Meet the... Jordi Sitjà

Interview with Jordi Sitjà, the club doctor

| Tuesday, 05 February 2019

Jordi Sitjà Güetas has been involved in sports medicine for 30 years. His first experiences were in football but when in 2006 Pesic asked for a doctor for the first team of Akasvayu Girona, his name has always been linked to basketball. First the Sant Josep Girona Basketball Club and, since 2014, at Bàsquet Girona. At the same time, he coordinates the Sports Medicine area of ​​the province at the Hospital Santa Caterina de Salt.

Your name has been linked to Girona basketball for years. What is your journey as a sports doctor?

Yes, I have a solid career in the world of sports medicine but at the beginning I had a closer relationship with football, of which my last experience was at Girona FC. In basketball, I entered Akasvayu’s second year, with the arrival of Pesic, who requested the presence of a sports doctor in the team dynamic. Obviously I didn’t let the offer slip because I had been collaborating with the club for many years and I haven’t stopped since then, beyond the changes of name and category that Club Básquet Sant Josep Girona has undergone. In 2013 it disappeared and the following year, in 2014, the Marc Gasol basketball school emerged and the opportunity to participate in it.

You’ve been at the club since the beginning, what does Bàsquet Girona mean to you?

Especially the opportunity to continue enjoying my profession in basketball. In the case of Bàsquet Girona, the excitement is special because it is a project that you see being born and growing and, from the very beginning, it has done so with a serious structure. From the beginning I perceived these rigorous intentions in the methodology and I was sure that it would go well.

What did you like most about the club tour?

What I like the most is the constant contact, both with the base and the senior, where professional ways are maintained even if he competes in the third category. This has raised the level of demands, but when you know the people who run the structure and you know that there is a good coexistence, things are easier.

What is the routine of a sports doctor in the dynamics of a club?

From a cross-course perspective, the right steps are followed from a good start. First they start getting to know the person and passing the relevant medical tests. Then the medical evolution of all the players is followed because, especially the base, they are profiles that change over the course of the season and contraindications that disfavor their practice must be avoided. Their performance is also assessed to see how they evolve from a physiological point of view. Finally, a follow-up is done to prevent injuries together with the physical trainers of the sections to be able to deal with the entire journey of physical inclement weather.

What is your assessment of the club’s journey during these five years?

Very positive. At all times it is touching the ground because, both from the base and in the case of the senior, it has never been intended to impose a bar that limits the possibilities of the club. And all this has been done from a methodology that has progressed and strengthened in accordance with the temporal rhythm that belonged to it. In addition, here in Girona we are aware of the bad management of the Akasvayu era and I think that the assessment so far is positive due to its sense and coherence.

How is your day-to-day life with both the base and the senior team?

Regarding the base, I am in daily contact with the physical trainers, both Anna Jòdar and Guillem Ferrer who are in charge of the area of ​​performance and injuries, and also with Jesús Almazán (physiotherapist). In addition, we communicate all this information to the sports director of the base, Marc Pena and Jesús Escosa.

On the other hand, any kind of injury or query that there may be, the parents contact me and after an initial assessment, we direct it to the basketball club or the physiotherapist. With the seniors it is similar, I am in contact with them both in the weekly training sessions and in the home matches I attend.

Has basketball changed in recent years?

Each coach has a different way of understanding basketball and each of them has their own way of working with both the players and the coaching staff. My experience has been very good, as I have had to adapt to several very good coaches that we have had here in Girona, like now also with Quim.

On a personal level, which place in the province of Girona do you like the most?

I recommend the Les Guilleries area, it’s fantastic if you like contact with nature and the mountains. 

In your free time what do you like to do?

I don’t have much free time. My job and my hobby is sport, so when I’m not working with sport I’m watching it. If I don’t have work with my team, I’ll be looking at any sports organization in Santa Coloma de Farners, since it’s my town and I like to follow them. On the other hand, I play tennis and go for walks.

Finally, we are asking everyone to recommend a song, what would you say?

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.