When the fans are with you, their voices come together in a big booming rush of sound that you can actually feel in your body - almost like a wave that lifts you and carries you past your own limits.
I love the chants, the stomping of feet, the eruptions of cheers, hoots, and hollers. Besides the fact that I'm lucky to do what I love for my living, I'm blessed every day on the job with the joy of hearing fans and announcers call my name. Not to mention various nicknames—from "D-Wade" to "Flash" to just "#3."
But as much as I love the music of the crowd when they're with me, none of that comes close to the thrill of hearing my sons call out my most favorite name of all: "Daddy!" Any time, anywhere, any day.
So, needless to say, on the evening of Friday, March 11, when I open the door to greet Tragil and the boys, hearing their chorus of "Daddy! Daddy!" it's enough to bring on another batch of tears.
Zaire bounds in first. No surprise there. But Zion somehow edges his brother out and takes a running leap up into my arms for the first hug. Swinging him up on one side of me, I lift up Zaire in my other arm. (Yeah, I'm strong.) Then, spotting Dahveon—nicknamed Dada—shyly standing off to the side, I gesture for him to come on over to get in on the action.
Group hug!
This is crazy. This is pure happiness.
Tragil, fighting her tears, joins in, along with Gabrielle and some of our friends who have been helping out for most of the afternoon, arranging appointments at schools, shopping for extra clothes and school supplies, measuring for the bunk beds, and making sure the kitchen's stocked with more than a weekend's worth of kid-friendly food. My mantra all day to everyone has been that we need to establish a set routine that gives them a sense of normalcy and security. Routine, I've learned, is key.
Meanwhile, we're all also trying to be restrained, not wanting the boys to suspect something dramatic is up. That conversation needs to happen.
But not yet.
"Let me look at you three. C'mon now."
We break out of our hug so I can admire each one of the boys, rubbing on their heads, giving each a compliment, and then more hugs. Can't help myself. In the parenting school I come from, love and praise are fundamentals. As basic as the air we breathe. Love comes first, second, and last.
Always.
I start with my nephew Dahveon—whose father hasn't been on the scene regularly in his life. Same age as Zaire, Dada's an old soul, sensitive but also fun loving. After his mom, my sister Deanna, gave her okay for him to start traveling with his cousins to visit me, Dada quickly became a steadying force for them. And for me. During the worst challenges of the custody battle, when my visitations with the boys were so infrequent and my relationship with Zaire was strained as a result, I'd invite Dada to come for a visit, too, and he always made Zaire feel more comfortable and able to enjoy the fun.
Dada and I high-five and low-five as I tell him how much I appreciate his help. So proud of himself, he struts off, then stops to show me one of the latest dance moves from Chicago.
Zaire, never one to stand still, waits excitedly to confirm that everybody's going to the Heat game the next day. When I assure him that the game is early enough for the three boys to attend, he does a couple of dance moves he's learned from Dada to show his pride. Everyone cracks up. Not a shy kid whatsoever, Zaire has that ability to let his spirit lift the spirit of others. In fact, before I can say much more, he starts making small talk with the other adults in the room - like a seasoned conversationalist. He throws in comments on everything from the latest YouTube music video he's seen to traffic on Biscayne Boulevard. And he's hip, too, coming up with his cool little catchphrases to respond to the adults, saying, "Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout."
"Zaire," I start to laugh, "you don't know nuthin' 'bout that. You just makin' comments like you know." I hug him again, amused. He shrugs, enjoying my admiration, full of his nine-year-old swagger.
I swear, if I could live my childhood over, I wouldn't mind being Zaire Wade at his age. He's an all-around cool kid, with a lot of personality, excellent athletic skills, and a real gift of gab, all on top of being very handsome. Not that I take the credit. Yeah, I see some Wade in his expressions and features but he has his mom's eyes and lips. And that outgoing, talkative side of him is much more like her than me.
Zion got his mom's smarts big-time. But as far as looks go, he's a mini-me. Pictures of me at his age look so much like him we have to check closely to tell who is who. He scans the room, making sure nobody is standing close by, and motions me closer to say something. When I lean down to hear, he jumps up again, hugging on my neck, laughing.
"Zion, you are awesome, ya know that?" I say and watch his face light up.
"I know," he nods.
Like his brother, Zion has major confidence. For someone not even four years old, he is smart beyond his years. Sometimes too smart. It's crazy how well he can converse with adults. Being a Gemini, though, he can be as standoffish as he can be friendly.
