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John Pamukci English 1103-25 The Ultimate Coach: Theo Karavokiros Six ft tall, 169 lbs. Long flowing hair with a smile that would light up the sky at midnight. Virtually no body fat, with a highway of veins running throughout his arms and legs. This commanding presence is that of the best teacher that I have ever had, Theo Karavokiros. Whether weight lifting, or basketball, since the 8th grade, Theo has always been there for me throughout my life. He has taught me not only how to become a dedicated athlete with his tough weight lifting workouts and his positive encouragement, teaching fundamental basketball skills, learning life lessons and how to become a real man, and becoming a dedicated Christian and to be a better person in general. The first time I met Theo, I was in awe with his appearance. It was as though I was staring at a Greek God in front of me. He had on a tight muscle shirt, and the ripped arms and shredded abs were visible through his shirt. Theo was extremely passionate to me, but he was also blunt and straightforward. He wouldnt hesitate to warn me, John Ill be the nicest guy to you outside of the gym, but when we are in here its all business, Im going to give you hell. My eyes grew so wide as though all my freedom had been lost. He chuckled, and patted me on the back. I knew at this moment that I was ready to work. This was the first time me and Theo lifted together. It was a melting pot of a workout, which consisted of many different exercise ranging from the bench press to box jumps. Theo was an animal in the weight room. He was benching nearly 260 lbs as a 44 year old man. In

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comparison, I was benching around 130 lbs at the time, about half of what he was doing. Even though there was a large disparity in the weights, Theo was very encouraging and always found ways to motivate me. He was the master of motivation, beating determination and perseverance into my body. Theo knew my limits as an amateur lifter. Once I was doing pushups, and could only do about 15 at a time, but Theo knew to challenge me to do more than 15. He would roar JOHN, 4TH QUARTER, DONT QUIT ON ME, 5 MORE!! I NEED THIS FROM YOU, DO YOU WANT TO WIN??? I exceeded all limits previously set on myself with the help of Theo. I pushed myself twice as hard with Theo surrounding me than I ever had before. Another way Theo pushed me was by observing his work ethic. Theo would constantly push himself to do the most repetitions at the end of sets until he was fully exhausted. Our regular regiment would have us ending our bench press exercise by doing 6 reps of a certain weight. Theo would always push himself despite his fatigue, and would find ways to do 8 or 9 reps on a consistent basis. Watching him push himself to the very limit always motivated me to never place a limit on any workout. I would also try to bench more than 6 times during my final set, often times matching his 8 or 9 reps. It was something that turned into a habit which led to discipline and an increase in my progress. Theo was always encouraging even if he knew I didnt have the ability to do something. When I first worked out, I couldnt a pull up, but Theo would always tell me to try and get to the highest point and hold it there till I couldnt anymore. He said that my muscles would work and gradually become accustomed to the movement, and that I would eventually be able to get a pull-up. Three weeks later, I tried a pull-up, and got the full repetition. Theos workouts were not only physically intense, but were also mentally devastating. Between each set, I was allowed a 1 minute rest. He would look at his watch the second after the

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last rep and would stare at me and say you have one minute, and if you take any longer youll never get a rest again. It was truly a hurdle physically, but mentally it was draining. His workouts were designed to not only build muscle, but to get you active and moving in order to work your metabolism. He would find different exercises to do back to back, or superset. An example of this would be doing box jumps on 48 inch boxes, and right after do bicep curls to work both arms and legs, and my heart rate would increase to help promote weight loss. These exercises effectively helped me lose weight over time, as my body evolved from marshmallow to beast. Theo was also an excellent basketball coach he preached fundamentals over everything in basketball. He always preached dribbling, and defense as the two keys to be an effective basketball player. His workouts were predicated on these beliefs. BOOM! He would slap the ball and yell. We would start with several dribbling drills such as ball slaps, crossover countdowns from ten, and behind the back crossovers. The warm ups would last about 15 minutes then we would begin the real work. Theo would have the entire team do several ball handling exercises, such as going through cones and pulling up for the shot, and also pick and roll plays. The workouts would be highly intense and would range from all different times, including some workouts would begin at 6 am. Not rain, shine, or hail would cancel one of our workouts. Day off was not in Theos vocabulary. I once had to do drills in the pouring rain as the rain would wash the sweat off my face. I remember this day because Theo knew it was raining, but he did not let off one bit. I was engaged in full court dribbling drills as the ball would bounce of the ground creating puddles. Theo told me I dont care how badly its raining out there, I better not see you lose that ball one time!! I went full speed from one end of the court to the other end of the court, maneuvering through cones and finishing

