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As I complete this internship with D. Greene Sports, part of the requirement is to keep a daily journal of actions completed and learning objectives that were met during that day. I received approval to complete this activity on 17 December 2014, and since then I have been working diligently to help D. Greene Sports' clients to gain employment in Qatar. At the beginning of this internship, I didn't think that it would be as difficult to find good information on the teams in the league, and appropriate points of contact; however, that was not the case. While the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has a website, it is not as detailed as many of the professional sports teams' websites in the US. In addition, many of the people who answer the phones at these clubs are uneducated and speak mostly Arabic, with little to no English.
Due to my location, and D. Greene Sports' location, this is a virtual internship, meaning that I am coordinating my efforts via email communication with Darryl Greene. Since this is a virtual internship, my work is all done remotely, and I am not reporting to an office to conduct this internship. I am also completing this internship while still being gainfully employed, and thus finding a lot of time to focus on this internship has proven to be difficult. My mentor, Darryl Greene, is the founder of D. Greene Sports, and based on the email communication seems very laid-back, yet extremely knowledgeable about his chosen profession. The type of work that I am conducting is very different from my daily work with the US Government, where I deal with budgets, human resources, and logistics. This type of work is more based on selling a player to a team, and due to this difference it has given me an opportunity to work on a skill set that I am not expected to use during my daily work. The expectations of me during this internship is to place one of Darryl Greene's clients with a club in Qatar, and after providing me with this end goal, Mr. Greene has left it upon me to research the league and teams, and find contact information for the clubs. Due to this type of hands-off approach, which as a worker I appreciate, most of my time early in this internship has been research based with minimal direction. Below is a log of the actions I have taken on a daily basis to accomplish my mission of finding a team for Darryl Greene's clients. 02 January 2015 Conducted internet based research on D. Greene Sports, D. Greene Sports' clients, and the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF). The internet sites found were www.dgreenesports.com, www.asia-basket.com/Qatar/basketball.asp, and www.qatarbasketball.qa/en. 08 January Conducted additional research on the teams in the QBF, and found contact information for all but three of the teams, El Jaysh, Al Shamal, and Al Khor. 10 January Forwarded the contact information to Darryl Greene, along with other pertinent information that I found, and requested further instructions and advice for how to move forward. Mr. Greene replied with additional information on the specific client that we were trying to find employment for in Qatar, as well as instructions for moving forward. 12 January Per Mr. Greene's instructions, I began contacting the various teams in the QBF with the contact information I was able to find. I sent an email to the Al Gharafa Basketball club, explaining my purpose and in hopes of finding more specific contact information for the club. 18 January Placed a cold-call to the Al Sadd Club and Al Arabi sports clubs to explain who I am, my purpose, and to find additional contact information for the clubs. The contact numbers I phoned were for the front desk of the club, and unfortunately at that time the members of the basketball management staff were not available, and I was told to call back at a later date. 5 February I re-called Al Sadd Club, and was able to speak with a member of the basketball staff, and they provided me with an email address to use for further contact. I drafted and sent an email to the email address that explained who I am, my intentions, and talked about the client that we were trying to place with the club. I also requested more specific contact information for a member of the basketball management staff so I could talk with them on the phone and communicate via a better forum. I placed a call to Al Ahli sports club, and was told that members of the management staff were not available at that time, and that I should call back the following morning to speak with the basketball point of contact. I called Qatar Sports Club and spoke with a representative who provided me with the Basketball Manager’s phone number. I placed a call to Al Wakrah and spoke to someone with little English. I will call this number back at a later time in hopes of talking with someone who speaks better English and I can explain my purpose to better. I called Al Rayyan sports club, but there was no answer I was able to find a phone number for the Al Gharafa sports club; however the person with whom I spoke didn’t speak any English. I will call this club again at a later date in hopes of speaking to someone with whom I can speak. I phoned Al Arabi sports club twice, as the management staff was out of the office the first time I called. When I called the number a second time I was provided the number for the basketball coach. After making the initial phone calls, I emailed this information to Mr. Greene to seek further guidance about moving the process forward, and receive advice for what I should say to the people during the next phone conversation. 06 February Received a response from Mr. Greene discussing way forward, and with additional information about the client. I sent another email to Al Sadd with the additional details of the client, and again requested additional contact information 07 February I placed calls to the more detailed phone numbers that I had received for the Al Arabi sports club and Qatar Sports Club, but there was no answer to either phone number. From 12 to 25 February I was on vacation, and not able to do any activity for this internship 02 March I placed a call to Al Arabi and spoke with basketball coach, who provided me with the number of the person in charge of the program. Due to the timing of this phone call, I was unable to call the basketball manager at that time, but will try to do so during the next business day. I called the Qatar Sports Club phone number twice, but there was no answer. I conducted additional research on Al Jaysh, Al Shamal, and Al Khor to try and find contact information for these two clubs, but was unable to find anything. I re-called Al Ahli, Al Gharafa, and Al Wakrah; however, again spoke with individuals with little English. I intend to be persistent with these clubs in hopes of finding an individual with whom I can speak. 06 March I built this website, and thought about long-term career goals. While the main objective is to place a client with a basketball team in Qatar, this internship is also giving me a great opportunity to work on my communication skills, my negotiation skills, and the work needed to be successful in the sports industry. This experience has already taught me a lot about myself, and that I need to continue to be more persistent when working in a sales industry. There have also been times when I feel as though I was not prepared well enough when communication with some of the contacts of the basketball teams. While I have spent a lot of time researching, and trying to understand the league and the clients, there have been some questions that I was unable to anticipate due to my lack of experience, and it is conducting these phone calls that have helped build my understanding of the details that are necessary when communicating with sports teams. 