Arik Shivek has been appointed as the new head coach for the Israeli National Team.

(Talk Israeli Basketball in our forum)

The 53-year-old will fulfil the vacant post left by Zvi Sherf, who left the national team after Israel ended Eurobasket this year without a win.

Shivek is aware of the difficult task ahead for Eurobasket 2011, especially because of “a lot of good teams coming up from below”, but he’s confident, assuring there will be a lot of hard work for his players.

Shivek began his coaching back in 1998 in Israel with Maccabi Ra’anana, before moving to Maccabi Ramat Gan and Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Starting 2003 he coached European teams, namely Amsterdam Astronauts (Holland), where he led his MyGuide team to a repeat championships in 2008 and 2009, and Antwerp Giants (Belgium).

Shivek was named Eurobasket Coach of the Year in 2008 and was the 2005 and 2009 Coach of the Year in the Dutch league.