Pep Claros Statement
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To the City of Halifax, friends and supporters of the Halifax Rainmen: When I came to Halifax with my wife and two children, I had two goals: to provide my children with the opportunity to recieve an excellent education and to win the National Basketball League of Canada championship. After eight months of working and living here, I can tell you we were very, very close to achieving both. I also found out something I didn´t expect. Because my dedication to that has been so intense, I couldn´t be in touch with the people we all usually have around like fans, neighbours, the community etc. Just in six days, several people that we have never seen they have offered us their house, their car, their advise... this is something that talk about people who doesn´t do the things for self interest, but feeling and caring. Thanks all of you. This is what I will say about Halifax when I get back to Barcelona. In each one of the 14 finals I have coached, I have learned something that I carried with me onto the next one. This year´s lesson is clear: To be successful, you do not need to select the best talent, you need to select the best people. Why? Because they will work harder than the others without using excuses. Because they give more than they recieve with no complaints. Because they look you in the eyes and allow your critisisms become corrections. All of these things add up to allow a team to get better and improve together. After this happens, the team truly becomes a team. The team feels this, the crowd feels this, the city feels this. Together, we celebrate and we suffer, like we all do now. At this time, we don’t know what the future holds. But there is one thing we know for sure. That when a group of good people unite to take a stand in the name of safety, good values, people’s rights and strong principles, that this will rise above any rules or even winning. I know that each of my players have brilliant careers ahead of them. I believe that because of this experience, they have become leaders. As they continue on in their lives, they will lead by example and will continue to be true role models. Despite how difficult are this present times, we have been incredibly lucky to live this experience. It has taught us that life can be unfair sometimes but we hope it will allow things to get better. In closing, I want to express my sincere thanks to people of Halifax. We have enjoyed our eight months here and hope to stay for two more as our children finish the school year. Your words, your emails, your hugs and your support is helping us heal. Thank you. In 20 or 30 years from now, this team will not be known as the championship team, but the BEST TEAM. And each and every one of you will remember and will explain why. We, the team and the fans, ARE the East. Pep
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An open letter from Halifax Rainmen head coach Pep Claros
Transcript of Pep Claros Statement
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TotheCityofHalifax,friendsandsupportersoftheHalifaxRainmen:WhenIcametoHalifaxwithmywifeandtwochildren,Ihadtwogoals:toprovidemychildrenwiththeopportunitytorecieveanexcellenteducationandtowintheNationalBasketballLeagueofCanadachampionship.Aftereightmonthsofworkingandlivinghere,Icantellyouwewerevery,veryclosetoachievingboth.IalsofoundoutsomethingIdidntexpect.Becausemydedicationtothathasbeensointense,Icouldntbeintouchwiththepeopleweallusuallyhavearoundlikefans,neighbours,thecommunityetc.Justinsixdays,severalpeoplethatwehaveneverseentheyhaveofferedustheirhouse,theircar,theiradvise...thisissomethingthattalkaboutpeoplewhodoesntdothethingsforselfinterest,butfeelingandcaring.Thanksallofyou.ThisiswhatIwillsayaboutHalifaxwhenIgetbacktoBarcelona.Ineachoneofthe14finalsIhavecoached,IhavelearnedsomethingthatIcarriedwithmeontothenextone.Thisyearslessonisclear:Tobesuccessful,youdonotneedtoselectthebesttalent,youneedtoselectthebestpeople.Why?Becausetheywillworkharderthantheotherswithoutusingexcuses.Becausetheygivemorethantheyrecievewithnocomplaints.Becausetheylookyouintheeyesandallowyourcritisismsbecomecorrections.Allofthesethingsadduptoallowateamtogetbetterandimprovetogether.Afterthishappens,theteamtrulybecomesateam.Theteamfeelsthis,thecrowdfeelsthis,thecityfeelsthis.Together,wecelebrateandwesuffer,likewealldonow.Atthistime,wedontknowwhatthefutureholds.Butthereisonethingweknowforsure.Thatwhenagroupofgoodpeopleunitetotakeastandinthenameofsafety,goodvalues,peoplesrightsandstrongprinciples,thatthiswillriseaboveanyrulesorevenwinning.Iknowthateachofmyplayershavebrilliantcareersaheadofthem.Ibelievethatbecauseofthisexperience,theyhavebecomeleaders.Astheycontinueonintheirlives,theywillleadbyexampleandwillcontinuetobetruerolemodels.Despitehowdifficultarethispresenttimes,wehavebeenincrediblyluckytolivethisexperience.Ithastaughtusthatlifecanbeunfairsometimesbutwehopeitwillallowthingstogetbetter.Inclosing,IwanttoexpressmysincerethankstopeopleofHalifax.Wehaveenjoyedoureightmonthshereandhopetostayfortwomoreasourchildrenfinishtheschoolyear.Yourwords,youremails,yourhugsandyoursupportishelpingusheal.Thankyou.In20or30yearsfromnow,thisteamwillnotbeknownasthechampionshipteam,buttheBESTTEAM.Andeachandeveryoneofyouwillrememberandwillexplainwhy.We,theteamandthefans,AREtheEast.Pep