07 March I contacted the head of basketball operations for Al Arabi sports club, and explained my purpose, intentions, and provided him with the detailed information for Stefan Bonneau, which was provided to me by Mr. Greene. He was interested in a player with this ability, and requested that I provide him with the player’s resume and an address that has a tape of his highlight reel. To send him this information, he provided me with his email address. I forwarded this information onto Mr. Greene for further instructions and player information. Today was the first day during this internship that I felt I was really getting somewhere in this process, as after countless phone calls I was finally able to speak with the appropriate point of contact to discuss my purpose and the player. Today showed me that persistence really can pay off, and that it will often be necessary when trying to find a team for a client in a new league, where new relationships need to be formed. 10 March I exchanged e-mails with Darryl Greene regarding the availability of Stefan Bonneau to fill a team’s neart term needs. Through this communication I was informed that Stefan had already signed with another team, and received information about two additional players, Joe Mitchell and Marcus Lewis, to promote to the teams in the QBF. I conducted research on these two players on the Warwick Sports Pro Showcase website, and through other internet research to learn more about these players, and what skills they have to that I can sell to Al Arabi. Following this research, and creating an approach I contacted the management team at Al Arabi, and explained that Stefan Bonneau had signed with another teami, but we had two other players that would be beneficial to the club. 13 March I attended two QBF league games, which were both played at the Al Gharafa sports complex. The first game was between Al Arabi and Qatar Sports Club. At the beginning of the game I was concerned about the quality of players on the court, as after the initial tip-off, the team with the ball started going the wrong direction; however, after the confusion the quality drastically improved. The stands were fairly barren, with only 26 people, counting myself, in the stands. During the game, the stands were quiet with what appeared to be zero interest in the game by the minimal number of fans that were present. Al Arabi won the game with good defense, and some clutch plays down the stretch. After the game, I contacted the management of Al Arabi, and congratulated them on the victory, but was unfortunately unable to get a face-to-face meeting with them at that time. The second game I saw was between Al Shamal and Al Wakra. Al Wakra threw the game to get a more favorable playoff match-up; however, as I was leaving the stadium I ran into a player from Al Shamal, who is from Arkansas, and was able to talk with him about the game, which is when I found out that Al Wakra was trying to lose the game. During the game, I took the opportunity to scout the four teams that I saw, and the reports which I have compiled can be found under the Scouting Reports of QBF Teams tab. Following additional games, these reports will be updated appropriately. The scouting reports are useful when contacting the teams, and when communicating with Darryl Greene, as I now have a better understanding of the quality of the players, the league, and the needs of the team. 14 March I followed up with the management section of the Al Arabi basketball team, to determine their interest in Joe Mitchell and Marcus Lewis. The equivalent to their General Manager informed me that he was still waiting to hear back from the head coach with respects to whether or not the players would be a good fit. Throughout this process, I have learned that one needs to be very persistent when communicating with teams about potential new players. At the beginning of this experience, I was very making a lot of phone calls, and then waiting for the teams to call me back. However, as I have gotten more comfortable with the subject matter, and learned more about the league, I have learned that an “Agent” must be persistent and continuously contact teams to try and “sell” them your clients. I have also learned a lot more about the QBF, and with this knowledge I hope to be able to show teams that the D. Greene Sports agency is serious about having clients play in this league. 15 March Tonight I attended the final regular season game, between Al Sadd and El Jaish. This game featured a couple of former college stars in Shawn Taggart and Vernon Macklin, as well as several members of the Qatar National Basketball team. There were more people in the stands, and there was even some noise being produced by the fans, which created a more enjoyable atmosphere. Al Jaish won the game, and I was able to create scouting reports for these two teams, as well. However, during the game I went out of my shell and started talking to other Americans that were in the stands. Talking to random people in a crowd is something that I am not very comfortable doing, but I realized that I need to continue to expand my knowledge and try and find other contacts for other teams, since the phone calls have run dry. One of the individuals I spoke with was Robert Taylor, who has coached basketball in the Middle East for over 30 years, and for the last four years has been working with the Qatar National Basketball team as their technical director. During the 4th Quarter, I finally spoke with him, and was able to learn a lot about the development of the QBF, some of the challenges that he faces, and also about some potential upcoming rule changes that may have an impact on bringing Westerners into the league. He indicated that the development of the league has been slow, as many of the good youth players tend to abandon basketball for either handball or soccer, which are popular Qatari sports and whose federations have more resources than the QBF. These federations are using their money, and paying the supreme youth athletes to exclusively play their sport. For instance, Mr. Taylor indicated that he had a very good 12 year old basketball player, but that the soccer federation persuaded him to stop playing basketball, and focus solely on soccer by paying him the equivalent of $500 per month. This has resulted in basketball getting second and third tier athletes, and has forced the QBF to start to recruit players at a younger age to increase their fondness for basketball which will hopefully dissuade them from choosing to play a different sport. At this time, the majority of the National Basketball team consists of naturalized citizens from Somalia, Senegal, and South Sudan. Three of the top players for Al Sadd are from the National team, and they were highly athletic individuals, all from these African nations. I explained to him some of my difficulties with finding information about the QBF, the individual teams, and the league, and he indicated that he has been trying to work with the Federation to resolve these issues, but they are still trying to learn as well. Finally, I explained to him my purpose with being at the game, and he told me that at the beginning of June the QBF will be voting on whether or not they will reduce the number of foreigners allowed on each team. Currently, each team is only allowed to have 3 foreigners. And in June they will be voting on whether or not to decrease it to 2 foreigners per team. The purpose of this is to try and promote the play of the Qatari Nationals and get them more involved with the league; however, from what I have seen they do not have enough talent to keep the league viable with quality games. Sitting behind me was a player and his family, and during halftime I spoke with him about his experience in Qatar, and with the team. The player was Dominic James, who is the former Point Guard for Marquette, and now plays for Al Rayyan, the top team in the league. He was very polished in his responses, and I didn’t want to take too much of his time as he was enjoying being with his wife and baby girl. He said that he was enjoying his time in Doha, and that the team was treating him quite well. He emphasized that the team even allowed him to bring his family with him, which seemed as though it was an added bonus for him. Since his arrival the team has continued to treat him well, and they seem to understand how to treat players well. Like most Westerners who travel to Doha, he admitted there is not much to do except go to the malls, but so far they have been able to entertain themselves. This interview was great for me to get insight into the team dynamics, and I passed this information onto Darryl Greene so he would be able to have a better understanding of the league, and talk to his clients with greater detail about the league. 