“Last year’s bar was very high”

Gerardo Jauri repeats for the fourth consecutive season at Olimpia. The Engineer joins the first day of notes to the coaches of the next Uruguayan League.

How is the preparation for the tournament?

We are on the road of construction and recovering things that we dragged from previous years, but there are changes in the staff, mainly of foreigners. That motivates to establish knowledge and new roles. Coaches are always going to complain that we lack time, having players involved in El Metro who arrive with the preseason started; You don’t make progressions, you put things in fast, change a little. We appeal to collective memory. We are in the stage of drawing conclusions in the friendlies, the evaluations on the court are the ones that are going to send.

How much influence does the majority of the squad repeat?

Being the fourth season there is a plus. He pointed to that, continuity is not by chance. Olimpia is coming off very hard blows at the institutional level, recovering from the pandemic, with many workers in unemployment insurance. As far as possible, I think we formed the best squad that was within our reach and we will try to take advantage of that.

In what do you consider that Olimpia grew within your process?

I feel very good at the club, there is a good working environment, all of us inside understand where we are going with a common good. I’m comfortable. I am not the one who has to make the evaluation of these years, but by way of opinion I think we made a ladder of growth in sports results, it is not easy to climb steps, much less stay. Last year’s bar was very high when reaching the semifinals. We have to go step by step, without losing humility or reading reality. At work I feel very good, I think there is a certain identity, the players know their role, they are in a comfort zone. Then the returns and the opposition with other teams looking for the same give you the final placement.

What do you plan to add to the team for basketball this year?

We always try to improve. Coaching staff and players have room to continue raising the level and that is sought. We will try to remain dynamic, aggressive, run the field and get the two new foreigners into it. From there, seek continuous individual and collective improvement; therein lies the challenge. We are going to add tactical things to have more tools.

They come from Villegas and Hogan as perimeter foreigners who were decisive in the generation of games and spaces. What do you expect from Charlie Marquardt?

We are in the process of seeing it. He’s smart, he reads basketball, but he’s undergoing a transformation. He comes from playing in the Czech Republic and basketball is very different. We are evaluating and analyzing it; it is getting physically ready. You have to understand that foreigners are pieces that are asked for a plus. We do not believe that it has to solve everything, but it does have its virtues coupled with the team.

How do you prepare to play with the public again?

It is a change, something unprecedented for everyone. Working on it is tough because it is something that is not trained. We must appeal to the memory of what we once lived. We have to know how to play with the public after getting used to playing only with the screaming of the benches. We are going to go to courts with an adverse public where there are certain characteristics and pressures that we have to know how to assimilate. And on the other hand we meet again with the people of Olimpia, in the neighborhood and give them a good show for all this time that they could not see us. We would like people to identify with our game, it is something we try to do. That partnership is welcome.

What do you think of playing a long tournament again?

It is also an unprecedented experience, we went from something short to something more normal. Likewise, you don’t have to fall asleep, because the first two wheels define a lot; In addition, the construction of the team is done from the first game and you have to do it while you are growing in the table.

What do you expect from this League?

We expect a very competitive League, it is growing with national and foreign players of a high level that a few years ago it was unthinkable that they were here, today it is not only common currency but they come and repeat. It’s very good. As always there are favorites that are at the top, but all teams will have their aspirations founded to fight important things.

Where do you place Olympia?

Be a solid team that knows where it is going. Finding the roles and see if that path returns us to important positions. Staying in good regular phases is going to be tough but we’re going for that. The game and the scaffolding is what you have to value, then for a ball or a good night you can finish third or sixth, you never know. The volume of the game and an identity must be enshrined.