To Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, even MMA matches can inform NBA strategy
· Yahoo Sports
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is not just doing mixed martial arts to burnish his credentials as a tough coach in a league where respect from players is the currency required for coaching excellence in the NBA. The Rhode Island native has been picking the brains of the best trainers in that sport as he has done with soccer, football, and – depending on what we mean by 'picking the brain' – even orcas. So it ought to come as little surprise that when Mazzulla was making connections that led to those videos of the Celtics coach in the octagon looking ripped this summer, it was about finding an edge on an NBA court, not burnishing his hard-o credentials.
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And we know this because of a recent interview with his counterpart in many such clips, Extreme Couture MMA coach Erick Nicksick. "There's not too many people in the last 10 years that have had an immediate impact on my life like Joe. And I think in a lot of ways, because we're both coaches and we're coaches at a high level, not a lot of people understand what we go through on a daily basis and the responsibilities that we have and the egos that we have to manage (…)" said Nicksick. .
"Our relationship started because ... they were in town for summer league, this was like four years ago," added the MMA coach. Hearing that Mazzulla wanted to meet him from a colleague, he learned that the Celtics coach "was curious about watching some sparring and wanted to see how you manage your corner work, similar to what they do in their timeouts."
"He said that he felt like he wasn't able to control the huddle the way that he wanted to," continued Nicksick, noting the differences between the size of a huddle in the NBA vs. how coaches communicate with fighters between MMA rounds. "He wanted to see how we managed those things," said the MMA coach. "So, him and (Celtics assistant) Sam Cassell came out and we spent about two weeks with them (...) and we really struck up this friendship."
"But what I realized in that moment was this man is willing to exhaust any option available for him to be better for his team. He's stepping outside his comfort zone, going in a complete demographic that doesn't even mesh, the most intimidating demographic. He's trying to find ways to evolve. And it was an eye-opening experience for me because ... I should be doing the same things. I'm going to seek out other friendships for high achievers and high performers in their field. Flex Lewis – one of my best friends – he's a seven-time Olympic bodybuilder. We don't have a lot in common when it comes to our sport, but ... I want to be around people like that. Where can I gain this energy and this knowledge and things like that?"
"And that's what my relationship really is with Joe," said Nicksick. "He has had this new height of friendship, but also this nuance of coaching."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: To Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, even MMA matches can inform NBA strategy