16 March After taking scouting notes on the various teams that I had watched, I began to compile the notes into a report for passage to Darryl Greene, and for my own usage when communicating with teams. I took these notes, and expanded on what I determined to be the needs of each team, and what was necessary to take them to the next level. With these scouting reports completed, I then communicated with Darryl Greene regarding whether or not he had any other clients that would fit the needs that I had identified. I figured that my communication with the teams would be more beneficial if I had a player that I knew they needed to talk with them about. With knowledge about the league, other teams, and that team’s needs I believed that I would be able to approach teams with more professionalism and knowledge, and hopefully impress them with our discussion. 17 March Tonight I attended the opening round of playoff games, and right from the beginning there was a larger fan base, too big to count, and more electricity in the stands. The first game featured Al Wakra and Al Gharafa. Al Gharafa got the win, and I updated the scouting reports for both of these squads, as I was also able to watch the real Al Wakra team play. During the game I exchanged pleasantries with Robert Taylor again, and some of the other players, as my continued presence gives me recognition and increases my comfort level in this industry. Following the first game, the fans for Al Shamal arrived with a large banner that took up an entire section of the seats, and about 50 fans armed with noisemakers. When setting up the banner, they even displaced some other attendees from their seats, which I couldn’t believe, as there was another section behind the basket that had zero fans where they could have set up the banner a little easier. The Americans that were in the stands all got a chuckle out of the chosen location. The fans who came to watch their team in the playoffs sat in the three rows directly behind me, and were prepared with chants to yell while banging their noisemakers against the seats or their hands. The man who was leading the chants was in the row in front of me, and I believe he broke at least two of the noisemakers by banging them on the seats too hard. While they were quite loud, they definitely made the game more enjoyable, and gave me the feeling that there is a segment of the population that is interested in basketball. This fan base helped give the players more energy, and it was obvious to tell that the players appreciated the fan turnout. Following the game, I spoke with the management of Al Arabi about the game, the atmosphere, and whether or not they were interested in Joe Mitchell or Marcus Lewis. He indicated that he wanted to have a sit down meeting with me, and we made plans for me to go to their facility to have a face-to-face meeting. 18 March Following a long day at work, I drove to the Al Arabi sports club, which is located not too far away from my office. Upon arrival, I met the general manager (GM), their head coach, an assistant coach, and their top play, Tanguy Ngombo. Tanguy departed following the handshake, and the coaches, GM, and myself went into a lounge room on the ground level of the club. The GM is Qatari, but only just started working with basketball, and is not overly knowledgeable about the sport, and defers to the head coach regarding player personnel. The head coach is from Tunisia, has lived in Qatar for about 6 years, and speaks a little bit of English, but has a very specific idea of the type of players that he wants. The assistant coach is from Syria, and has lived in Qatar for about 10 years. We spoke briefly about the situation in Syria, and how tragic it is, and he has come to realization that it will never be the same. Due to the limited English speaking ability of the head coach, the assistant head coach acted like a translator. We started by going through what types of players they were looking to bring into their organization, and in my head I was thinking that their needs were matching my scouting report, as they indicated they wanted a point guard, a center, and a power forward. The coach was very specific in wanting a tall point guard who can make plays and shoot from the outside, a center who can play both on the block and be physical and also stretch the defense with an outside shot, and a power forward who could shoot from the outside. As we were talking about players, they would reference current players that are in the league, and they were impressed with my knowledge of the players. They said that it added additional value to the conversation, as they could tell me more specific information about player types that they wanted, and I understood what they were referring to as I had watched the games and scouted the teams. They were also content with the fact that America had come to them, as they were thinking of taking a trip to the U.S. to try and make contact with an agent to provide them players. Their long-term goal is to have an agent who constantly provides quality players who want to play, and not just make money. If we can provide them with quality players, then in subsequent years they will be able to call the D. Greene Sports agency, tell them the player-type they need, and that Darryl Greene could then provide them with that player in an exclusive relationship. They also said that when a team imports a quality player, other teams in the league inquire about the agent that they talked to for that player, and that they then provide the contact information. I was very happy to hear about this long-term possibility, and see a lot of potential in this country for Darryl Greene to have a long-term, and fruitful relationship with this league. They indicated that they are looking to add players for the upcoming season, which will start in October. Upon my departure, I thanked them for the meeting, and told them that I would get them additional information later that evening, and continue to provide them more player information as it became available. The only thing that would have made this meeting better would have been if they wanted one of the guards that I have already been trying to “sell” to them, and if they wanted him for the upcoming cup games in April. However, in hind-sight I realize that was probably extremely wishful thinking, and following this meeting I have a lot of solid data points for moving forward. Upon arriving at home, I forwarded some of the requested information to the assistant head coach for their consideration, and then provided a read-out of the meeting with the team’s demands to Darryl Greene. I explained to him that it was a great meeting, and that I was really confident moving forward that we can get a deal in place, and now it is about identifying the right players for Al Arabi, to build confidence in them about D. Greene Sports to then enable a long-term relationship. 19 March Today I received an email response from Darryl Greene regarding my meeting, and also another player who would be of potential interest to Al Arabi. While we have previously provided them information for guards, this player, Chris Commons, is a forward. Following my meeting with the team, Darryl Greene and I can now better tailor our offerings, and focus our attention on more specific player-type then we were at the beginning of this experience. I also spent some time to do independent research on Chris Commons, so I can be prepared to answer any and all questions Al Arabi may have regarding this player in future meetings. 20 March Today I spent some time updating this website, and reflecting on my internship experience to date. While updating my journal, and other parts of this website, I thought about what I could have or should have done at the beginning of this experience. I have realized that what is making this a successful experience right now is the fact that I am forcing myself into the league, and becoming a recognizable fixture around the Al Gharafa basketball stadium, which is the location of all of the games in the QBF. By getting involved, I have been able to broaden my knowledge about the sport beyond what I could have read on the internet, which wasn’t very much. I have been more aggressive in my approach, and it was needed for me to get my foot in the door, and will continue to be needed as I work on finalizing a deal with Al Arabi, and establishing a long-term footprint in the QBF for Darryl Greene’s clients. 