It has been almost two years since Jamike Jarin took over the San Beda basketball program, its fourth coach in six years.
Year two of Jarin’s tenure is off to a good note as the Red and White are currently on top with a 6-0 slate. Friday afternoon, the Red Lions faced fellow pre-season favorites the Arellano University Chiefs – the only team Jarin has yet to defeat in the NCAA.
Instead of strategizing during the pre-game, the 46 year old mentor opted to be more philosophical with his team.
“Every time you’re down, you have to dig deep,” Jarin said after a huge come-from-behind win over the Chiefs. “Start of the game, I talked about how things should be done.”
“We were talking about trust and heart. That was the gameplan.”
Just like in high school recollections, the mentor turned to the “jumping off a building” metaphor to emphasize the importance of trust between the team.
“I told them, ‘If I told you to go on top of the building and I tell you to jump, would you jump and trust each and everyone?'”
“I asked each and every one and I asked them why,” Jarin shared.
“All of them said they will jump and everybody said we will all jump together.”
The reason every one was willing to take the leap of faith was because of the brotherhood and trust the team has developed to their coach Jarin said. “I told them we’ve been together for two years. The reason why everybody will jump because I will be the first one to jump.”
“The reason why they’re going to jump is because when they jump, I’ll be waiting for them downstairs to catch them.”
However, Jarin furthered that he won’t be there at all times, waiting for his team at the bottom. The time that this happens is the time the San Beda head coach is confident that the Red Lions can already stand up on their own.
“If I don’t catch them, I already taught them how to fly.”
“So that is how we are. We trust each and every one. So let’s all jump together. If I can’t catch you, you can fly on your own,” he closed.