Unlike Zaire, who is Mr. Mayor, holding court wherever he goes, Zion looks at everyone with a crooked eye. Takes him a while to warm up. When he does, though, he loves you unconditionally. But he's very careful in general, which to me, someone who now most likely has some trust issues of my own, might be a good thing. In some ways, because the boys were prevented from seeing me for long periods, Zion and I are just getting to know each other. We're definitely going to be making up for lost time. One of the many special traits that I admire about Zion is how he is just his own little person. He doesn't feel the need to be as passionate about basketball—say, like Zaire and Dada, who are both getting into it as players. Especially Zaire. Zion likes getting into the mix but apparently he has his own dreams. I'm not sure what they are yet, but whatever he throws himself into in the coming years, I mean—watch out world! When our arriving travelers hear snacks being offered, the three boys dash off together to the kitchen to see what Rich has cooking.
This is when Tragil and I have a chance to talk and hug again in relief and joy. A few people close to us understand the hell of these last several years but she is perhaps the only person who has been there at almost every step of my journey. Right now, Tragil knows that I have my own process for making decisions and that I'm intensely thinking through how to talk to the boys about the custody news. She also knows that part of that process, painful as it is, involves reflecting on the past and our own childhood.
My sister has always said that one of her jobs in the family has been to remember everything that's happened along the way. "So I can remind you in case you forget" is what she says.
Not that I've forgotten anything. It's just that up until now, I've had to block a lot of it out.
But no more. If I want to be the Daddy I promised myself as a child that I was going to be, it's time to go back there and do the remembering myself.
Whenever I go hunt for memories from childhood, the most vivid recollections that come to mind are of my grandma and me sitting out on the stoop of our apartment building on the corner of Fifty-Ninth and Prairie. Probably the earliest memory I have of the two of us out there together took place on a night in early spring 1987, a few months after my fifth birthday.
There's a sound track that accompanies this memory: a radio blasting R&B from someone's apartment, a boom box across the street with the bass turned all the way up and somebody rapping to the beat, police sirens and gunfire at enough of a distance not to run and hide, and car tires screeching as they speed along the wet pavement of Prairie Avenue.
And then, in the middle of that hum of the nighttime sound track could be heard the sad vocal of my grandmother crying and praying out loud: "Oh Lawd, Lawd, please help me get outa this mess. Lawd, please help me with these children caught up in they trouble, Lawd." There were many nights when I heard her cry and pray like that. Why this night stands out, I don't know, except that this could have been the first time that I made a promise to myself never to do the things, whatever they were, that made my grandma sad and worried like she was. Not because of how bad those things were (even though I had some general ideas already) but because of how much I loved my grandmother and wanted her to be happy.
Grandma had lived in the apartment on the top floor of the three story building since the early 1970s, along with her son Roger, our uncle, who worked as a security guard in those days. We had only moved into the apartment on the first floor the year before. As Tragil could better recall about the previous four and a half years since my birth, they had been turbulent for us and for our mom, especially after she called it quits with Dad. With our mother's initial descent into the clutches of drugs, Tragil and I were separated from her at different times when we stayed with friends and relatives, while our two older sisters, Deanna and Keisha, in their teens, stayed with other family members. Dad remained in the picture but probably didn't know the extent of our situation. The thing was that even when she was "in her madness" - as we would say to refer to Mom's battles - a lot of people loved and believed in her, and went the extra mile to help out with her kids until she was able to get on her feet and have us all under one roof again.
At last, that day had come when Mom got off drugs and found a steady part-time job. Grandma was then able to talk the landlord into letting us move into the same building as her. When we arrived, the landlord and his family lived on the second floor but pretty soon he moved out and my aunt Barbara started renting that apartment. Because of his close relationship with Grandma, the landlord was lenient with Mom on those occasions when the rent was late. When the electric bill was late, that was another story. We had a hot plate and lights that we'd hook up to an outlet in the hallway and we had to run to unplug the cords whenever the landlord was coming.
None of those worries bothered me and Tragil much. At first. We were struggling, yeah. But we had our momma back and we were a family again. We had our own bedroom, Tragil and I, that we shared. We'd go shopping as a family once a month, with help from welfare, and we had a regular schedule. Some of my happiest really early memories of my mother come from this period. Nothing specific, just plain and simple mother love, like glimmers of light you spot at a distance on the surface of the water, the further you get from the memories.