21 March The Game Two’s for both playoff series were tonight, with Al Sadd taking on Al Shamal and Al Gharafa taking on Al Wakrah. This was an elimination game for both Al Sadd and Al Wakrah, as they had lost Game 1 of their respective series. The first game was Al Sadd versus Al Shamal, and the fan base for Al Shamal showed again with numbers and plastic clappers to make a lot of noise, and they were successful with raising the energy level in the stadium. Unfortunately, the referees also showed up, and right from the beginning they took over the game by calling lots of fouls and taking all rhythm out of the game. Vincent Hunter II for Al Shamal, who is one of their star players, got into early foul trouble, and ended up sitting for a good portion of the 2nd Quarter. As a result of him sitting, Al Sadd took a 51 to 15 lead into halftime, and had the game well in-hand. In the 3rd Quarter, Hunter fouled out on perhaps the worst call I have ever seen, as he was getting fronted and was being pushed out of the box by the Al Sadd player, and while the ball was in the air he was called for his fifth, and final foul. The American fans in my area were all beyond confused, and agreed that it was one of the worst calls ever. Al Sadd went on to win 81-47 and force a Game Three the following evening. The second game was Al Wakrah versus Al Gharafa, before which many of the fans from the first game had departed, due to their loyalty being to Al Shamal. There was a lot less electricity in the stands, and Al Wakrah could have used some, as they came out flat, and never got a grasp on the game. Al Gharafa was up 46-35, but the game was not as close as the score indicates, as Al Gharafa had the game well in-hand. Al Gharafa won the game 81 to 68, and swept Al Wakrah in the first round of the playoffs, ending Al Wakrah’s season. Al Gharafa will play Al Rayyan in the semi-finals. 22 March Tonight was the deciding game between Al Sadd and Al Shamal, and the Al Shamal fans again showed up in big numbers, and beating marching band drums; however, Al Shamal still started flat and trailed 25 to 13 after the 1st Quarter. While the Al Shamal players were able to stay out of foul trouble, for the most part, they failed to hit their shots, as they shot only 34% from the field, whereas Al Sadd shot 49%. Al Sadd pulled away big in the 4th Quarter as Al Shamal pressed, and won the game 99 to 54, and ended Al Shamal’s season. Al Sadd will play El Jaish in the semi-finals. 24 March The semi-finals of the playoffs started tonight, and the first game was Al Gharafa versus Al Rayyan. The referees must have received a talking from their management, as they let the game flow, and didn’t call ticky-tacky fouls during the game. There were about 50 people in the stands, and at times a section would bang their hands on the plastic seats to make noise, but in all there was not much electricity in the stands. Al Rayyan used their quickness and superior outside shooting to command the game early. However in the 4th Quarter, Patrick Ewing Jr. was called for his fifth foul, and as he stormed off the court he received his second technical foul. Per a newly instituted rule, however, he will not be disqualified from Game 2 of the series, which would have been the case previously; however, he was ordered to the locker room by the officiating staff. Ewing Jr. complained about every call against him, and his teammates, which is not appreciated by the referees in this league. Unlike in the NBA or other leagues, where a player can have a conversation with an official during a dead-ball period, the players in the QBF are not allowed to talk with the officials, and will quickly receive a technical foul if they do. This can be frustrating for the American players in this league, who are not used to this type of behavior, as they are used to having conversations and friendly banter with the officials to determine how they are going to continue calling the game. After Ewing Jr.’s departure, Al Rayyan had no rim protection, and Al Gharafa came back from 20 down, to trail by only 5 points with 1:35 to go in the game. Thanks to clutch free throw shooting by Dominic James, Al Rayyan held on to win 93-87. The second game was El Jaish, a very balanced team, versus Al Sadd, the most athletic team in the league. Due to Al Sadd’s lack of size, they found it very difficult to develop a post presence, and were outrebounded 47 to 36. With the boards and low-post domination, El Jaish took a 38 to 30 halftime lead. In the second half, El Jaish’s game plan was clear, to slow the game down and make Al Sadd play defense and run an offense, which takes their superior athleticism out of the picture. El Jaish won the game 77 to 66, but the game was never in doubt for El Jaish as they controlled the game from start to finish. 25 March Tonight was Game 2 of the El Jaish-Al Sadd and Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa series. There were more people in the stands tonight, and lots of players’ wives with their kids watching their husbands/fathers play. Just like in any other professional venue, all of the wives were sitting together, and it is clear they are all friends due to being foreigners in a strange land with something to bond over. The first game was El Jaish versus Al Sadd, and from the onset Al Sadd came out determined to not be swept by El Jaish. The game was faster paced, and Al Sadd used their athleticism to outrun El Jaish. With this game plan, Al Sadd took a commanding 54 to 30 lead at half time, and never looked back, winning the game 92 to 64. El Jaish was never able to establish a good post game with their superior size, and were even outrebounded 40 to 31. With this victory, Al Sadd forced a deciding Game 3, which is scheduled for 27 March at 5pm at the Al Gharafa Sports Club. Game 2 of the Al Rayyan-Al Gharafa series was highly entertaining, with Al Gharafa playing with a spark and relentless energy in this elimination game. Ewing Jr. for Al Rayyan was again in foul trouble early, and continued to whine about every call. Al Gharafa kept the score very close at half time by hitting clutch outside shots, and smothering defense which didn’t allow Al Rayyan players to find much space on the offense side of the ball. Al Rayyan still held a 40 to 38 point half time lead, thanks to their superior overall talent. Into the second half Al Gharafa kept the game close, and they would have kept it closer had they been able to make a free throw down the stretch. Emmanuel Adako, the leading scorer for Al Gharafa with 26 points, fouled out with 1:16 to go in the game. Dominic James for Al Rayyan was fouled with 20 seconds to go, and he hit the first one, but after missing the second free throw he was able to get the rebound because Al Gharafa failed to do the first thing you are taught in basketball, and that is box out the free throw shooter. Al Rayyan won the game 76 to 69, thanks to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, but Al Gharafa definitely had their opportunity to steal this game. Al Rayyan is through to the finals, and awaits the winner of the El Jaish-Al Sadd series; whereas, Al Gharafa will play the loser in the 3rd place matchup. Throughout the games, it has become evident to me that these referees have a much different interpretation of the continuation rule than the referees in the US. If a player is driving to the basket, and gets fouled after he has stopped dribbling, but before he gets his shot off, they deem the foul to be on the floor and give the ball to the team out of bounds. In all of my years watching the NBA or NCAA games, these types of fouls would be considered in the act of shooting, and the player would be shooting free throws. It is a much different perspective of the game, and not a big deal as long as they are consistent with their ruling, which so far they have been. 26 March Today I received