Mindaugas Balčiūnas, the current general secretary of the LKF, and Robertas Javtokas, the former captain of the Lithuanian national team, are actively fighting for the seat of the LKF president.
R. Kaukėnas, who works in the “Wolves” team, expressed his open support for R. Javtok’s team and took part in the first team meeting organized by R. Javtok on Tuesday.
Speaking about why R. Kaukėnas supports R. Javtokas, the former basketball player said that “drastic changes” are necessary for Lithuanian basketball.
“We all talk loudly about the problems, that we lack change. The whole world is moving towards basketball becoming faster, players becoming more versatile and a lot of the game being one-on-one, where the player is able to create opportunities for himself and others. We are a bit behind on this. Lithuania is an extremely good basketball country, but we cannot say that we are elite. We are one of the best countries in team basketball, but this does not always lead to the best results.
The change that everyone is talking about – changing the youth system, improving the qualifications of coaches and the like. We have to thank everyone who has worked until this day, because everyone is sacrificing, working hard, and for that we thank them very much. But I think the time has come to do something drastically different. Without diminishing the contribution of people working or who have worked in the federation, I think that these issues should be looked at differently.
We need to change the system so that it is focused not only on the development of team basketball, but also on the development of individuals, players who would be leaders in foreign teams, and not just players with a limited role. Later, it is very difficult to make leaders out of role players in the national team. We can talk all day about what Lithuania lacks and each of us has our own opinion. But we lack youth players who can change the course of the match themselves.
The coaching system must change, as well as the way young people play and how coaches are appointed. But it must be done together. I’ll say it again – together! The basketball community cannot be divided, because then we will be filled again from empty to deep. We won’t achieve anything then”, said R. Kaukėnas.
– What are your plans with the Finnish club?
– You journalists follow basketball thoroughly and understand it perfectly. Finnish basketball is on the rise, it is really progressing and we see great potential in this market. Our goal is to help the only team in Helsinki that has a lot of viewers, followers. It has huge potential. We simply want to help them grow and reach the European basketball tournament. If they need any help, we as “Wolves” will definitely help them. However, these are two different organizations. Helsinki Seagulls are doing really well. They attracted a huge basketball community.
– What percentage of shares in Seagulls did you buy?
– Currently, 50 percent has been purchased.
– What is happening with the Dubai club?
– Registration processes are taking place there. Playing in a local league involves the establishment of a council. This is not a very fast process. It should be kept in mind that this is the first private team, so there are many questions that they cannot answer themselves. We are not pushing everything, but I think that the team will start next season.
– Are you planning to have some kind of youth pyramid, backup team in Vilnius?
– We are always planning and discussing. The question is where to do it and what is really missing. Because both the Vilnius Basketball School (VKM) and the Capital Basketball School (SKM) are working well. They try and do excellent work to the best of their ability. Here we have to consider where we can do it and whether we can do it qualitatively. This is the most important thing. We do not want to become another school that competes with SKM or VKM. We would like a different quality.
Perhaps it would be a smaller school that would become such a transit between the youth and the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). This is just speculation for today. We watch, we monitor the market. Today, Lithuania lacks individual basketball. We have been instilling team basketball since the age of 12 and making combinations for the Barcelona team, but we do not realize that the child needs to have the ball in his hands and he needs to be able to create a shot. Modern basketball is fast. In Lithuania, we also have a shortage of individual skill trainers. We don’t want to go somewhere and do something just for the sake of doing it. We want quality.
– Regarding the LKF presidential elections, why are there so few former basketball players who want to be those leaders and occupy such a position?
– The work of the LKF president must be one that unites the Lithuanian basketball community and in no way divides it. I didn’t want to lose friends or fall out with someone over what was supposed to be a bonding thing. I like that although R. Javtokas doesn’t know everything completely, he wants to include everyone, talk to everyone and find a common solution that it should be changed together.
– You were the president of the Student Basketball League, but you did not serve the full term. what happened Didn’t the biofields meet with Mindaugas Balčiūnas, or didn’t you have the opportunity to introduce the changes you talked about so much?
– Namely, it was practically impossible to make the desired changes there. I don’t want to conflict. Because there is a large council, many voters and each school only looks out for its own interests. I think that decisions should be made at the level of LKF, not MKL.
– Are any steps being taken regarding municipal support?
– I want to be happy that there are talks with the city and there is a positive shift in that direction. We want to contribute to the city, involve its community and represent Vilnius in Europe.
– How do you assess the fact that LRT shows the European Cup only through the prism of “7bet-Lietkabelis” in Panevėžys?
– We hope that LRT will show us.
2024-08-30 01:08:40