Because, unfortunately, all of this was short-lived. (Continues...)
A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball by Wade, Dwyane: Fine Hardcover (2012) First Edition / First Printing.
Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat is one of the superstars of the NBA—and a Gold Medal winner at the Bejing Olympics—but he’s A Father First. In this moving and triumphant memoir, Wade shares his inspiring thoughts about fathers and sons, writing poignantly about the gratifying responsibilities of being a single dad to his two sons, Zaire and Zion, while recounting his own growing up years and his memorable rise to the top echelon of professional basketball.
Dwyane Wade, the eight-time All-Star for the Miami Heat, has miraculously defied the odds throughout his career and his life. In 2006, in just his third season in the NBA, Dwyane was named the Finals' MVP, after leading the Miami Heat to the Championship title, basketball's ultimate prize. Two years later, after possible career-ending injuries, he again rose from the ashes of doubt to help win a gold medal for the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As co-captain, he helped lead the Heat to triumph in the 2012 NBA Championship. Little wonder that legendary coach Pat Riley has called Dwyane "B.I.W."—Best In the World.
As incredible as those achievements have been, it's off the court where Dwyane has sought his most cherished goal: being a good dad to his sons, Zaire and Zion, by playing a meaningful role in their lives. Recounting his fatherhood journey, Dwyane begins his story in March 2011 with the news that after a long, bitter custody battle, he has been awarded sole custody of his sons in a virtually unprecedented court decision. A Father First chronicles the lessons Dwyane has learned as a single dad from the moment of the judge's ruling that instantly changed his life and the lives of his boys, and then back to the events in the past that shaped his dreams, prayers, and promises.
As the son of divorced parents determined to get along so that he and his sister Tragil could have loving relationships with both of them, Dwyane's early years were spent on Chicago's South Side. With poverty, violence, and drugs consuming the streets and their mom descending into addiction, Tragil made the heroic decision to take her younger brother to live with their father. After moving his household to suburban Robbins, Illinois, Dwyane Wade Sr. became Dwyane's first basketball coach. While this period laid the groundwork for Dwyane's later mission for fathers to take greater responsibility for their kids, he was also inspired by his mother's miraculous victory over addiction and her gift for healing others. Both his mother and his father showed him that the unconditional love between parents and children is a powerful guiding force.
In A Father First, we meet the coaches, mentors, and teammates who played pivotal roles in Dwyane's stunning basketball career—from his early days shooting hoops on the neighborhood courts in Chicago, to his rising stardom at Marquette University in Milwaukee, to his emergence as an unheralded draft pick by the Miami Heat. This book is a revealing, personal story of one of America's top athletes, but it is also a call to action—from a man who had to fight to be in his children's lives—that will show mothers and fathers how to step up and be parents themselves.
"I get a lot from my father": Alexander Maltsev - about the transition from CSKA to Khimki and playing under the leadership of his father Subscribe to know them all by sight.
The Interception podcast is back with a second season called Young and Dangerous. The heroes of this season are young Russian players, U22. This is a series of interviews about career and life: how you started, how you continued, what you went through. Simple questions that will help you get to know young basketball players better - the same ones that we will be watching in the next 10-15 years.
The hero of the fifth episode is Khimki forward Alexander Maltsev. Sasha started playing basketball in the first grade, but he didn't like it and quit. And then I saw how his friend Kostya Shevchuk (by the way, the hero of the third episode of the podcast) was playing, and he wanted to try again.
Maltsev is a graduate of Trinta, a native of the CSKA system and a player of Khimki near Moscow. In the podcast, he tells how he felt in the army system, why he went to Khimki, how he evaluates the season in Superleague-1 and what it is like to play under the guidance of his father. Spoiler: gets the most.
“I wanted to play like Kostya Shevchuk”
— Sasha, I usually start my questions with how the podcast guest started playing basketball. But in your case, it's pretty obvious - you were born in 2002, when your dad, Andrey Nikolaevich Maltsev, was still playing for Spartak St. Petersburg. What is your very first, earliest memory of basketball?
— If I start to remember my conscious life, then basketball has always been in it. Therefore, it is difficult to single out a single moment. I was [always] surrounded by a basketball hall, basketball balls, so there is no such vivid memory. I met the ball in the first month of life.
— When did you start playing basketball?
— I was in the first grade and then I decided to go to the basketball school in CSKA. I went to the first training session, I didn’t like it at all, and I told my parents that I didn’t like it. They didn't insist, so they said, "Well, go and study then." And I went to school.
