FilAmstar.net: Fil-Am Spoelstra: master of opportunity

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Fil-Am Spoelstra: master of opportunity
Jul 16, 06:26 PM

By NICHOLAS VON WETTBERG

Once upon a time, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had dreams of playing professional basketball in the Philippines.

But those aspirations were abandoned at the age of 25 when the Filipino-American left his player/coaching job in Germany, and accepted an offer to become the Heat’s video coordinator.

“I thought that after playing in Europe I might be able to do the PBA,” Spoelstra said in an interview a few years back. “But when the offer from Miami came I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

To say that Spoelstra, the son of a Dutch-Irish father and Filipino mother, has taken advantage of the opportunity given to him is an understatement.

Now heading into his 15th year with the organization, and third as its head coach, Spoelstra finds himself in charge of the NBA’s newest version of the Dream Team with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade.

With the turn of events, as speculation had James either staying in Cleveland or opting for New York City or Chicago, Spoelstra goes from relative anonymity outside NBA circles (and the Filipino communities recognizing him) to a much more known name.

Pretty good for a guy whose first tasks with the franchise included videotaping the team’s holiday parties.

After two years, Spoelstra ascended the ranks of the organization, going from assistant coach to advance scout then on to director of scouting.

“I’ve worn a lot of different hats for the organization throughout the years, so it’s very rewarding…” Spoelstra wrote in an email to FilAm Star.

As enjoyable as the ride has been so far for Spoelstra, who has done an admirable job leading the team to better than average records in his first two years, next season will be like no other.

The eyes of the NBA, and the sports world for that matter will be fixed upon the Heat for each and every one of their 82 regular season games.

The 39-year-old from Portland, Oregon, whose father Jon was a longtime NBA executive and is currently the vice chairman of marketing for baseball properties for the Mandalay Group – the same group that just acquired ownership of the Golden State Warriors – will be assisted with the big task at hand by Heat GM and President Pat Riley, the mastermind of the deal.

That shouldn’t be a problem, since Spoelstra, the NBA’s first coach of Filipino heritage, has learned under Riley that anything is possible.

“The plan has been there for a couple years,” Spoelstra said to the Miami Herald. “More than anything, the thing I’ve learned from Pat working for him for 15 years is to think big. It doesn’t even have to be about basketball. It can be about re-doing the kitchen. He gets you to believe.”

Spoelstra added: “This is something that has been in the making for a couple years. I get this. I think it’s exciting. But eventually, we’re going to have to get to the game plan.”

The plan will be simple but tricky at the same time: to partner Wade with one of the world’s best players in James at small forward – probably handling the ball for the majority of possessions – highlighted by one of the league’s best power forwards with Bosh.

Surround the trio with some defense down low and shooters to spread the floor and you have an instant competitor in the Eastern Conference.

But with the proverbial bulls-eye on his back, Spoelstra will have his work cut out for him, especially with the constant discussions about Riley taking over the reins like he did with Stan Van Gundy during the 2005-2006 title season.

Spoelstra’s first order of business, however, is opening the lines of communication, and eventually coming together as a team before the season starts.

“We’re going to start that process,” said Spoelstra. “We spent a little bit of time the other night, and we’ve all gone our separate ways right now. The next few weeks, before the summer is over, I plan on spending quite a bit of time with each one of them individually and as a group to start the process right now. That’s going to be key, the communication early and to lay a game plan down.”

He and Riley will also be closely monitoring the progress of the summer league team, which Spoelstra was coach of a few years back.

Last summer, Spoelstra was mapping out a much different kind of plan, as an NBA ambassador, a role that saw him teach over 2,000 youth in numerous basketball clinics throughout the Philippines.

Spoelstra, Heat assistant coach David Fizdale and former WNBA player Sue Wicks traveled from Zamboanga to Manila as a part of the U.S. Department of State’s Sports Envoy Program.

Once again, Spoelstra took advantage of an opportunity, using the trip as a chance to see his relatives from the San Pablo and Los Banos areas of the Laguna province, where his mother Elisa Celino is from.

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