Beijing 2008 - Back home

I had mixed emotions going home. No doubt it had been a long trip. We had been on the road for a month. I also realized that this was the end of this journey. This team had competed together for the last time. We worked so hard to become a team. We set goals together and we sacrificed and worked hard to reach those goals. I am proud to say that we reached every goal we set as a team except for one. We won an Olympic Silver medal. It was very fulfilling and in many ways I feel like a proud parent.

It was fun to sit back and watch the guys relax and enjoy their accomplishments. Enjoy they did. I don’t think most of them slept much over the past few days. They were recognized on the plane ride home. When I went back to get a drink on the flight home from Beijing the guys had their water polo caps on the flight attendants and there they were (some with their shirts off) taking pictures with their medals on. When we finally made it home to LAX – we had a nice crowd there with a huge banner welcoming the USA Water Polo - Silver Medalists home. I know that made the guys feel good. In so many ways they had come so far. I am certain that one of the big factors that helped us grow as a team was all the support the guys received from the local community. They felt cared for and they had not felt this way for a long time.

When the girls and I finally arrived at our home it was wonderful. Our home owners association had taken the time to decorate our gate and our front yard with red, white and blue banners and flags. The house looked great and we all felt the love and support from our neighbors. Our refrigerator had been filled, dinner was ready to be served and fresh home made cookies on the table. It was a very nice welcome home.

I have been stopped and recognized in the airport, the gas station and our local store. I believe that water polo in riding a big wave right now and we need to take advantage of the momentum that the Olympics created and really try to take the sport to the next level in this country. We can be a contender on a regular basis. We have the athletes. We need to keep them excited and involved with the national team.

As I reflect back on the Games. The one thing that keeps coming back to me is how blessed I am to have been a part of this team. I loved being up there in the stands and watching them receive their medals. That brought tears to my eyes. In that moment my mind raced back to 1984. I was wearing my silver medal and I remembered my Dad giving me this big bear hug and telling me how proud he was of me. I could almost hear my Dad saying those words to me in that moment. Later that evening at our team celebration, I had the chance to give each of the guys a big hug and tell them how proud I was of them and how happy I was that they were a part of this team.

To me this was a testimonial to how much can be accomplished when a group of guys (or people) become a team and work together for a coming goal. We may not have been the most talented team at the Olympics but for that two week period of August 10 – 24th, 2008 we were one of the two best “teams” in the world. That is an awesome feeling. We had big dreams and they came true. We got back to the podium!

See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Back to the podium

I am sure that most of you have heard the result or seen the gold medal game by now. Unfortunately, the dream was not fully completed. We lost 14 – 10 to a powerful Hungarian team. We had gone through the Olympic tournament allowing an average of 6 goals per game up until this game. In the first quarter of the gold medal game we gave up 6 goals. We were playing well on offense and we stayed with them. They seemed to jump out by 1 or 2 goals and then we would fight back and tie the score. We never really got into any kind of rhythm on our defense. At the end of the first half the score was 9 – 8 Hungary and I felt like we had played an entire game. We were scrambling to keep up. Our defense continued to struggle against the hot shooting Hungarian team and we eventually just could not keep up on offense. We still had some chances going down the stretch but we ran out of gas on offense and our 6 on 5 failed in the third and fourth quarter. It was heartbreaking to say the least. I have been I the same position so I know exactly how it feels.

I told the guys after the game that I was very proud of them. They had exceeded everyone’s expectations and gained many new fans back home. They have brought honor and respect back to the Men’s program. I told them that there were no words that I could say right in that moment that would take the sting away from losing. But I reminded them that as time went on they would all come to realize what a huge accomplishment this was. I thanked them all for being a part of this incredible journey and allowing me to be their coach. I told them that they allowed me to live out my dream of coaching the Olympic team and although all of our dreams fell just a little short - in the long run we have all grown so much and learned a great deal from this experience together. No one can take this from us. We are Olympic medalists.

We had a nice party at the USA House in Beijing. We decided to do that as a team rather than attend the Closing Ceremonies. It was great to see all the guys relax and be able to spend some good quality time with their friends and families. I was able to go around and talk to most of the parents that were here in Beijing. I am sorry if I missed you last night. I want to tell you again – thank you for sharing your son with me. Each of these guys was a critical part of this team’s success and each of them has so much to be proud of. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for being here and supporting your son and our team!