an email from the General Manager of the Al Arabi basketball team, extending a VIP invitation to a friendly basketball game between Al Arabi and the W-League All Star Team. I responded to the email, indicating that I would be in attendance, and researched the W-League to find out what it is. Through my research, I was able to find out that it is an all-Filipino basketball league in Doha, Qatar, and they play their games at the Al Arabi sports complex. I called the Assistant Coach of Al Arabi to discuss some of the players that we have been promoting, and they are still determining whether or not they are a good fit. I called the General Manager to thank him personally for the invitation to the basketball game, and that I was looking forward to seeing him, and the team the following day. I also sent an email to Darryl Greene to try and get more detailed information about his clients, where his clients are playing, and the salary expectations of his clients for the QBF. This is information that has been requested by Al Arabi, and I wanted to be prepared to handle any questions that the team management may have for me during a potential meeting following the game. 27 March Today was the exhibition game between Al Arabi and the W-League All Stars. After not receiving a response from Darryl Greene, I travelled to the Al Arabi sports complex, and upon my arrival was shown to a special seating area, that had more comfortable chairs and were located on the opposite side of the stadium for the other fans. I found that there was another All-Filipino league game occurring upon my arrival, and noticed that there were more fans at this game than are in attendance at the QBF games. There was an in-game commentator and they played music during the game, such as the “Charge” theme. The atmosphere was much more engaging, and during halftime the Al Arabi players even threw balls, flags, and hats to the crowd, similar to what is found in other professional leagues, and an atmospheric that is missing from the QBF. As far as the game, Al Arabi was by far the superior team, and used their superior shooting, and size to dominate the All-Star team. The final score was 89-71, but had Al Arabi not played a lot of their bench players for the second half the game. Following the game I went down to the court, and chatted with the Assistant Coach Khaldoun and the General Manager Turki, and again thanked them for the invite, as the atmosphere created a very fun experience, and one that the QBF should think about adopting. We were unable to talk about any of the prospects, as they unfortunately had to go to another meeting, and I had to go to Al Gharafa for Game 3 of the El Jaish-Al Sadd semi-final game. At the Al Gharafa arena, the stands were as full as I have seen them, with potentially 75-100 people. There were lots of players’ wives with their children in the stands, and a section of the crown that used the plastic seats to make noise for El Jaish. El Jaish used the support to take a commanding 28-6 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Al Sadd did not give up though, as they continue to pressure El Jaish on the ball, and forced turnovers to cut the lead to 6 at the mid-way point of the 3rd quarter. However, El Jaish slowed the tempo, and utilized their superior size and post-play to extend their lead to 13 points by the end of the 3rd quarter. Trailing at the beginning of the 4th quarter, Al Sadd panicking, and instead of running an offense they started to shoot a lot of three-pointers early in the shot clock, and they were not falling. El Jaish ran their methodical offense on the other side of the court, and handled the full-court trap effectively, and outlasted Al Sadd 87-71. Al Sadd will play Al Gharafa for 3rd place, while El Jaish and Al Rayyan, the top 2 teams from the regular season face off in the finals, which will also be a best of three series. 28 March Today, I was able to speak with the junior team coach for Al Arabi, whose name is Walid, who is Syrian born but attended Long Beach State University. He was a player for the Syrian National team, and has been in Qatar since 1996. He and I had met at the Al Arabi exhibition game, and exchanged numbers, as I wanted to talk with him more about their junior team development. Similar to the senior teams, and the information I had received from Robert Taylor, they are having a difficult time encouraging Qatari youth to participate, as they want for nothing, so money is not a motivating factor, like it is for many other countries and youth as they pick up a sport. Due to this, they are having to continue to look at other nations to help them build their youth program. For this, he is actually planning on travelling to Dakar, Senegal to potentially recruit youth players to come to Qatar and play on the Al Arabi junior squad. Having some familiarity with Senegal and Africa through my job, I told him that he should be able to have success, and some other countries they may want to look at are the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which also have traditionally very athletic individuals with size. After this conversation, I spent the remainder of my time updating my journal entries, website, and scouting reports with the additional information I had learned over the past week. I felt that being invited as a VIP to the Al Arabi exhibition game showed that I am having great success through my contact with the squad, and that they must be appreciating all of the information and attention that I am providing them. Throughout this process, I am noticing a familiar theme, and it is persistence. One phone call, one moment of contact, one meeting, none of that will cut it when trying to convince a team that they need a player, as they need to be constantly reminded of me and my clients to show my level of seriousness, but to also keep me at the forefront of their thoughts for the moment when they want to reach out to an agent with a new need, and hopefully my name and the D. Greene Sports agency will be the first people that they call. 29 March Arriving at the Al Gharafa stadium, the crowd was solemn as Al Wakrah and Al Shamal prepared to play each other for 5th place in the League playoffs. The game lacked energy, but the players were still competing during the game. For Al Wakrah, Adamu Saaka is their best scoring option, as he scored from everywhere on the court. Al Shamal dominated the post, with Malcolm White and Vincent Hunter on the low block, but it wasn’t enough as Al Wakrah’s 7-footer, Donald Singleton, was able to make life difficult enough. Al Wakrah won the tight contest 81-77, to take home 5th place in the League Playoffs, which is quite an accomplishment as they were without their true starting point guard due to injury. The second game of the evening was Game 1 of the League Championship, which will be a best of 3 series, which featured Al Rayyan versus El Jaish. In between the games, lots of Al Rayyan supporters flooded into the stadium and began hanging banners, and over 20 fans. They hung one of the banners over the railing in front of the fans, which effectively blocked ¼ of the court from half of the fans in the stands. The other banner was hung over an area of the seats where fans were seated, and they were displaced from their seats to make room for the banner. With a stadium that was ¼ full, there were plenty of other options where the banner could’ve been hung without displacing fans, but for some strange reason they decided to put it in that spot, which no one could understand. I found out that Al Rayyan paid the fans 10 QAR (roughly $3), and gave them a paid day off. As the fans rolled into the stadium, they were carrying marching band style drums and bongo drums. There was also a TV crew, which had a broadcast booth above the court, and a camera on a boom crane that was set up in the corner of the court. As the game started, the Al Rayyan fans became very loud, and were loud throughout the entirety of the game, regardless of what was actually happening on the court. El Jaish attempted to establish a post presence due to their superior size with Shawn Taggert and Vernon Macklin, but Al Rayyan countered by double-teaming the post, as Patrick Ewing Jr. could not contain them