The President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, Vessela Letcheva, held a meeting with legendary basketball coach Pini Gershon. Gershon has been in Sofia for several days in his capacity as Director of Development for the Bulgarian Basketball Federation. In 2008-2009, he was coach of the national team. Pini Gershon is a three-time Euroleague champion with Maccabi Tel Aviv and has eight titles in Israel.
Letcheva and Gershon discussed opportunities for the development of Bulgarian specialists.
“One of the main problems in Bulgarian sport is retaining good coaches. Modern professional sports require constant accumulation of knowledge and experience, improvement, persistent and purposeful work,” said Letcheva.
“Your knowledge and successes will be beneficial not only for Bulgarian basketball, but for all Bulgarian sports,” she added.
Pini Gershon will work with young basketball coaches and players not only in Sofia but also in other centers around the country.
“Here in Bulgaria, I met my former teammates, who are now coaches, which further motivates me to pass on my experience,” said Gershon.
In the coming months, he will conduct a series of open training sessions with young players and attend games of the national youth basketball teams.
Gershon pointed out that Bulgarian basketball players have the physical and technical qualities needed to play basketball at the highest level, but they need coaches who can show them how to realize their potential.
“Our views on the coaching profession coincide because a coach does not only take care of an athlete’s physical condition—he is their teacher, their family. And when this sports family moves in the same direction, success comes. A good athlete then becomes successful in their profession because they set high goals and are not afraid of competition,” said Letcheva.
Vessela Letcheva and Pini Gershon agreed to hold a coaching seminar in the fall for specialists outside of basketball.