We have so many more fans. This morning alone I received 165 emails from people back home telling me what a thrill it was to watch our team and to see the team do so well. That is very cool. These guys have created a legacy that will help our program for years to come. I have also had a great deal of positive feedback from the USOC. I believe that they will be on board to do whatever they can do to help us be successful over the next quadrennial.

Wow – now what? Back to the real world… We jump on a plane tomorrow and head back home. I am very happy that my family is going to be on the same flight home with us. It was great having them here in Beijing. By the way, Leanna and Sheridan kicked Ryan’s butt in the pin trading. They collected close to 300 pins and are going home with some great memories.

In fact, all of us here are going home with some great memories. These were historical games and I am thrilled to have been a part of them. That is all for now – time to pack and get ready for the trip home. I will still try to write a blog over the next month or two for anyone that is interested in following the team. Thank you for all of you that have been regular readers. I am happy to have been able to share our story with you. We made it back to the podium after 20 years! Amazing happened!

See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Gold Medal Sunday

I woke up feeling confident and really good. This is our day to shine. This is our time. The Hungarians have had their time and it is over. Change is the order of the world and today we are the change agents. The guys are just waking up. We will have a little swim this morning and then meet around 1:15 pm. Game time is 3:40 – it sounds like a good time to win the gold medal to me. History is in the making.

I would expect this to be a hard fought game today. The Hungarians have been here before and they are not going to go down without a battle. We will once again need to control the tempo of the game. We need to move and not get in a vertical game with them. They appear to be in better shape then the Serbians and they have also had an extra two days off (they won their bracket like we did). This is a game I have been looking forward to since we lost the semi-final in 1992. The opportunity to play in the gold medal game is rare. We need to grab that opportunity and make the best of it.

I forgot to tell you all about a funny (it could have been bad) story that happened during the semi-final game. With about two and half minutes to go in the game – we scored to go ahead 9 – 5. In my celebration, I threw up my arms and I felt my wedding ring slip off of my finger. It was almost like slow motion as I saw it floating through the air. It landed on the deck and bounced around two to three times before it came to rest in between slats on the pool gutter. I could see it rocking back and forth a little as I reached down and was able to grab it before it rolled into the gutter. Whew - that was close. These celebrations after we score are going to get me. In reality, I am enjoying them and hope to have many more today.

One other interesting note from our semi-final game; There is a rumor floating around the Village that # 10 (Sapic) from Serbia got involved in some kind of altercation with a team mate after our game and ended up with a broken leg. Yikes…

I took a walk this morning and it is amazing how the Village has changed so much in our time here. When we first arrived it was almost empty and we watched as it came to life and filled to capacity. Today it is once again quiet. Many people are walking around in street clothes – some just returning from their evening out on the town. There are busses loading up luggage as many people are checking out today. We can not get caught up in this. We can not check out.

We need to stay focused. One more day – one more game - one more moment of Olympic glory. It is in our hands. We will once again get our chances on the 6 on 5 today. I like the officials that we have. We have a Canadian and a Monte Negran. I am confident that we will get a fair game. It is our day to shine.

See you on the podium!
Coach

Beijing 2008 - Going for Gold

I woke up yesterday with a great feeling. The first thing I thought is “this is our day” it is our time. The Serbs have dominated us for some many years. It has been obvious to me that with each scrimmage and with each game we have closed the gap between us and now finally the guys believe that we CAN and we WILL beat them. As I headed out the door for breakfast, I had to smile. It was a beautiful day in Beijing – blue skies, sunshine and a nice breeze. It reminded me of a nice sunny day back home in California. I just had that feeling that it would be a great day to beat the Serbs and move into the gold medal game.

We all know it takes more than a feeling to win a game like this but I was feeling very confident. We went over to the pool at the Village for a swim and as the guys began to arrive I could just see it in their eyes too. They were hungry – they had waited a long time for this opportunity. Some of the guys swam a few laps and were done and some swam for an hour. I spent some time in the water too. I had a good swim and then hit the exercise bike for 30 minutes. Ryan Brown came with me and we spent the time talking through different scenarios that might arise in the game. We talked about plays that might work if we were one goal down…

I then when back to my room and finished watching “Miracle”. I actually just wanted to go back and review some of my favorite parts of the movie. I watched the highlights of the team coming back and tying Sweden and the team beating Russia (actually I watched that part a few times) and then I watched the ending - it was more than a hockey game as Herb Brooks said. It was a life changing experience for all of those involved. I can’t help but believe that these guys have all experienced that here at these Olympic Games. They have learned the power of team work at the highest level and they have learned about believing.

