Currently, the KBL and WKBL have a total of 46 coaches assisting the head coach of each team. Some of these coaches are former star players, while others were somewhat under the radar during their playing days. In this section, we’ll introduce you to coaches who didn’t have a glamorous career as players, but have proven their worth as coaches.레모나토토 주소
The November issue features Kim Sang-young of Daegu KOGAS. After retiring from active duty three years after his professional debut in 2007, he taught children at a DB youth basketball class in Wonju, where he realized his dream of becoming a coach. He later assisted head coach Jang Chang-gon as an assistant coach and was called by acting head coach Kang Hyuk to join GASCO ahead of this season. Through communication and trust, he inspired confidence in the players of GASCO, who were in the bottom half of the league last season. With his gentle leadership, he has gained great trust from the team.
This article was originally published in the November issue of Jump Ball, a basketball magazine.
How did you start playing basketball?
I used to write down the names of taller students in the office. It was to select them for athletics. When Mr. Han Kyu-don saw my name, he came to my house and told my parents. I thought it was volleyball, so I practiced hard, but it turned out to be basketball, so I joined the basketball team at Saints. Not long after I started, I went on a group homestay to Sendai, Japan. My Japanese friend’s father, who was living with me, was the president of the association, so I heard a lot of good things about it, and that’s where I got interested.
I had a lot of fun playing basketball at Humungo. I got a lot of attention as a long guard because of my height, and I had to keep passing to save (Bang) Sung-yoon’s three-point shot. Thanks to that, I learned how to pass naturally, and we had a synergistic effect. It was said that I had injuries in college, but honestly, I didn’t work hard. However, I had good seniors like Song Young-jin and Park Ji-hyun who took care of me. I picked myself up and tried to play hard again in my third year, but I had surgery for a stress fracture in my foot.
You were drafted by Changwon LG in the second round of the 2004 KBL rookie draft.
I was injured at the time and didn’t make the tryout. Before the draft, I was expecting to be a first-round pick, but I was shocked when I fell to the second round. It hurt a lot. Looking back, I think I deserved it because I didn’t work hard enough, so now I’m trying to help the younger guys not be like me in the past.
You spent a lot of time on the bench in your rookie season, was it hard for you?
The team finished last, so I didn’t really have time to think about it. In a way, it’s a continuation of my college days. I was distracted then too. I was complacent instead of working hard. I think I didn’t survive in the pros because of my complacency.
After the season, he was traded to Wonju East (now Wonju DB).
Coach Kang Dong-hee was the LG coach and then went to Dongbu. He asked me to play as a sixth man in Dongbu, so I was traded. Actually, there were circumstances at the time, so I stayed with the (Daegu) Orions (now Goyang Sono) for about three or four months and then moved back to the East. I played until the exhibition game. At that time, there was coach Kim Jin and senior Kim Seung-hyun on the team, and they helped me a lot even though it was a short time.
How much playing time did you get after moving to the East?
In life, opportunities come once or twice, and that was my chance. But I didn’t grab it. I was already not working hard, and when I tried to do something afterward, it didn’t work out. I apologized to Coach Jeon Chang-jin and Coach Kang Dong-hee who believed in me and brought me here. I think my pride and complacency held me back until the end.
After completing your military service in 2009, you abruptly chose to retire from active duty.
The biggest turning point in my life occurred at Sangmu. I got married there and lived with (Yang) Dong-geun, which shocked me a lot. He was very good at taking care of his body and had a great passion for basketball. He didn’t even take a nap. I felt ashamed of myself when I saw the best player trying so hard. I was inspired by Dong-geun, and I worked hard to improve my body and return to the team. Then one day, the club called me. He called me in and asked me if I wanted to be the manager. Coach Kang Dong-hee coldly decided that I wasn’t good enough. I felt like the sky was falling, but I realized that if he thought that, I wouldn’t be competitive. I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start my new life quickly, so I accepted the offer to become a manager.
Do you have any regrets from your playing days?
I don’t have any regrets. It’s because I didn’t work hard enough. If you look at the players who are in the pros now, they were all good in high school. But the past is the past. I didn’t work hard when I needed to work hard. Actually, I’m most sorry for my wife. She didn’t get to see me play professionally because she got married in commerce and retired from the military. I have more regrets than regrets.