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layups at the hoop. We would go through a full workout as if Mother Nature did not exist. Routine jump shots from all parts of the court, and we would burn out with box jumps and wind sprints 10 times up and down the court. Even though we called it a burn out, I was drenched in water as if I had been swimming. I was completely out of energy, and was freezing in the cold rain, but there was no sorrow felt. It was just another day at work for us. These drills not only made me more disciplined but they got me into much better shape than I had ever been in. Theo taught me many life lessons not only in the weights and the court, but also in real life. He taught me how to be a man and he taught me the true lessons of life and what it meant to be successful. One of the reasons that I want to become a pharmacist, is because he is a pharmacist and the motivation that he gives me. He would never shy away from personal questions, or questions about his work life. One of the greatest things that I learned from Theo was self-discipline. Before I met Theo, I would eat food like a wild animal, and he would tell me that my body is like a temple. You dont just put everything in the temple without knowing the consequences of it. I learned how to control myself better thanks to him and it has made a great difference in my life. In the past, I would be easily irritated whenever my parents would argue with me over grades or responsibility in general, and I would end up screaming at them. But Theo taught me how to respect my parents, and he put into perspective that they love me and want the best for me, and no matter what I should always listen to my parents. Ever since Theo told me this, I have never yelled at my parents over anything, even if I felt like they were wrong. It wasnt just the physical performance that Theo influenced me with, but the mental edges Theo instilled in me have always been with me.

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Theo was also very dedicated in his belief in the Christian faith. He always taught me to do things with God and to put on my armor for God. Theo and I would go to church together and pray and learn how to become closer to God. We participated in a marathon to help the poor people through a charity to help raise money in order to buy food. Theo was out their making it look like a walk in the park. He was keeping distance with me the whole time, encouraging me and pushing me to not quit because of the good cause, and the physical benefits it provided. Theo was running a cool and steady pace, not one hair out of place, and not a drop of sweat on his body. In contrast, I was sweating profusely and my hair looked as if I had just gotten out of bed. Theo was not only a physically gifted specimen, but he had the heart of an angel. He made everything cool and easy, just like the marathon. Nothing was a hassle for him, and he always seemed to have time to help others. Theo coaches a 10 year old basketball team for our church, as a volunteer. Theo already has a family, a tough job, and other responsibilities a normal adult has but he enjoys seeing others happy and learning about new things. He teaches the kids basketball skills but he always emphasizes church first. Every practice would start with a prayer, and end with a prayer. Theo would make sure to tell all the kids that your faith comes before winning or losing. One of the quotes he told the kids during a practice was win or lose, thank god that you had the opportunity to do something you love. As much as Theo loved working out, and teaching about basketball, he emphasized that the Christian faith is something that comes before all, and it will guide me throughout my life. Theo has been a great coach, and great teacher for me since I met him. There is no one that I know that is more dedicated and respectable from a teaching perspective than Theo. Theo has influenced the way that I approach everyday situations in life. Perseverance and dedication

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help me through hard times, or when I feel sluggish. Despite all the great things Theo taught me about sports and life, the thing I keep most to this day are his values of commitment to Christianity. Christianity was his greatest building block to success in all other aspects, and I use the same formula he did to help me better myself in all aspects of life, including weight lifting, basketball, and everyday life. I always start my day with a prayer and end it with a prayer, just like Theo did his practices.