In our pre-game meeting I talked to them about how great moments are born out of great opportunity (OK I took that one from Miracle) and that they had earned the right to have this opportunity. I reminded them of how we had outplayed these guys the last two times we had played them and that all we had to do was to stick together and do the simple things well. Play the way we have been playing with the focus on defense. I told them that we would wear them down and frustrate them. I also told them that we had already exceeded everyone’s expectations of how we were going to do – so there was no pressure on us – just go out and enjoy your moment. I closed by telling them that this was our night. No one was going to take it from us.

When we got to the pool and started our warm up what I saw encouraged me even more. For the first time since I have been coaching I saw uncertainty in the eyes of the Serbian coach. I knew we had them.

The game started tight. They were trying to do what I thought they would do - they wanted to slow the pace of the game. I knew that we could not fall into that trap and reminded the guys that we needed to push the tempo. Layne Beaubien scored and early goal to break the ice and we were on our way. That first goal was huge since we had only scored twice on them in our previous game. Then Tony scored and we were on our way. Although the score was close at the half I knew that we would wear them down. As the game went on our defense grew more and more confident and Merrill was a wall in the cage. We were up 7 – 5 heading into the fourth quarter and they were dragging. Serbia would not score again and we pulled away with 3 more goals to win 10 – 5. It was a huge team win. These guys are playing well. It is on to the gold medal game vs. Hungary on Sunday.

It is hard for me even to fathom just how far this team has come in the past 8 months. When we were training with Serbia in February of this year they were blowing us out of the water in every scrimmage. We lost the first day 17 – 3. We did close the gap a little while we were there but on one of the last practices while we were there – the Serbs all showed up with alcohol on their breath. I think they came directly from “happy hour” and the bad thing was that they still beat us pretty easily. Wow – it has been an incredible journey.

I have been in this place twice in my life – playing for a gold medal. Both times we lost. I don’t want that to happen again and I will do everything in my power to help these guys win that gold. Honestly, the way they are playing they might not need any help. I am so proud of them.

GO USA!

See you on the podium!
Coach

Beijing 2008 - Round 2

We had two good days of training (pretty light) - just going over and refining little things that we can do better. We switched over to more of an evening schedule today (we were in the water from 6 – 8 pm) because I wanted to get the guys moving and working at close to the same time that we will be playing tomorrow. After training tonight we had dinner together at BNU and then went over video with Serbian tendencies. They have there vulnerabilities. We certainly can not get into a static vertical game with them. We need to set the tempo and we need to make them move and play defense.

After the video session, I shared a personal story with the guys from my Olympic experiences. In 1988, at the Seoul Olympics, Russia lost a game in the last game of the preliminary round so that they would match up with us rather than Yugoslavia in the semi-finals. We were pissed off. They wanted us and they got us. I think it was one of the best games that a USA team that I played on ever played. We beat them handedly and moved onto the finals. Kind of an interesting parallel wouldn’t you say…

This has truly been a team effort and I want to let everyone know how much I appreciate my staff. They have all worked hard to make this possible. Robert and Ryan have been great assistants – both adding critical pieces to what we needed and complimenting me well. Rick has worked hard to insure that we were all taken care of as much as possible. Most of all I want to say thank you to all the guys who were a part of our program this year. We started out with 24 players and only 13 made the final team. As I told the guys when they were let go, each of them has helped this team to become more successful. They all worked hard and challenged one another to be better and we are where we are today (final four) largely because all of these guys that did not make the team made the final 13 work that much harder.

Before we made our first cuts I had all the guys sign one of our USA team banners and at dinner that night (of the first cuts) I told the guys that we let go that they were part of this team and that I would bring that signed banner with me to Beijing and hang it on our room wall to remind everyone that they are here with us. So attached is a picture of that signed banner – it has hung on our wall here in the Village since day 1. You guys are here with us. Thank you for all that you have done for this team. Your time will come and you will all be an important part of where the USA Men’s program goes in the future.


Here is our schedule for tomorrow.
9:30 am - wake up
10:00 am - breakfast
11:00 am - light swim at the Village pool
12 – 2:30 pm down time (nap)
3:00 pm - lunch
5:15 pm – team meeting
6:00 pm - Bus
7:40 pm – Beat Serbia

OK – I am getting this sent off and then it is time for one more showing of “Miracle”. Tomorrow it is our time to make some magic happen for ourselves. We can beat these guys – it is our time.

See you at the pool!

