Coaches of KBL Prepare for All-Star Game

The head coach of the LG pro basketball team, Kim Tae-hwan, is visiting a therapist for treatment on his heel, due to exerting himself too far after exercising.

It came as a surprise that the injury was from a staff member and not a player.

The story is as follows. While preparing for the All-Star match between coaching staffs, head coach Kim exceeded his normal exercising limits.

Kim, who is the oldest head coach in the league, stands at 170cm and 90kg, has a pudgy stature. Kim was popular at the event last year when he hopped around all over the place with a tight shirt against the entertainer team at the All-Star weekend. Kim made a new year`s resolution to lose weight and come back strong with a new appearance.

Head Coach Kim walks separately from the rest of the squad whenever he enters and leaves the gym and the athlete`s quarters in his hometown Chang Won. He hops on the treadmill until he hits his daily goal of burning 500 calories. He abstained from

his favorite Ramen and hot-noodles. "A daily 2-3 hours jog makes me sweat even in the freezing cold. You can check yourself to see how much weight I have lost," Kim commented.

Unlike last year`s All-Star game, the Middle Conference (TG Sambo, Elec.Land, Samsung, SK, SBS) and the Southern Conference (KCC, Orions, Mobis, LG, KTF) goes head-to-head. Lots of pressure falls on the coaching staff since the match shows off their ability in hoops.

Yoo Jae-hak(41), the head coach of Elec.Land wore a jersey and pulled night shift training with coach Lim Keun-bae for the first time since he called it quits as an active player in 1989. Yoo plays one-on-one with the players and shapes up his jumpers. Yoo said, " It`s really nerve-racking. I don`t want to be embarrassed" as he motivates himself.

The tallest coaching staff in the league, Park Jong-chun (44 years old, 194 cm), the head coach of LG, commented, "I`ll go for a slam dunk with the knee pad that I wore in my prime."

Head coach Park, who is shooting 100 shots daily, matched up with KCC coach Shin

Sun-woo, who spent years together in the Hyundai industry, for the first time since the 1984 basketball feast.

Busan native KTF coach Choo Il-seung (41) jogs around the shores of Hae-Un Dae

beach which is located near the KTF quarters. Orion`s head coach Kim Jin maintains

and builds his strength at the gym and is currently working with Samsung`s coach Kim Dong-kwong (53) on a special shooting session.

On the other hand, 0.1ton-weighing TG Sambo head coach, Jun Chang Jin(41), spare

no efforts saying, "I`ve done nothing. I would rather be in a position as a spectator."

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com