And somewhere in the second grade, I went to a match then, just played Kostya Shevchuk. Our families are close. I went to the match and told my mother: "I want to play like Kostya Shevchuk." And then I was sent to the Trinta sports school, Andrei Vyacheslavovich Shigin recruited children, he was my first coach. Dad knew this and put me in trusted hands, because they worked together. He understood what Shigin could give me and what he could not.
— Wow, you immediately wanted to play like Kostya.
- Well, I liked the way he plays - scores points, runs. He received an individual award then. I liked it, I wanted the same.
— And when did you realize that you can connect your life with basketball? When did you realize that you can earn money, live, do it all the time?
— At first, I just liked to study. I made new friends, communicated well, I liked going to training. And so that I understand that this will be a part of my life ... Probably, when I won the first Russia. I was 15 then, and it was the first tournament that we won with our team. Usually there were third, fourth, and then he also took an individual award. Then I caught myself thinking that you can connect your life with this.
— How many years did you spend at Trint?
— I am a complete graduate of Trinta, I have never changed sports school. I've been there since the second grade, I was 8 years old, and graduated at 17 years old. I spent quite a long time there, 9 years, so I played for Trinta.
— Is Trinta somehow connected to the CSKA system?
- No, not connected in any way. These are different structures.
— And when did you move to CSKA?
— I was 16 years old after the European Championship. I signed my first professional contract. But I still continued to play for Trinta in the Russian championship and in the European tournament. Since I had little experience in the VTB Youth League, I also played there.
— Ah, now it fits. So it was possible?
Yes.
— How did you feel in the CSKA system?
- I felt very good. I was already familiar at that time with many players, some of them came with me, were my age. I had a very good medical staff, I had good relations with everyone, the coaching staff [also], I had no problems with anyone. So I felt very comfortable.
“Dad doesn’t play for me, I do it all”
— How did you feel about the talk that you only play because your dad coaches? Such conversations haunt all the players whose parents somehow work in basketball.
— I was also haunted by these conversations, there is no getting away from it. At first I was worried, but then I thought about it and realized: my father doesn’t score points for me, doesn’t rebound, he doesn’t play for me, I do it all. So I stopped thinking about it. If they say so, then I take it very calmly, this is the opinion of every person.
— Does it motivate you or upset you more?
- Now it motivates me more, because I want to prove that it's not because of my father, but because I am something of myself.
— Is it true that the children of coaches always get the most from these same coaches?
- I don't know about others, but I get a lot. But I understand that the father does it out of the best of intentions. Therefore, we have no resentment. Exceptional work environment.
- At home, you and your dad are father and son, and at training, of course, he is Andrey Nikolayevich. Can you remember the story when you got hit - because you yourself say that you get hit all the time - but it was, in your opinion, unfair?
- No, I can't. We have an iron rule that we do not discuss basketball at home at all. Therefore, there are no such grievances. Even if something so unpleasant slips through, I normally endure it, there are no problems in this regard.
“I didn’t make the national team because I was frankly weaker than other players”
— In 2018, you won the gold medals of the B division of the European Championship together with the Russian U16 team and was one of the leaders of that team. Tell me about that tournament? What worked, didn't work?
- This was my first call-up to the national team. I was very pleased that I was called to the expanded list. We had a very long preparation, it lasted 2.5 months. The team was made up of 11 players from Moscow, so everyone knew who could and could not do what, and everyone played their role. Therefore, when we arrived at the tournament, we had a very close-knit team, and everyone did what they could. That's probably why we won this tournament.
— Did you meet Anton Kardanakhishvili there? Heard that you are best friends now.
- Well, I don’t know how the best, but I can definitely say that a very close [friend]. I met him back at the Moscow Championship, when they played just like children. And so that we could get to know each other in the same team, it was at the Spartakiad, we were 15 years old then. Then we got to know each other better.
— Did you support Anton a lot when he joined the Russian national team?
- Yes, I congratulated him on being called up to the expanded team, and then on the fact that he got into the main team. Before each match, I wished good luck, watched the games. We were just with the U20 team at the training camp in GoPark and tried to watch every match, to support it. They were constantly in touch.
— How do you like his performance?
- I liked the way he played. Of course, there were mistakes, but in general I liked it.
- You yourself got into the youth team next time in 2019year before the European Championship U18. But you didn't make it to the final lineup. What didn't work then? You were just younger than your partners?
