Breakers coach ready to return

New Zealand Breakers head coach Dan Shamir has recovered from Covid-19 and will return to team training on Monday after a two week absence.

Shamir had a long coaching resume in Israel and a reputation for being very involved in every aspect of his team’s play.

He had never been away from his team as long as he had been from the Breakers as they prepared for the NBL season.

“I’ve never in my life missed a practice, not for the birth of a child, definitely not for being sick. Never missed a game, it’s not something where I come from is in the culture,” Shamir said.

Shamir was one of nine members of the Breakers 39-strong touring party to contract Covid-19. His two daughters also tested positive, while his wife and son did not.

“Obviously the things you’re thinking about while you are sitting for 10 days with high fever in the middle of a world pandemic the things that go through your mind are not great and all of a sudden you’re thinking what’s going to happen if something bad happens, what’s going to happen with my family how are they going to get back home what is going to be the situation – a lot of bad thoughts.”

Shamir said he was grateful to be feeling better but there had been some tough days.

“I was dysfunctional for those days, just mentally so worried, I couldn’t even sit down to watch a TV show I didn’t have the focus or the mental energy.”

But on Saturday night he did watch TV. He saw the Breakers lose their opening game of the season 89-65 to South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Watching without having influence over what was happening was “very strange”, he said.

“You’re used to watching the game from the inside as things happen and all of a sudden you’re not so it was very weird.

“There’s not a lot I could do, I shouldn’t over-react thinking that I am coaching the team I was not with them for two weeks.”

However, after watching the action Shamir does have a review.

He said the team had gone backwards since their back-to-back pre-season games in the NBL Blitz but he knew why.

“It’s a physical game and people were flat, so physically there is some gap to fill and recover from.

“It’s a setback and at the same time us a coaches and us as sportsmen we always have to think about what is in our control and what we can and should do.

“I believe we are going to have list of things we that need to do better next week and we’ll get right back at it dealing with it tomorrow and hopefully from next week we look different.”