Go USA!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Believing

Believing is a strange thing. Over this past year I have spoken to the team many times about how important it is to believe. They have stared at me and nodded their heads but in reality it was only talk. This morning while we were lifting weights at BNU, I had two different guys come to me and say “Coach, I believe that we can do this. We can win this thing.” I can’t tell you how good that made me feel. This has been a transformation. These guys are one of the best teams in the world right now and we can play with and beat anyone on a given day. This did not happen over night but it has been a process. One by one I have seen and felt the guys jump on board and believe. Now each and every guy believes with his head and with his heart that we can really do this.

Today Serbia beat up on Spain – this means that we will get another shot at Serbia. We have not beaten this team in a long time (maybe 6 or 7 years) but I believe that our time has come. We will have to play a smart game. Defense once again will be a key and we have to find a way to score on these guys. The past two times we have played them they have held us to 3 and 2 goals. I believe we will need to score 7 goals to win the game. There is no doubt that we can do this. I believe it and now most importantly the guys believe it.

We will train tomorrow evening. In doing so we will begin to get our bodies ready for the evening game on Friday. The two extra rest days should be a real edge for us. I have watched many games over this past week and many of the teams have slowed down a little. Serbia looked good today but I am thinking that we will be at our best for the game on Friday. We are rested and healthy and all systems are a go.

I will close with a quote that I received on an email – it reads “Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice to believe with you.” I hope that you are all on board with us. The power of believing is awesome.

GO USA! See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Resting up

Today we had a very relaxed day. It was well deserved and much needed and I truly believe that this will work to our advantage as this tournament wears on. We had training at noon which consisted of swimming about 2,000 meters. The pace was slow and relaxed and we allowed the guys to swim as fast or as slow as they wanted to. I wanted the training to be relaxed and fun with no real thinking required today. I feel like we all needed a mental as well as a physical break.

I went over to watch beach volleyball this morning with a few of the guys. We watched the women’s semi final match. Misty May and Kerri Walsh completely destroyed the Brazilian team that they played. I was shocked by how much better they were then their competitors. I was impressed by the best team on the sand. My daughter Leanna (who plays club volleyball) was also very impressed. I could tell that she really enjoyed having the opportunity to see Misty and Kerri play. It was truly an inspiration for her. That is one of the best thing about the Olympic Games – how it inspired young kids to dream about being the best and the possibilities that lie ahead in their lives. My daughter is very artistic and loves painting and poetry. I have had the chance to read some of her recent poems and she writes about being the fastest and jumping the highest. It is a nice feeling as a parent to see that your child has been inspired.

The staff also went over to the women’s water polo semi final and watched our USA team defeat Australia in a tight match. On Thursday they will have a chance to play for the gold. It would be great for USA Water Polo if both the men’s and the women’s teams were to make the gold medal game. Our women have been one of the best team’s in the world for years. This is new territory for the men. We have not been on the podium for 20 years and now we are so close to getting back there that I can taste it. We can win this thing – we really can. It will not be easy but we are in a good spot. We have a few days to rest our bodies and re focus our minds and then we will be ready to give it our best shot on Friday.

Tomorrow we will have one training session in the middle of the day. We will do a light weight workout followed by a two hours in the pool. We have created quite a stir in the water polo world by finishing first in our bracket. I understand that we have a large group of reporters and TV crews coming to practice tomorrow. That should be fun for the guys. I am very proud of this team and I can see that they are not done. They are hungry for more. They have tasted some success and want to take advantage of the opportunity in front of us. It will come down to a weekend tournament. We will play Friday night (I believe that our game is scheduled for 7:40 pm here in Beijing – or 4:30 am back home) and then we will play on Sunday afternoon for the gold! I am feeling pretty good about being there….

GO USA! See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Wow!

We did it! We are back in the final four in the Olympic Games for the first time since 1992. The guys did great today. We beat Germany in a thriller 8 – 7. It was a great team effort. I am so proud of them. We celebrated and had a nice team dinner this evening. When I spoke to the team tonight I told them to reflect back and think for a minute about how far we have come. Back in December when we had our first training camp together not too many people believed that we had any chance at all. In fact, most had written us off. Even many of my friends would ask me if I was sure that I wanted to do this.

I am proud of the guys. They believed and they learned to trust each other and believe in each other. Along the way we have become a family - a group of individuals that has become a true “team” with a single purpose. These guys have come here and proven to the world on the biggest stage in all of sports that they are one of the best teams in the world. They deserve a lot of credit and each one of them as been an important part of our success.