“I nurtured my leadership dreams by coaching youth”
Coach Kim Sang-young, who worked as an Eastern manager for nearly 10 years after retiring from active duty, became a coach for the DB Youth Basketball Class in 2017. He felt a sense of pride as he watched the children grow up, and he began to think about coaching in earnest. In 2019, he joined the team as an assistant coach and gained another experience living with professional players.
What did you do as a manager?
It’s exactly the same as today’s managers. I’m in charge of scheduling all the players, managers, and coaches. It’s your job to make the athletes feel comfortable. My managerial experience has helped me a lot in life. It’s a great asset in my social life. Also, I was able to help coach Lee Se-beom, the late coach Pyo Myeong-il, and scout Bae Gil-tae, who were on the team at the time, analyze the power. I was so grateful.
You have been a DB youth coach since 2017.
At that time, Coach Lee Sang-beom was newly appointed. I was getting older, so it was time to stop being a manager, but Lee Heung-seop, who was the deputy general manager at the time, looked at me favorably. He gave me a chance to teach the younger kids before I had to do something else, so I started teaching them.
It must not have been easy to teach children?
That’s when I started dreaming of being a leader. I taught 5-year-olds, and they learned really fast. I was in charge of the varsity class and we went to competitions. I was very happy. It felt like a vocation. Even though we were a club team, we trained like an elite team. We even did switch defense and ice defense. I could see that she was doing well, so I wanted to give her more. Luckily, the parents liked it.
You joined the team as an assistant coach in 2019.
Coach Chang-gon Jang contacted me. I was a little worried. I wanted to work my way up through middle school and high school, but the opportunity came too quickly. I still had dreams of becoming a coach, so I went for it. In fact, a coach has to play the role of a manager, and when I dealt with professional athletes, I realized that I didn’t get as much joy as when I was teaching kids. Certainly, the players who come to Sangmu work really hard on their personal training. They are very good at self-management, so I used to watch them from the sidelines to help them with their personal training.
You stopped coaching in 2022 and became a Samsung Youth coach in Bundang.
I wanted to be a coach who starts from scratch. Actually, I was thinking of secondary school, not youth. I talked to coach Jang Chang-gon and got a good job at Sangsung. After that, I was taking a break, and Geum Jung-hwan, the president of Bundang Samsung, asked me to join him. The kids from Bundang Samsung were definitely good, so we went into a more advanced program. We also did physical training. If you don’t have enough physical strength, you can’t do anything. I thought physical fitness should be the foundation, and I was happy to see the kids improve.
When you look at youth basketball these days, club teams often beat elite teams, why do you think that is?
The quality of teachers has increased. A lot of players who have played elite basketball have retired and become club coaches. Club teams used to be about having fun and playing basketball. But now, club teams are run like elite teams, and they naturally improve their skills. Parents see this and get greedy, and they become more interested. That’s why there are more spectators at club team games than elite teams. If you play basketball for a club team and you like it so much, you get scouted for an elite team.
“Become a solid team even if you lose”
Coach Kim Sang-young, who used to teach children at Samsung in Bundang, will undergo another big change in his life this summer. Kang Hyuk, the new head coach of GASCO, asked him to coach the team. Kim didn’t have to think twice about it, as he immediately joined the team and worked to revitalize the atmosphere of the team, which was steeped in a sense of defeat. He’s still a novice coach, but he’s growing as the season progresses.
You joined the Gasworks as a coach before this season.
It’s a miracle in my life. Acting head coach Kang Hyuk contacted me. We talked a lot when he was the LG coach and I was the executive coach. He apologized at first because I wasn’t an official coach. I didn’t think twice about it and said of course. He believed in me, so even if I quit tomorrow, he would still come. I’m so grateful, and I’m working hard, thinking that I’m a lifelong benefactor. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank President Choi Yeon-hye, the head coach, deputy head coach, and the secretary general.
It’s your first time coaching a professional team, do you have any trial and error?
I heard a lot about coaching from Lee Se-bum, the late coach Pyo Myung-il, and scout Bae Gil-tae when I was the manager of Dongbu. The times are different now, but the basic framework is the same, so there are no major difficulties. I think communication and trust are important. Without communication and trust, the relationship with the players is bound to break down. Last season, the team did not perform well, so the players were not confident. So I tried to believe in them and give them confidence. Thanks to this, I think the atmosphere has changed a lot.