the star player at the time, was plagued by injuries. Miami hit rock bottom with a league worst 15-67 record” (Todd, 2). Shaquille O'Neal, one of the other star players, was traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through the season. Pat Riley, the president and head coach of the team at the time, resigned as head coach after the season, but kept his position as team president. Long-time assistant Erik Spoelstra was given the position of head coach. At 38, he was the “youngest head coach in the league at the time, …show more content…

"I thought Erik did a nice job staying even-keeled and preaching the same things he was preaching since Day 1. The more you can preach your message through turmoil and get through it, that's when guys start to …show more content…

But the two-time MVP now regards that period with a healthy hindsight. When it seems like the world is crashing down on us, he's always like, 'We're going get through it. It starts with me and we're all going to get through it. Let's just stay focused and continue to grind,'" James says. "Then things would get better. You respect that. When your general doesn't panic, no matter what the situation is, then the rest of the soldiers don't panic either."
Spoelstra has traveled about as “far an NBA lifer can -- from The Dungeon to the first chair on the most scrutinized sideline in recent NBA history. But in many respects, his temperament hasn't really changed” (Goodman, 2). The office might be cushier and he's no longer chasing cargo planes in the middle of the night, but he's still fundamentally the same guy with the same habits. "He's probably breaking down the next game, or breaking down the game we just got done playing," James says. "He's preparing. He's always

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