Basketball base has a new coach
Coach will work with children and youth teams
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
He'd known Paulo Chupeta, João Batista, and André Guimarães for a long time. But he'd never worked at Gávea. Now, at 48, coach Marcus Vinicius Hygino Junior will be more involved in the day-to-day running of the club's basketball team, with one mission: to prepare and shape the youth (14-15 years old) and youth (16-17 years old) teams who train at the Hélio Mauricio gymnasium.
With a degree in physical education from Gama Filho University, where he also completed a postgraduate degree, Marcus Vinicius knows he has a significant responsibility. "[President] Patricia Amorim wanted more experience in the youth basketball team. The goal is to prepare them for promotion to the professional team. The more youngsters Flamengo can promote to the senior team, the better."
The work is hard. The youth academy always has talented players in some fundamentals, but still lacks a broader understanding of the game, according to Marquinhos – as he's known despite his size as a center in his amateur days. "Today, I'm going to try to teach them the game of basketball. It's not enough to have a good shot. You have to have positioning awareness, a good pass, understand how your defender plays, know how to play without the ball, and have a vision of who's doing well in the game and should be used more," he explains.
With the experience of having worked as an assistant to coaches like Emanuel Bomfim, Ary Vidal, and Carioquinha, Marquinhos intends to work on the fundamentals. "There's no point in getting fouled and not knowing how to shoot free throws. It's not enough to be an excellent shooter. When it comes to the layup, you have to be able to use both hands. You have to be able to mark, infiltrate—you have to be good at everything."
Marquinhos praises the club's recent tryouts. "The amount of good kids from other states, or even from Rio de Janeiro, which wasn't registered, showed up, and they were all eager to play! This shows Flamengo's greatness," he comments.
For the coach, the most talented aren't always the ones who thrive in their careers. "I've seen a lot of average players at the youth level who turned out to be good players in the professional ranks. So, what I'll try to teach them is to 'play the game' of basketball. In three or four years, these kids will be on the market with much more passion for the jersey than players signed from abroad. And with a better cost-benefit ratio. That's our goal."
With a degree in physical education from Gama Filho University, where he also completed a postgraduate degree, Marcus Vinicius knows he has a significant responsibility. "[President] Patricia Amorim wanted more experience in the youth basketball team. The goal is to prepare them for promotion to the professional team. The more youngsters Flamengo can promote to the senior team, the better."
The work is hard. The youth academy always has talented players in some fundamentals, but still lacks a broader understanding of the game, according to Marquinhos – as he's known despite his size as a center in his amateur days. "Today, I'm going to try to teach them the game of basketball. It's not enough to have a good shot. You have to have positioning awareness, a good pass, understand how your defender plays, know how to play without the ball, and have a vision of who's doing well in the game and should be used more," he explains.
With the experience of having worked as an assistant to coaches like Emanuel Bomfim, Ary Vidal, and Carioquinha, Marquinhos intends to work on the fundamentals. "There's no point in getting fouled and not knowing how to shoot free throws. It's not enough to be an excellent shooter. When it comes to the layup, you have to be able to use both hands. You have to be able to mark, infiltrate—you have to be good at everything."
Marquinhos praises the club's recent tryouts. "The amount of good kids from other states, or even from Rio de Janeiro, which wasn't registered, showed up, and they were all eager to play! This shows Flamengo's greatness," he comments.
For the coach, the most talented aren't always the ones who thrive in their careers. "I've seen a lot of average players at the youth level who turned out to be good players in the professional ranks. So, what I'll try to teach them is to 'play the game' of basketball. In three or four years, these kids will be on the market with much more passion for the jersey than players signed from abroad. And with a better cost-benefit ratio. That's our goal."