So here is the situation. The win today gives us a bye in the semi –finals. On Friday we will play the winner of the Spain vs. Serbia game. We have a day off tomorrow (we are going to go for a light swim and try to rest the bodies and minds). Then on Weds. we will resume our training and begin to prepare for our game on Friday. We will also go as a team and watch the Spain/Serbia game so that all the guys will have the opportunity to do some scouting.

The support that we have here is awesome. So many friends and family have travelled to Beijing and are here yelling and screaming as loud as they can. It is fun to see all of the American flags waving in the crowd and hear that familiar USA USA USA chant. I also want to say thank you to so many people back home that have been emailing and texting their good wishes. The support that we are feeling is great. The guys feel it and they know that you are all out there cheering for us. Thank you and get ready for a fun weekend.

Personally, I am feeling emotionally drained tonight. The extra day off is a blessing. We can all use the rest and it is going to prove to be a huge advantage for us to come into the semifinals fresh. I am so happy for these guys. They have given me a great ride. I have enjoyed being a part of this group and seeing these guys grow as a team in front of my eyes.

GO USA! See you at the pool!

Coach
P.S. I am pretty sure I injured my left arm in the game today doing a fist pump. OK I am getting pretty excited on the bench. My voice and my arm should be fully recovered by Friday. Look out world here we come…

Beijing 2008 - Olympic Goals and Dreams

I woke up this morning with a good feeling. I am confident that our team will play well and beat Germany later today to move into the quarterfinal round. While it is great to feel confident we still have to play the game.

Since I have been working with the national team our goal has been to get back to the podium and win the first medal for the USA in water polo since 1988. Twenty years is too long! It is time. It is our time. These guys have worked hard and they have come together so much. The game two days ago with Croatia is proof of just how far we have come. However, here at the Olympic Games (just like in life) you can’t rely on what you have done in the past and you must be ready to prove yourself everyday. The reality of today’s game is that if we fail to win or tie we will not advance in the top 6 and our medal hopes and dreams will be shattered. That will not happen. We have come too far and we have worked hard for this day – this opportunity.

If there is one thing that we have learned over this past year is how to win this type of game. We have spent time training with the best teams in the world and in the process of doing so we have become one of the best. We have learned to play defense together and we have learned to rely on our defense. I received a great compliment from Jonni Lonzi, (he is the head of the TWPC) who kind of controls our sport, he told me (and he has been around the sport for a long time) that “the game against Croatia was the best he has ever seen an American team play”. So now we have to go out and do it again.

The Germans have given us trouble that last two times that we have played them. That is history and as I have told the guys we are a different team now and this is a different time. This is our time and if we come out and play well – with good balance on offense and defense then we will beat them. We are the better team but it is for certain that no one is going to hand us the game. We will have to earn it. I do expect us to get a fair game from the officials. That is all we can ask for - let the athletes decide the game in the pool.

This is our time – our day to move that much closer to realizing our dream. Put all your good thoughts out there today for us. We are ready. This is what we have been working for and no one is going to stand in our way.

GO USA! See you at the pool!

Coach
P.S. Yesterday I went to the Water Cube to watch Michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal of the Games and make history. Today it is our turn to get one step closer to making some history ourselves.

Beijing 2008 - Croatia

Today was huge. We beat a team that was as good as any one in the tournament. Just four days ago Croatia dominated Serbia - beating them 11 – 8. At one point in that game Croatia was ahead 10 – 4. Today we out played them in almost all aspects of the game. We had them out of balance and frustrated. There offense stalled and they could not do much at all in their front court offense. We beat them 7 – 5 and had a few good opportunities at the end to beat them by even more. They scored 4 of their goals on 6 on 5 and had one goal out of center. Our defense is really playing well. In the last two games (against Serbia and Croatia) we have given up a total of 9 goals. This is against two of the strongest teams in the world. Merrill has been playing great in the goal and our defense is moving well around him. Today all systems came together. Now the trick is to keep it rolling and to build on this game.

We will play Germany on Monday. A win guarantees us top six and a birth in the quarterfinals. After we beat Germany we will have 8 points in pool play. Croatia and Serbia will more than likely have 8 points also. In the case of a three way tie, the tie is settled by goal differential. We had to beat Croatia by 3 goals to have a chance to advance first in our bracket (we knew this going into our game today and we talked to the team about it before the game and then again in our time out with a few minutes to go in the game). Unfortunately, we fell one goal short so while it was a huge victory – we need to bet Germany and then we may still advance third in our bracket. Hey maybe we just need another game to mature. We are getting better as the tournament goes on so look out.