- I can honestly say that I was weaker than those players who were in the first team. Then I just changed the position from number four to number three, I was out of position. I didn't have enough data for number four and enough experience playing number three. Therefore, it was a good experience for me, and everything is fair that I did not get into the main team, I have no grievances.
“Before moving to Khimki, I consulted with my dad. How is it with the coach?
— It wasn't difficult. I received an offer from Khimki that I could go there, I weighed all my prospects in CSKA and Khimki and realized that it was better to go to that club and develop there. CSKA is still a youth team, it still had to be left. So I decided to leave her at that age.
— Did you make this decision yourself or did Andrey Nikolayevich insist?
— Of course, I consulted him, but not as a coach, but as a father. I consulted with agents, and we made a decision. I listened to everyone's opinion and made the decision myself that it was better to go.
— What role did the fact that your dad coached the team play in your transition?
— Nothing special, because it's not dad, it's a coach for me. It was just easier for me to switch to his philosophy because I know it. Therefore, this is such a small plus.
- Season in the Super League - useful experience?
— This is a tremendous experience, because the difference between the VTB United Youth League and Super League-1 is very big. The level of toughness of the players and the speed of decision-making are very different, so it's a good experience.
- You also played in a team with those who are suitable for your fathers - the same Ivanov is 37 years old. How did you feel?
— I have very good relations with the veterans, excellent relations with Andrey Ivanov. I listened to his every instruction, after all, he is a player with great experience, he played in many teams. Therefore, I tried to hear all the hints from him. And he never attacked me ... in general, hazing was not the same as it happens.
- It's just that Anton Ponkrashov wasn't on the team...
- Maybe. But we had good relations with veterans.
- Did you roll into the season for so long due to lack of experience?
- No, it's because of the lack of pre-season. I had to do all the developments already in the season. It's very hard because [there are] games.
— You missed two months because of an injury, but they say that this is just very little and you could have missed much more. How did you manage to recover so quickly? From a great desire?
— It was an unexpected injury for me. I immediately turned to trusted doctors. It was spinal center No. 67, doctors Dzukaev Dmitry Nikolaevich and Guly Vladimir Viktorovich. I went to them for a consultation, they looked at my MRI and said: “We will make sure that you play this season.” And I heard it.
At first they did conservative treatment, but it did not help. Then it became the reason for the operation. We did it, and I continued to restore. Recovery took a little less than two months, and I went out into the clearing. But I followed all the restrictions, in all the training sessions that were in the rehabilitation center and in Khimki, the coaches restored me. That's probably why I recovered so quickly.
— I heard that you do a lot of individual work. On your own or with a personal trainer?
- Any young player, I think, should work hard individually. This season I managed to work with our coach Gleb Gennadyevich Plotnikov. A very good specialist, I liked working with him, he gave me a lot. I also work a lot individually, I go to the gym. I do everything to become better.
— Will you stay at Khimki next season? And does your decision depend on the tournament in which the team will play? Khimki [at the time of recording the podcast] have a small chance of moving up to the United League. It exists, albeit a very small one.
— It's hard to say where I'll play next season because I don't have a contract right now. Therefore, now I want to relax in the summer, recover, work individually. And then it will be clear where I will play. Khimki or not, it's too early to talk about it.
— What is your biggest dream right now?
— Like many young basketball players, I dream of playing basketball at a high level — VTB League, Euroleague.
- Usually young players mean NBA by high level. Do you have such dreams?
— Of course, I want to play in the NBA, but more in the Euroleague.
Subscribe to the telegram channel "Interception" - there I regularly write about Rosbasket.
Other episodes of the “Young and Dangerous” season:
• The transition from football, self-doubt and leaving the boarding school: how Vlad Yemchenko grew to the base of Loko and the national team
• “It's like a dream for any basketball fan ". Daniil Kasatkin talks about 3 years in the US and his return to Russia
• European U16 gold, Euroleague debut, working with Plaza: an interview with Konstantin Shevchuk
• Almost left basketball because nothing worked out: the path of Alexander Shcherbenev
He is considered a scumbag, she is Miss Spain: the main couple of European basketball - I Feel Devotion - Blogs . Now Rudy and Helen are raising two children: son Alan (turned 3 in December) and daughter Aura (born in May 2019of the year).
