2009 Program News
9/15/09: Coach Martelli Sets the Tone for ICECP 2009
Phil Martelli, head coach of the St. Joseph’s University men’s basketball team, opened the 2009 ICECP with a keynote speech to the participant coaches. Martelli spoke about setting goals, the role of the coach and how these coaches can impact the lives of their athletes.
Martelli told the coaches that the first step is to set goals and “know your dream.” He said that it is vital to know where you want to go before you can get there. He challenged each coach to set goals for themselves and their teams to establish a destination.
He recounted to the group the beginning of his journey towards his current position as head coach at St. Joseph’s.
“When I was 12, I was on the playground with a friend and I looked at him and said, ‘I’m going to be the basketball coach at St. Joseph’s.’ At the time, I didn’t know what that meant or involved. But I knew early,” he said.
Misshame Anareme, a basketball coach from Togo and 2009 ICECP participant, can relate. His story is quite similar.
“When I was 10, I told my mother I wanted to play basketball. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. She bought my first ball and I was able to follow my dream,” Anareme said.
That dream has led him from a young boy wanting to play basketball to a coach representing his country in ICECP.
Martelli also spoke in depth about the role each of these coaches held. His first and foremost point was that he did not call himself a coach.Rather, he referred to himself as a teacher.
And not a teacher of basketball. He noted candidly that each participant was not a teacher of their respective sport. They were teachers of people.“I can’t teach a basketball to do anything. I teach people” said Martelli.
He added jokingly, “Don’t tell people this, but I don’t know that much about basketball. Yes, I’ve studied it, but I don’t know that much about it. What I pride myself on is knowing about people.”
The participant coaches took in all of Coach Martell’s lessons. Even though they represent 13 different sports, the message he sent went beyond specific sports and hit the common ground: these participants are here to learn to be better coaches and to improve the sport structures in their countries. Coach Martelli’s talk was motivational for all the participant coaches and certainly set the stage for an incredible program.
Sir Clive had many great quotes and tips during the two-hour coach’s panel. He talked about the process that he goes through when picking a team. The first thing that all of his athletes needed was talent, because even if they worked as hard as possible, if they don’t have the natural talent, there is only so far that the athlete can go. On top of talent, Sir Clive looks to make sure the athlete is teachable, can handle pressure, and has the right attitude. With these four characteristics, the player would have a great chance of making his team. One of the most memorable quotes that he talked about during the panel was the expression “T-CUP”, which meant Thinking Clearly Under Pressure. This acronym resonated with all the coaches because so many athletes under perform under pressure, but as long as one can think clearly in those moments, they will have tremendous amounts of success. The 2010 ICECP was very lucky to have these three great coaches come to share their wisdom and we were honored to have them
