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Erwin Valencia looks back on working with New York Knicks

The New York Knicks' longtime physical therapist said it was a childhood dream that he never thought was possible.

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Don Tagala

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OiGwLyH9xqs?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>As the New York Knicks continue a dream run in the NBA Playoffs as one of the top teams expected to go deep, the team has missed one significant member on the sidelines.That was their director for training and condition, Filipino-American Erwin Benedict Valencia, who retired just before the start of the season.Looking back at his career, he shared it was a childhood dream that he never thought was possible at a young age.In 2014, Valencia made history by becoming the first Filipino to be part of the medical staff of both a U.S. major league baseball team and an NBA team.  He was born in New Jersey and was raised in Davao in the Southern Philippines. Valencia had an eight-year stint in the MLB as rehabilitation director of the Pittsburgh Pirates.Later on, he became the Knicks&#x27; physical therapist and assistant athletics trainer.&quot;Working for the Knicks was the biggest blessing of my life,&quot; said Valencia. &quot;It was a dream come true. It was a vision I had when I was 18 years old – I was so clear of what I wanted, and the bigness of how I wanted, and it came true.&quot;With hard work and determination, Valencia moved up to head the Knicks&#x27; medical team as director of training and conditioning.He shared that working with NBA legends such as his idol, Coach Phil Jackson, was life-changing.&quot;By being there on the stage that I was, it allowed me to see what my bigger purpose was,&quot; Valencia said.That purpose was to begin a wellness journey that allowed him to bring mindfulness and meditation to the team with the use of technologies.Valencia said it was the first-ever mindfulness program in NBA history.&quot;[There was] more focus on the wellness side which is the real house that allowed me to help meditation as part of our program every day,&quot; he recalled.He added: &quot;The players can recover faster but also allow that to be an integrated part of a holistic approach, that players actually felt better not just in what they do in the court, but [also] in life in general.&quot;Recently, The Washington Post featured the Knicks and their meditation regimen that has helped players with their focus, on and off the court.The U.S. paper also recognized Valencia&#x27;s efforts in starting that regimen with some of the league&#x27;s top players.But Valencia admitted that getting to that point in his career was not easy.&quot;You have to do the work whatever it takes,&quot; he said. &quot;You have to get to the point that the dream, you could feel it in your veins, it really takes over who you are.&quot;&quot;You have to invest in the possibility, or else it will never happen,&quot; the Fil-Am added. &quot;I think that was one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from that.&quot;As Valencia takes a hiatus from sports medicine for a much-needed break, he said he will be back to focus on high performance life coaching.His mission: help support the people who also support others.&quot;[It&#x27;s] to make sure that those people are taken care of,&quot; Valencia said. &quot;We need to remember that we are humans, that sometimes we’re superhuman technology for us to become superhuman. But at the end, we’re just humans.&quot;For now, Valencia continues to cheer on his Knicks as they trek on a potentially historic playoff run.

The New York Knicks' longtime physical therapist said it was a childhood dream that he never thought was possible.

'Biggest blessing': Erwin Valencia looks back on working with New York Knicks

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'Biggest blessing': Erwin Valencia looks back on working with New York Knicks

Don Tagala

Published May 03, 2024 12:29 PM PHT

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