Their romance began under very unusual circumstances. In 2011, Fernandez met the winner of the title of Miss Spain 2000 by phone. Rudy called the girl in order to discuss cooperation with her on one of the charity projects, but the conversation was not limited to this topic. A stormy romance began, but the couple got married only in the summer of 2015, when Rudy returned from the NBA and settled in Madrid for a long time. Fernandez made an offer to Lindes, observing all the traditions: presenting the ring, Rudy even got down on one knee.
The couple chose La Fortaleza, one of the most romantic castles in Mallorca, which has adorned the Punta Avancada peninsula in Pollença since the 17th century, for the solemn ceremony. The wedding was attended by many Spanish celebrities: basketball player Pau Gasol, TV presenters Raquel Revuelta and Raul Gracia, actress Amaya Salamanca, Macarena models Martin Robles and Lorena Van Heerde, comedians Dani Martinez and Cancho Rodriguez, parents Rudy Maite Farres and Rodolfo Fernandez, sister of the groom basketball player Marta Fernandez and many others.
Helen and Rudy enjoyed a well deserved honeymoon after their fabulous wedding.
The model posted her photo on her Instagram page with the following caption:
“Yes, I want... Vacation!! First bath as husband and wife! We are starting a new stage of our life with enthusiasm and a lot of love. Our wedding was just magical. Everything was exactly as I dreamed. Rudi made me the happiest woman in the world... Now it's time to enjoy each other forever. This love is for life! Lindes wrote.
Rudy and Helen's marriage does seem to be extremely strong. Fernandez at the start of his career was distinguished by a provocative game on the court, trying to piss off opponents with various dirty tricks. After starting a relationship with Lindes, Rudy gradually settled down and became an order of magnitude more restrained.
“I have achieved everything in my career thanks to my aggressive way of playing on the court. But I'm only like that when I play. I don't go out to play to somehow offend my colleagues. I'm out to win. It's true that I've crossed the line a bit in the past, although some have also been mean to me. It was mutual. At home, it's quite the opposite. I am quite calm in the family circle, my son laughs at me. I am very attached to children and sentimental. I really get hooked on Disney cartoons. Every time I watch The Lion King, I cry after the death of the lion father, ”Fernandez admitted in an interview with xlsemanal.com.
In addition, Fernandez became more serious off the court - he thought about the future of the family. In July 2014, a few months before the wedding, he, along with a group of businessmen led by Manuel Campos Guallar and Abel Matutes Jr., as well as with tennis player Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol, co-founded the Tatel restaurant, which is one of the most popular food establishments in Madrid.
Rudy doesn't forget about those around him either. Together with his sister Marta, he created a summer camp for children basketball players. The facility is located in Pollens and is designed for 220 children. Among those who work there, there are people with disabilities. Every year, Fernandez sets aside a week of vacation to play and train with his children.
The Rudy Fernandez Foundation in Mallorca helps educate children with disabilities. Marta has retired from basketball, so she devotes more time to this project. Rudy says that after the end of his career, he will also be actively involved in this process.
“Rudy is a very responsible person. I assure you, he constantly thinks about developing the business after his career. Tatel launched a chain of restaurants, developed a mobile application, he has his own line of sunglasses... He always thinks and does such things. Although many projects cannot be completed due to lack of time,” Lindes quotes mujerhoy. com.
For fans of European basketball (and partly the NBA), Rudy Fernandez is a fairly well-known personality. But in Spain, his wife Helen is much more recognizable.
“Helen is a famous woman. They don't recognize me the way she does. At fashion events they call me "Helen Lindes' husband", but I'm fine with that. He used to ask me to call himself my sister Martha's brother. I have no problem with this. As for the yellow press, we are quite polite and treat them very well, they reciprocate. Although at first it was difficult, because we only went outside together and the photographer immediately appeared. Later I got used to it,” Fernandez said in an interview with xlsemanal.
The model always celebrates her husband's victories and also supports him in difficult times. In September, the Spanish national team won the World Cup, which Rudy was initially hesitant to go to. Last summer, his grandfather passed away, and his sister, March, suffered a miscarriage. It was Helen's persuasion that made Rudy go to China and, as a captain, lead his national team to gold medals.
Helen did not go to China, but watched every broadcast of her husband's game.
“The semi-final against Australia was one of the most heart attacked matches of my life… We cried, we laughed, we jumped. Getting to the finals is like a dream come true, but then we became world champions and left our name among the best teams of all time. Unreal achievement. Personally, I have a reason to be proud, the captain of the Spanish national team is my husband.
