Leonardo Gotca, born in 2000, is assistant coach of the Under 19 and Under 15 Silver teams of the Bakery Piacenza Basket Club Young consortium. His brother Alessandro, to whom he passed on his passion for basketball, born in 2008, attends the Istituto Superiore Tramello and plays point guard for the Under 17 Silver team of the Piacenza club.
First of all Leo, tell us a little about yourself. You are brothers but you don’t look alike?
«Our father is from Romania, while our mother is Italian. We were both born in Piacenza. My brother took after my mother who was blonde when she was young, while I took more after my father.”
When did you start playing basketball?
Leo: «I started playing basketball at the age of 5 or 6. Basketball has always attracted me, since I was little when I went to my grandmother’s house and watched NBA games on Sky. Among other things, one of my very first coaches in minibasketball was Marco Malavasi (now responsible for the technical area of the Bakery Piacenza Basket Club Young consortium, ed.). I stopped playing at the age of 15, unfortunately for school and family reasons. After years of following my brother, I decided to get back into the world of basketball but this time as a coach, and I was immediately welcomed by the Bakery club, where I felt at ease from day one, and which I see as a second family”.
But: «I started playing basketball when I was 6 years old. I saw my brother who had already played this sport, and some of my classmates who wanted to do it, so I started playing too”.
Have you shared any basketball experiences?
Leo: «As for experiences we’ve had together, unfortunately, we’ve been talking about organizing ourselves to go see an Olimpia Milano match for a long time, but we haven’t managed to go yet. This year, however, we went to see the Harlem Globetrotters show, again at the Forum in Assago. However, for a few years now we have often gone to the pitch to train and play 1 on 1 together”.
But: «Unfortunately not together, but last year I had the opportunity to see the Italian national team training while I was at the Bakery camp in Folgaria. And then during the season I was selected to go and watch the Serie A match between Tortona and Pesaro with other youth players.”.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the other in the different role you cover?
Leo: «I see that my brother really cares a lot about the sport he plays, he has truly enviable consistency. I have almost never seen him skip training except in particular cases. As a player I have seen him grow technically over time and I think he has improved a lot. The only thing he still lacks, I think, is the head to keep the concentration high for the entire duration of the match, because I notice that many times he gets lost and maybe only keeps the intensity high for a short while. I think this last thing can be developed as the years go by and as we mature, both as a person and as a player.”.
But: «I see my brother as a very serious person in the role he plays as a coach. It often happens that on the pitch or in the arena he makes me do some individual training. He is a very helpful person with everyone and altruistic, but sometimes he demands a lot”.
Do you have any hobbies, trips you want to take or something that unites you?
Leo: «We have always been very close, even though we argue most of the time. We love each other very much. Despite the age difference we have always done things together and even in everyday life, when possible, we are together. As a hobby we certainly follow the world of video games a lot, we watch films or TV series, and other sports that we like to follow such as football”.
But: «We both have the “dream” of going to Los Angeles to visit the city and to see a Lakers game, hoping to maybe have the chance to go there in a few years. Still on the subject of travel, we would also love to visit South Korea and Canada”.
Leo, a coach who inspires you and where would you like to go as a coach?
«I actually take a lot of inspiration from the other coaches at the Bakery, because they are the ones I am in direct contact with. By watching the training they do I can learn, in particular from Orgest Sela with whom I have been working since last year and I am learning a lot in particular about how to behave with the various age groups of the kids. I would like to continue coaching especially in the youth field, because I like working with kids. Now I’m just thinking about improving and gaining experience as a coach to work with young people”.
Ale, a game that inspires you and where would you like to get to as a player?
«A player who inspires me is Kobe Bryant for the mentality and determination he had. I would like to play in Serie A, and in particular with the Olimpia Milano shirt”.
Outside of basketball, what kind of career would you like to have?
Leo: «Right now, I feel good about the work I do outside of basketball, and combined with my commitment as a coach I can manage both well. Lately, however, I have been focusing mainly on the role of coach to learn and gain experience. For the future, regarding work outside of basketball, I would like to have a permanent position with an indefinite contract to be more financially secure. But I’m still not sure about the type of work”.
But: «As a job outside of basketball I would like to be a physiotherapist, obviously in the sports field, and maybe specifically for basketball».
A secret dream for both of you?
«For both of us it is to visit the world and travel a lot to be able to see different cultures and places».