alone. Al Rayyan utilized a man-to-man defense, and El Jaish used a 3/2 zone defense to defend against Al Rayyan’s three point shooting threats throughout their lineup. El Jaish’s defensive scheme was not effective, though, as Al Rayyan built a 28-18 point lead after the 1st quarter. El Jaish had a difficult time trying to mount a comeback as they were unable to hit an outside shot, and they were being out-hustled by Al Rayyan, as Al Rayyan’s lead grew to 52-31 by half-time. Starting the second half, El Jaish coach’s half-time speech must have inspired the team, as they came out with more of a purpose and slowly began picking away at the lead, cutting the lead down to just 9 points. With 2:49 to go in the game, Ewing Jr. fouled out of the game, and Al Rayyan lost their only man who could defend the post effectively; however, there was not enough time for El Jaish to overcome the deficit as they lost Game 1 86-78. Following the game, I spoke with a player that was sitting in the stands, and he said that it was the easiest league he has ever played in, as the games were soft and the practices were 2-3 times per week and were basically optional and most of the local players never showed up. There was one player who called the coach the morning of a practice and said that he wasn’t going to be able to make it as he went on vacation. 31 March The first game of the evening was the 3rd place match-up between Al Gharafa and Al Sadd. The stands were fairly empty, but the players woke up for this game, and were ready to play. Al Sadd, due to their superior athletic ability, got off to a hot start and opened up a 21-12 1st quarter lead. However, Al Gharafa found their stride during the 2nd and 3rd Quarters, as they made their outside shots, and played stout defense and converted the forced turnovers into points. Al Sadd, a team that focuses on athletic ability stopped converting and were unable to get out and run due to tempo of the game. Devan Downey, of Al Gharafa, played great down the stretch as he hit clutch shots and finished his drives at the rim, which was especially impressive due to his 5’9 stature. Al Gharafa won the game 76-69 to take 3rd place in the League playoffs, and while the final score was close, Al Gharafa dominated the game from the beginning of the 2nd quarter and on. Following the Al Gharafa game, El Jaish and Al Rayyan fans started pouring into the stadium. Both clubs brought fans, and their arrogance amazes me. The Al Rayyan fans went to the other side of the stadium from where I was seated, and El Jaish fans came to area where I was sitting, along with other fans who have also been attending every game and have established seats. Regardless, they took over the area, and I ended up moving to an area where no one was sitting to be more comfortable. In my opinion, the fans with the drums, megaphones, and other noise makers should be forced to sit in the area of the stadium where no one is sitting, so as not to disturb the fans who have an established seat and are trying to enjoy the game. Both sets of fans cheered and made noise throughout the game, regardless of what their team was doing on the court, as they had a noise battle throughout the entirety of the game. El Jaish started with a big lineup, and again tries to establish a low post offensive scheme, which Al Rayyan again countered by double-teaming either Shawn Taggert or Vernon Macklin every time they touched the ball on the post. Al Rayyan used their quickness and 3-point shooting to build a 20-16 lead after the 1st quarter. The game became very heated in the 2nd quarter, as both teams received multiple technical fouls, but that was what El Jaish wanted, as they were able to use their physicality to build a 49-38 lead at halftime, and they maintained that lead through the 3rd quarter by the end of the 3rd quarter, as they held a 69-60 lead going into the 4th quarter. Al Rayyan found their 3-point stroke to start the 4th quarter, but El Jaish did not panic and stuck to their physical game plan. With 5:58 to go in the game, Patrick Ewing Jr. again fouled out of the game, and as he walked off the court ripped his jersey at the neck, just as Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies had done a few days earlier in a NBA game. El Jaish hung on to win the game 83-82 to force a Game 3. 3 April The deciding Game 3 of the League Championship saw both clubs flood the stands with fans, drums, banners, and megaphones. They brought a lot of energy into the stadium, and the high energy favored Al Rayyan, again, as they build a 49-29 halftime lead. The energy seems to help Al Rayyan much more, as they need energy to be effective, as they are able to get out and run, and force a hi-tempo game which does not suit El Jaish, who rely on a slow-paced game. The bad thing with teams that rely on outside shooting is that shooters will always have a cold streak, but teams that rely on low-post will be consistent, and El Jaish used that consistency to cut the lead to just 12 at the end of the 3rd quarter. With five minutes to go, the lead was a mere 7 points, but El Jaish was unable to get over the hump, and the halftime lead proved too big to overcome, as Al Rayyan held on to win the game 78-74. This was also the first game I saw that did not see Patrick Ewing Jr. foul out. Following the game there was a trophy presentation, which saw the leaders of the sports club come out to receive the trophy, just as in American professional leagues where executives for the team receive the trophy first, before giving it to the players to celebrate with. 11 April Following the completion of the League Playoffs, the Qatar Cup began, which is formatted as a Round Robin style tournament, as the league was split into two groups, and each member of the group played each other. The top two teams from the group will then advance to play in the finals of the cup. Game 1 of the Qatar Cup featured Al Ahli vs. Al Wakrah. When the game started, there were only 18 people in the stadium, and a severe lack of energy as the game began. Al Wakrah’s point guard, Calvin Cage who had been injured, returned for this game, but the team seemed out of synch. Al Ahli played with a lot of energy and were fueled by Temi Narcellius Soyebo’s triple double. Al Wakrah switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2/3 zone to try and slow down Al Ahli’s outside shooting, but Al Ahli was able to get out and run, not allowing Al Wakrah to really set in on defense, which led to a 48-35 halftime lead for Al Ahli. Soyebo and Cage engaged in a good PG battle, but Soyebo was the victor as Al Ahli won 93-84. Game 2 featured Al Arabi vs. Al Sadd. From the onset, it was going to be a good game, even though Al Arabi severely lacked a PG to manage the game and run the team on the court. However, Al Arabi’s stud, Tanguy Ngombo, hit clutch shots throughout the game to keep Al Arabi, the underdog, in the game throughout, as Al Sadd’s largest lead was 64-56 which was at the conclusion of the 3rd quarter. Al Arabi committed too many turnovers, though, and Al Sadd took advantage by outscoring Al Arabi 15-2 in points off of turnovers. In the end, Al Sadd won the game 79-74. 12 April The first game of the night features Al Khor vs. Al Shamal, and there were 37 people in the stands at the beginning of the game. Kevin Bridgewaters and Shavon Coleman, a PG and a SG who is a slasher, dominated Al Khor’s offense, as they took 43 of Al Khor’s 75 shots. However, they were unable to prevent Al Shamal from taking a 39-35 halftime lead, as Al Shamal dominated the post with Malcolm White and Vincent Hunter and Al Khor missed some easy shots. This dominance continued through the game, and as Al Khor tried to get out and run to overcome the lack of size they were unable to finish layups and committed costly turnovers. Al Khor ran a full court press at the start of the 4th quarter, which helped them cut the lead to 5 points, but Al Shamal was the better team as they went on to win the game 77-71. At halftime I talked with Robert Taylor, the technical director of the Qatar National Team, and he informed me that the United Arab Emirates was planning on increasing the number of foreigners allowed per team from one to two, which would create additional opportunities for Darryl Greene and his clients. The second game was El Jaish against an overmatched Qatar Sports Club. Qatar has a 7-footer, Mile Illic, to take care of either Shawn Tagger or Vernon Macklin, but they don’t have a second player who can handle the other on defense. Both teams utilized a full court press, but it was more effective for El Jaish as they built a 56-34 halftime lead. Qatar struggled to make shots down low, as each shot was strongly contested by either Taggert or Macklin who each had one block in the game. The dominance continued into the second half, and El Jaish took the opportunity to empty their bench and play some of their younger, less-skilled players, as they coasted to an easy 98-77 victory. 