Dikoudis: “The entire Men’s National Team saw the Junior final – the interconnection of the national teams is important”

The head of the EEC National Teams, Municipality of Dikoudis, spoke about the success of the Young Men, the attention of the… Men that was attracted by the efforts of the splashers, but also the interconnection of the national teams. In detail, the former international power forward spoke to EEC Web Radio:

For the National Youth Men’s medal: “I consider it a very big success to be in the medals for the second year in a row at the U20 level. It is the children who are one step ahead of the Men in the National teams and it is very important that we managed to be on the podium again. I want to congratulate the unions and clubs of these children, because they are the ones who train the children, have them every day, develop them, so they have a big share in this success. And then to our staff, which is a very big responsibility of the Federation to be a staff capable of inspiring the children. Coach Papadopoulos and the rest of the staff did an excellent job for another summer. They created a team that was a real team, they didn’t give up, they played with selflessness, they showed they enjoyed it and they really have the elements that we want to take to the Nationals. I am very happy that we saw it again this year and it had the desired result in the end.”

On whether the Men’s National Team attended the minor final: “The entire Men’s National Team watched the game in Belgium. It was a very intense game. Such games that go point by point and have so much importance and criticality cannot be easily experienced. Fortunately we celebrated and enjoyed it all here. The players identified a bit with the process, with these kids, because they saw them and they reminded them of themselves a few years ago.”

For the connection between the National teams: “It’s a very big profit. We want to “build” something that has an interface. A very small national team cannot connect with the Men’s team, but each team has a connection between them, they have common elements, a common philosophy in some things and I think that we have succeeded as a Federation in making the children of the national teams feel good, they feel that their adults watch too. In the training sessions of the small national teams, legendary players appear, watch them and advise them. It’s a very beautiful feeling for these children.”

For the important elements in a national team: “For me two things are important. The first is the environment of the National teams. That is, the athlete must come to the National team and know that he will dedicate a month to something very big in terms of honor and behavior, but also in terms of quality. He must come and find a worthy staff, a well-structured preparation, with tournaments abroad, with high-level training, with very good living conditions, so as to make the child feel that he is coming to something much higher than his club, from what he does all year. And to appreciate this and behave accordingly, to give everything he has and doesn’t have for the national team to succeed. Second is the part of the basketball direction. We have to start like Greek basketball from the defense. We have traditionally shown that with defense we have achieved many things, but we have to develop forward, we have to develop many things in our game, which year after year we see that they enter the Greek DNA. We have to play faster, become more athletic, to compete with teams at pan-European level who have been there for many years and now in recent years we are starting to catch up to them. To answer as a whole, the environment of the national teams and the new basketball direction we are giving is an alloy that we are trying to pass on to the children and have results on the court as well”.

For the children’s participation time: “These kids have to play, have playing time. If they cannot find time to participate in A1, then go further down. They must enjoy the game and develop through it and their playing time. I think that many of the children of the National Youth Team have a place in the Basketball League as well, but they need confidence”.