Considering that we didn’t see each other for three weeks, and before that we had a very difficult summer - I became a mother, and Rudy didn’t see the child for almost a month, the son missed him very much ... We went all the way to the end and saw these emotions on his face after the victory... It was super exciting. Of course, this moment unites us as a couple. Do you experience these emotions every day? I feel pride and great respect for my husband. At home, he is a father and husband, and outside of it, he is a world star. Once Rudy gets home, we don't talk about basketball anymore. He is the father of children and the person with whom I wake up in bed every day, the one whom I kiss with a wish good night, ”quemedices.es quotes Lindes.
Helen and Rudy have been together for 9 years. What is the secret to a strong relationship?
“You need to find a person with whom you want to share your life and pursue the same goals. It is important that your life always goes in the same direction. We have always wanted to create a family and be together ... Deep down, we feel respect and love for each other. This is what makes relationships so strong. In terms of my personal life, I can't ask for more. I live in a fairy tale I feel very young. I am a mother of two children and have a husband whom I admire immensely. We are madly in love with each other. As for my profession, now I work more than ever with inspiration, ”said the model.
Lindes has changed under the influence of Fernandez.
“Everyone says they see me as a very confident woman. But before I felt timid, but now it's gone. Such changes happened because of marriage and starting a family, not just because of motherhood. I have achieved emotional stability. When you start a relationship with someone, you are very nervous at first. The beginning of the romance with Rudy was very exciting, like jumping into the pool: you don't know what's going to happen. But I understand that I am very lucky. Rudy knew right away that I would be his wife and the mother of his children. Now we are inseparable. I can't imagine my life without Rudy. Am I a jealous person? Much more jealous before meeting Rudy than now. He has a similar situation. We had to overcome clichés about our professions, but in the end, Rudy realized that I was even more of a home person than he was. We like to stay at home and spend time together,” says Lindes.
Rudy and Helen live in a beautiful three-storey house with a garden, swimming pool, gym and basketball court in the suburbs of Madrid. Fernandez and Lindes have created their dream home.
“Rudy and I designed everything together, from the outside of the house to the smallest details of the interior. Everything is new here. We wanted to start a new life in every way,” Lindes was quoted as saying hola.com.
On the weekends, a couple with children likes to get out into nature.
“My big dream was to start a family and raise small children. So that children can see how I play and support me at this very important stage in my life. Every day when I wake up, I understand how lucky I am, ”said Fernandez.
Helen Lindes was born to Briton Norma Griffiths and Andalusian Diego Lindes in the Spanish city of Girona. He spent part of his childhood in Torroella de Montgri. Even as a teenager, Helen packed up and left her native places to start a career in the fashion world, but she maintained a close relationship with her family.
Helen always supported Rudy on the basketball court whenever possible. Recently, she began to often take the children to her father's games. Three-year-old Alan has been watching Real Madrid matches live for a long time. It was decided to take 10-month-old Aura to a game with the participation of her father only at the beginning of January of this year. Fernandez was clearly inspired by this, and he threw as many as 7 three-pointers into the Valencia basket.
In mid-February, Real Madrid won the Spanish Cup. Fernandez in Malaga was supported by his mother, father, sister and son.
Fernandez and Lindes don't always get to spend a lot of time together.
Rudy travels all over Europe for Euroleague matches. Helen sometimes also has to travel for work. In November, the model visited Moscow and was impressed by the city.
“Russian girl,” Helen captioned the photo from the center of the Russian capital.
“I visited Moscow as a tourist... I really liked the city, although it was an express visit,” the model wrote under the photo from Red Square.
It also became clear from the stories that Lindes visited the Cafe Pushkin restaurant and took a ride on the Moscow metro.
But without a family, nowhere. In the 21st century, technology makes it possible to keep in touch via a video call by phone from anywhere in the world where the Internet catches.
"I love you so much! I want to see you right now,” wrote the former Miss Spain under a photo with a picture of a conversation with Rudy and the children.
Real Madrid extended Rudy Fernandez's contract until 2022 in mid-January. At the time of the completion of the agreement, Rudy will be 37 years old. Fernandez is no longer the Euroleague season player he was in his younger years, but he is still a very valuable player for Real Madrid.
Rudy is the epitome of a professional athlete. During his career, he won 2 Euroleagues, 2 World Championships, 3 EuroBaskets, 5 Spanish Championships, three times became the winner of the Olympic Games.