13 April The first game of the night featured Al Rayyan versus Al Sadd. Few fans were in attendance, and there was low energy in the stadium, but that didn’t matter to Al Sadd, as they always bring a lot of energy to the court, which is necessary for their style of play. Al Sadd kept the game within reach through the first 3 1/2 quarters by shooting a high percentage of 3-point shots; however, they had a short bench, as they only played with 6 players, and that was only because they were forced to do so after Tyrone Anderson fouled out with just over 2 minutes to go in the game. After Anderson’s departure, Al Sadd lacked responses to Al Rayyan’s offensive play, and Al Rayyan ended up winning the game comfortably 94-82. The second game of the night featured Al Ahli versus Al Arabi. Al Ahli was in the game until about 3 minutes to go in the first half, as they exploited Al Arabi’s poor guard play and shot the ball well as Al Arabi played underwhelming defense. Tanguy Ngombo for Al Arabi asserted himself more, though, and took over the game, extending Al Arabi lead to 17 by halftime. The second half was similar, as Al Ahli’s good shooting night did not continue, and Ngombo went 4 for 6 from the 3-point line and ended up with 48 points. His superb play was too much for Al Ahli, as Al Arabi won the game easily, 101 to 81. 14 April The opening game of the evening features two high-powered teams, Al Gharafa versus El Jaish. Al Gharafa went up 25-18 by the end of the 1st quarter, thanks to tough defense on the block against Shawn Taggert and Vernon Macklin, and clutch shooting performances by Devan Downey and Samuel Monroe Jr. Once getting the lead, Al Gharafa maintained it throughout the game, and played with only 5 players in the process. Dominating points off turnovers and shooting 48% from the field was the guiding path to victory, as Al Gharafa played smothering defense on their end to upset El Jaish 87-78. Game 2 featured two of the weaker teams in the league, Al Khor versus Qatar Sports Club. Al Khor came out of the tunnel mis-firing, as they found it very difficult to make a shot, and Kevin Bridgewaters was very passive on offense. Bridgewaters tried to run the offense that the coach wanted, but the team does not have the necessary talent, and they rely on both Bridgewaters and Shavon Coleman having big games, and asserting themselves. The other 3 members of Al Khor had a difficult time just handling a simple pass and they committed too many turnovers. Qatar Sports Club took advantage of every opportunity, and shot a high percentage from 3-point territory. Al Khor made it easy for Qatar Sports Club, as they missed free throws throughout the game. Qatar also played very tough defense, with a 1/3/1 zone with good rotations. Qatar outlasted and outplayed Al Khor to a 100-82 victory. 16 April The first game tonight featured Al Ahli versus Al Sadd. Since the beginning of the year, Al Ahli is a much improved side, due to the addition of Temi Soyebo, who started the year with Al Wakrah. Prior to Soyebo joining Al Ahli they were winless, and have had 5 since, and have been in the games till the end during the Qatar Cup run. Al Ahli played the way every team needs to when playing Al Sadd, and that is by taking any potential tempo out of the game by slowing it down and using the entire shot clock. Al Sadd thrives on getting out and running, and when the tempo of the game is slowed down, Al Sadd can’t use their athleticism to overpower their opponents. Al Ahli dominated the game much more than the final score indicates, but Al Sadd hung in tight with clutch three point shooting down the stretch. Due to Al Sadd being forced to run a half-court offense, they shot a very low 38% from the field as they don’t have anyone who is a playmaker. Al Ahli won 78-68, and shot 51% from the field. The second game pitted the League Champion Al Rayyan against Al Wakrah. Al Wakrah has three good players, but their problem is their other two are very weak. This is common with the lower ranked teams in the league, and it allows their opponents to double and triple team the stronger players and completely forget about the weaker players. Al Rayyan’s defensive focus was on Calvin Cage and Adamu Saaka, who were double teamed all night as Al Rayyan tried to force the two weaker players to make open 10 foot jump shots. The top three players for Al Wakrah went 21/51 from the field, while the other six players who saw action went 4/18 from the field, many of those misses being wide open mid-range jump shots. Patrick Ewing Jr. went down with an apparent ankle injury, and was seen sitting on the floor with his left foot on a chair at the end of the bench. The severity of the injury is unknown. Even with the loss of Ewing, Al Rayyan still had superior strength and a deep enough bench to continue dominating the game until the end, as they won 102-74. 17 April Game 1 tonight featured the balanced El Jaish against the weakest team in the league, Al Khor. El Jaish jumped out to an early lead, as they were up 22 to 14 mid-way through the 2nd quarter, as they were playing stingy defense and Al Khor’s Ahmed Hisham Mohamed was trying to do too much, and he lacks the skill to do everything he was trying. Kevin Bridgewaters and Shavon Coleman were too passive, and readily passed the ball to teammates, who again had issues handling the easy passes and committed too many turnovers. This approach changed over the last 5 minutes of the first half, though, as both Bridgewaters and Coleman asserted themselves into the offense, scoring 23 of the final 27 of Al Khor’s first half points. Due to their assertiveness, and El Jaish’s outside shots not falling, Al Khor took a 32-25 halftime lead. This lead was short-lived, though, as El Jaish came out with intensity in the second half, utilizing a full-court press, and staunch defense. El Jaish gave up only 8 points in the 3rd quarter, and only 29 points in the entire second half, compared to the 49 points that they scored. With 5:41 left in the game, Bridgewaters went down with an apparent ankle injury, and sat out for a short stretch of the game, until Mame Souleye Ndour fouled out with 1:59 to go, forcing Bridgewaters back into the game. El Jaish ended up winning the game easily 74-51. The second game pitted Al Shamal against Al Gharafa. Al Shamal’s point guard, Mohamed Kamal Hachad returned following a two-game suspension, and was effective in his return with 22 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds. He took the defensive pressure away from Malcolm White and Vincent Hunter, who got more open looks than they had in the previous games. However, Al Shamal committed too many turnovers, 21 to be exact, which Al Gharafa converted into easy buckets on the other end. For Al Gharafa Devan Downey and Samuel Monroe Jr. were great again, with 22 and 27 points respectively, Al Gharafa built a 50-32 halftime lead, which proved to be insurmountable for Al Shamal, as Al Gharafa won 84-77. 