WOW Pinoy

Miami Heat New Head Coach

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, May 16, 2008

37-year old Erik Spoelstra is making history with the Miami Heat. Not only is he the first Filipino to become a head coach of an NBA team, he is also the youngest head coach in NBA history. Soon-to-be Hall of fame coach Pat Riley made this announcement on Monday the 28th of April to the delight of Miami Heat players and fans.
Erik Spoelstra is the son of former NBA executive Jon Spoelstra and Filipina Mom, Elisa (not Fe) Celino. He says he is of Dutch-Irish-Filipino descent. He joined the Heat in 1995 after four years of playing for the University of Portland and two years of playing and coaching for a professional team in Germany. He started out with the Miami Heat as a video coordinator. Riley coached the heat that same year and kept Spoelstra in his staff. Since then, Riley has enjoyed working with him. Spoelstra fans are proud of the fact that when the Miami Heat clinched their first championship ring in 2006, Riley’s first celebratory hug was with Spoelstra.
Spoelstra has been assigned various duties including scouting, training and coaching. Riley would occasionally remind Spoelstra to “get ready” because the day might come when he will have to take charge. Well, that day has arrived for “Coach Spo”!

In an interview last year in Filipinas Magazine, Spoelstra said, “There is one thing that I am definitely interested in doing in the future, and that is helping develop basketball in the Philippines. I have been talking recently with the NBA about me putting together basketball clinics in my mother’s home country, hopefully in one of these next couple of off-seasons. It will be a wonderful chance to see some of my family over there and reconnect with my roots.”

Who knows? With news about Philippine Christian University basketball star Jayson Castro being recruited by the Singapore Slingers to play in Australia’s National Basketball League, perhaps we’re not too far away from sending Filipino players in the NBA.

Oh and by the way, Filipinas will be happy to know that Coach Erik Spoelstra is single.