My mantra all day to everyone has been that we need to establish a set routine that gives them a sense of normalcy and security. Routine, I've learned, is key.
And for me. During the worst challenges of the custody battle, when my visitations with the boys were so infrequent and my relationship with Zaire was strained as a result, I'd invite Dada to come for a visit, too, and he always made Zaire feel more comfortable and able to enjoy the fun.
And he's hip, too, coming up with his cool little catchphrases to respond to the adults, saying, "Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout."
When I lean down to hear, he jumps up again, hugging on my neck, laughing.
He doesn't feel the need to be as passionate about basketball—say, like Zaire and Dada, who are both getting into it as players. Especially Zaire. Zion likes getting into the mix but apparently he has his own dreams. I'm not sure what they are yet, but whatever he throws himself into in the coming years, I mean—watch out world! When our arriving travelers hear snacks being offered, the three boys dash off together to the kitchen to see what Rich has cooking.
"So I can remind you in case you forget" is what she says.
With our mother's initial descent into the clutches of drugs, Tragil and I were separated from her at different times when we stayed with friends and relatives, while our two older sisters, Deanna and Keisha, in their teens, stayed with other family members. Dad remained in the picture but probably didn't know the extent of our situation. The thing was that even when she was "in her madness" - as we would say to refer to Mom's battles - a lot of people loved and believed in her, and went the extra mile to help out with her kids until she was able to get on her feet and have us all under one roof again.
When the electric bill was late, that was another story. We had a hot plate and lights that we'd hook up to an outlet in the hallway and we had to run to unplug the cords whenever the landlord was coming.
In 2006, in just his third season in the NBA, Dwyane was named the Finals' MVP, after leading the Miami Heat to the Championship title, basketball's ultimate prize. Two years later, after possible career-ending injuries, he again rose from the ashes of doubt to help win a gold medal for the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As co-captain, he helped lead the Heat to triumph in the 2012 NBA Championship. Little wonder that legendary coach Pat Riley has called Dwyane "B.I.W."—Best In the World.
This book is a revealing, personal story of one of America's top athletes, but it is also a call to action—from a man who had to fight to be in his children's lives—that will show mothers and fathers how to step up and be parents themselves.
And then I saw how his friend Kostya Shevchuk (by the way, the hero of the third episode of the podcast) was playing, and he wanted to try again. 
Therefore, it is difficult to single out a single moment. I was [always] surrounded by a basketball hall, basketball balls, so there is no such vivid memory. I met the ball in the first month of life. 
I spent quite a long time there, 9 years, so I played for Trinta. 
Can you remember the story when you got hit - because you yourself say that you get hit all the time - but it was, in your opinion, unfair? 
Therefore, when we arrived at the tournament, we had a very close-knit team, and everyone did what they could. That's probably why we won this tournament. 
CSKA is still a youth team, it still had to be left. So I decided to leave her at that age. 
How did you manage to recover so quickly? From a great desire? 
A very good specialist, I liked working with him, he gave me a lot. I also work a lot individually, I go to the gym. I do everything to become better. 
I don't go out to play to somehow offend my colleagues. I'm out to win. It's true that I've crossed the line a bit in the past, although some have also been mean to me. It was mutual. At home, it's quite the opposite. I am quite calm in the family circle, my son laughs at me. I am very attached to children and sentimental. I really get hooked on Disney cartoons. Every time I watch The Lion King, I cry after the death of the lion father, ”Fernandez admitted in an interview with xlsemanal.com. 
The facility is located in Pollens and is designed for 220 children. Among those who work there, there are people with disabilities. Every year, Fernandez sets aside a week of vacation to play and train with his children. 
com. 
It was Helen's persuasion that made Rudy go to China and, as a captain, lead his national team to gold medals. 
At home, he is a father and husband, and outside of it, he is a world star. Once Rudy gets home, we don't talk about basketball anymore. He is the father of children and the person with whom I wake up in bed every day, the one whom I kiss with a wish good night, ”quemedices.es quotes Lindes. 
Fernandez and Lindes have created their dream home. 
Recently, she began to often take the children to her father's games. Three-year-old Alan has been watching Real Madrid matches live for a long time. It was decided to take 10-month-old Aura to a game with the participation of her father only at the beginning of January of this year. Fernandez was clearly inspired by this, and he threw as many as 7 three-pointers into the Valencia basket. 