18 April Tonight, game 1 was Al Arabi versus Al Wakrah, with Al Arabi being favored going into the game due to the strong play of Tanguy Ngombo during the Qatar Cup run. Al Arabi started the game shooting a high percentage, and played stingy defense, which led to a 56-39 halftime lead. Al Wakrah cut into the lead during the 3rd quarter with a 12-0 run, as Al Arabi came out cold, and Al Wakrah began hitting some outside jump shots. Ngombo took over at the beginning of the 4th quarter, and Al Arabi increased their defensive aggressiveness. Ngombo ended up with 35 points and 14 rebounds, as Al Arabi won 95-79, and clinched a spot in the Cup Final bracket of the top four teams. Following the game I was able to track down the GM and two coaches with whom I met earlier, and I congratulated them on their victory, and asked if they had a chance to look at the three players I had pitched to them. They said that due to their long cup run they did not have time to focus on the potential new talent, and will get back to me following the end of play, which will be the last part of April early part of May. Game 2 was Al Rayyan versus Al Ahli, which was a tougher than expected challenge for Al Rayyan as Al Ahli played tough. At the start, Patrick Ewing Jr., of Al Rayyan, was wearing a boot due to an injury he sustained during the last game the team played. Al Rayyan forced Al Ahli to turn the ball over early on in the contest, and dominated the offensive boards, creating second and third chances for their offense. This allowed them to build a 54-37 lead going into halftime. The 3rd quarter continued much the same, as Al Rayyan maintained their comfortable lead, and won the game 88-78. Al Ahli played as well as could be expected, they just lacked the necessary talent throughout their lineup to compete with Al Rayyan, and their talented roster. 19 April The first game this evening featured two fledgling teams, as Al Shamal faced off against Qatar Sports Club. There were only about 17 people in the stands, and Al Shamal came out with zero energy, and appeared to play the first half as though they would rather have been sleeping than playing basketball. This should not be the case for Al Shamal, though, as they are the only team in the league to get a bonus of 1,000 QAR (roughly $300) and a free dinner for each win. Qatar ran an effective motion offense, and did enough on defense in the first half to build a 50-41 halftime lead. Al Shamal woke up at halftime, apparently, as they started the second half with a lot more energy on defense than they showed the entire first half. Vincent Hunter stepped back and made some key three point shots, which also opened the block up for Malcolm White to work against Mile Illic. With this new sense of purpose, Al Shamal played a much better second half, and they got the victory 85-77. Regardless of this outcome, both of these teams were eliminated to advancing to the final four of the Qatar Cup. The second game featured a flying high Al Gharafa squad against Al Khor, a team that is ready for this season to be done so they can rebuild and try to compete next year. Al Gharafa came out of the gates with a sense of purpose, determined to not fall into the trap of taking it easy against a weaker opponent, starting the game with a 10-2 run. After the 1st quarter Al Gharafa had built a commanding 23-9 lead, as Al Khor’s forwards/center were unable to handle easy passes under the basket, and Kevin Bridgewaters and Shavon Coleman were not knocking down their shots. By halftime Al Gharafa’s lead grew to 25 points, and it seems like it was more of a practice for them as they were running wild against the inept Al Khor squad, which had only managed to score 18 points in the 1st half. The second half was not better for Al Khor, as the lead ballooned to 36 points after three quarters. Al Gharafa took the opportunity to empty their bench in the fourth quarter, which was wise, as they had sealed their trip to the final four of the Qatar Cup, and did not want to risk anyone getting injured in a game that was easily in hand. This was a concept that was not used by all of the teams, as some of them, like El Jaish and Al Rayyan, were notorious for playing their top 7 players throughout the game, regardless of the score. Al Gharafa ended up winning the game 80-52, and avoided any injuries. 25 April Today I spent time finalizing my website, by updating my journal entries, adding picture and box scores to give readers a better sense of the feel, and updated the scouting reports for the teams. As I complete this internship, I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF), the future of basketball in Qatar, being a sports agent, and my overall experience during the past few months. The Qatar Basketball Federation is not like any professional sports league in the US, as the teams are based out of rich sports clubs around Doha. None of the teams have a home stadium, as all of the games are played at the Al Gharafa sports complex, and while this should benefit the Al Gharafa team, there is not a well-enough established fan base to give Al Gharafa a “home court” advantage. If the QBF wants to succeed, they need to look into developing home courts for all of the teams, so they can work to establish some type of a centralized fan base, and work on growing the sport from the ground up within their club. Imagine if during the NBA playoffs, all of the games were played in the middle of South Dakota, as it is somewhat a middle location for all of the teams. Each team would lack motivation, and while the stadium would probably have more than 30 people, the fans would not be as interested in the games as they are with each team having their own stadium. The QBF also needs to have a more interactive website, similarly to ESPN, where fans can click on a player’s name and find out about his history and stats, instead of having the results be an uploaded Adobe PDF file. If Qatar is serious about developing the sport of basketball in their country, then these are the elements that must be improved, otherwise the sport will never gain popularity and the QBF will not survive. For me, this entire experience tremendously added to my personal development as I had the opportunity to watch a professional basketball league in a foreign country, and learned how to navigate through the league’s bureaucracy. While in the US the best person in an organization to talk to about players would be either the GM or the Director of Player Personnel, in the QBF the best person to talk with is the Head Coach, as the GMs are all Qatari who don’t have a great sense of the sport, but they are learning. Throughout this experience, the academic studies that have best translated into working as an agent were courses that related to working with different cultures and dealing with people. The most important aspect of this type of work is working with people, and knowing the meaning of a person’s reactions and communicating with them appropriately. Due to my being in Qatar, and doing this internship virtually, the communication with my mentor, Darryl Greene, was all done via email. Darryl was responsive to my emails, as was I in return, and I think the communication worked well. This internship had a major influence on my career objectives, as prior this experience I had never given serious though to becoming an agent; however, after this experience I really would like to be a professional agent one day, and see that as a great way to get involved in the sports industry. I have learned a lot through this experience, and definitely would go about this a different way if I could do it all over again. At the beginning of this experience, I really was unsure as to what I was doing, and was relying on people returning my phone calls and emails to achieve my goal of finding a job for Darryl Greene’s clients. After trying this for the first month, with very little success and not accumulating a lot of hours, I determined that I needed to learn more about the QBF as a whole, and hopefully while at the stadium I would meet people involved with the QBF who would be able to assist. I learned that I had to be more active, and being passive in this career will not let someone achieve their goals as an agent, as you have to go out and sell your clients, and can’t rely on teams to flock to your client as they have thousands of options to choose from. If someone was to step in behind me and do an internship as an agent, I would tell them to be aggressive in their work, as they are selling an idea, and have to go out and sell that idea, and can’t wait for people to come to them. In the end, I truly enjoyed this experience and greatly appreciate Darryl Greene giving me this tremendous opportunity to work with him, and help expand his reach to other leagues. |