Dima Rachkovskiy understands the impact of a coach. Painfully so.
Growing up in Rivne, Ukraine, he was an avid basketball player. The coaches he had throughout his youth, even into his college years, impacted him in ways that he carries with him today as a 33-year-old man.
“My first coach was around 60 years old, and he had grown up in the Soviet Union,” Rachkovskiy said. “He screamed at us every single day in practice. We never heard a word of encouragement from him. You wanted to win so you wouldn’t be in trouble, but we didn’t enjoy playing for him.”
One time, when Rachkovskiy was about 10-years old, the coach screamed at him so much in the first half that he cried throughout halftime. Throughout the second half Dima was too scared to shoot, but the team won anyway, so as a team captain, he got to receive the trophy. It was an empty feeling.
“He was happy that we won by 2 points, but I remember it as a game that I cried throughout halftime. I gave up at halftime.”
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