My family (Lori and the girls) were able to visit the Olympic Village today after the game. It was so much fun watching the girls experience the Olympic Village and meet a bunch of athletes. Sheridan and Leanna are on a pin trading mission. They have a little friendly competition going on with Ryan Brown. I am sorry but watching the girls in action – poor Ryan does not have a chance. Leanna is the spotter – she points out the athletes with all the pins and then Sheridan moves in for the kill. How can they turn a cute little 7 year old with pony tails down. She gets most of the people to part with their most prized pins. Many of the athletes that she trades with just end up giving her a pin. They are having a blast and the parents and team members have all made them feel like a part of the family.

Leanna and Sheridan have been very popular all around town. The Chinese people don’t get a chance to see to many blonde haired blue eyed children so the kids have been superstars here. They have had their picture taken with hundreds of Chinese men and women. Today we were having ice cream in a small gelato shop and the owner came out with his wife and just started gawking at the kids. They brought out their camera and finally worked up the nerve to come over and ask Lori if they could take a few pictures with the kids. Pretty soon all the workers and people in the store were moving in for a picture with the girls. They have enjoyed being the superstars over here.

On a side note, I finally picked up my laundry that has been sitting at the laundry service in the village for the past three days. Needless to say it was not very pretty. The system is a little weak. They give you two mess laundry bags when you check into the village – one is for whites and one is for colors. When you want to have your laundry done you take your bag of dirty clothes in and they give you a receipt. In 12 hours you can pick up your “clean” clothes. The clothes have been washed and dried in the mess bag. So when you pick it up the clothes are in a big ball. You can specifically tell them if you want your clothes extra wrinkled or not. Just kidding but the clothes I just picked up were still slightly damp and clumped into a big giant wad. It was not pretty. I guess those clothes are done for the trip…

I am feeling a bit spent this evening. It has been a fantastic day – full of success. I told the guys to enjoy the moment – enjoy the day and tomorrow we get back to work. The pinnacle of our journey still lies ahead and we need to go forward and build on this game. I like what I am seeing in the pool and out of the pool. This is a team - a team that has grown to appreciate and respect each other and now they are willing to lay it all on the line for each other. What I like the most is that we can still get better. GO USA!

See you at the pool!

Coach
P.S. I have heard that our game against Croatia may get some good air time on Saturday at about 1:00 pm. That is on the west coast and on the east coast. Enjoy!

Beijing 2008 - Serbia

This morning we played the Serbians. Our game plan was to beat them by playing four quarters of defense and not allowing Serbia to make any runs. The other important goal for today was to win the battle of 6 on 5 and 5 on 6. We did a great job of playing defense for four quarters and actually limited Serbia to 4 goals for the entire game. It was 2 – 1 Serbia at the half and the tempo of the game was in our favor. It was our game to win. Unfortunately, our offense never got on track. Peter Varrellas scored 2 goals and that was all we would get for the day. Both of his goals were on our 6 on 5. We were 2 for 8 on our 6 on 5 and we had one missed penalty shot. Serbia was 3 for 5 on their extra man. We definitely had our chances. We took 25 shots at the cage – granted some missed the cage and the Serb goalie played very well. I have to give them credit - they did a great job on defense and really kept us on our backs and off balance when we were on offense. The final score was Serbia 4, USA 2. Bummer!

We had a short meeting after the game we talked about what we need to do now. In the past, this team has had a difficult time recovering from a loss – especially in big tournaments. I do believe that we will be OK. I made it very clear to the team months ago that whoever wins the Olympic gold medal will probably lose a game in the tournament. At this point, we have to get ourselves mentally ready to beat Croatia. We have to be confident in our shooting. We need to come with the whole package – meaning we have to play well offensively and defensively. I am confident that we will get better and better as the tournament goes on. We just need to get our heads in the right place after this loss today.

I believe that we have come a long way as a team in the past year. We have learned to deal with adversity in a better way. This team is at a point where we have a great deal of trust and respect for one another. In my opinion, this allows us to collectively bounce back better from a defeat. No one individual carries the blame so the burden is shared. We lean on each other more and as a result we will be stronger. Saturday is a new day and I know our guys feel pretty good about the way we match up with the Croatians. Croatia is playing as well as anyone in the tournament so our game on Saturday will be another great challenge for us.

These challenges or tests of character and resiliency in the Olympic Games are good lessons for us all to carry forward with us in life. I know that my successes and failures in the games have taught me a great deal and I have been able to apply these lessons to so many areas of my life. One thing that I have learned that I am very certain of is this - if we can learn to work together we can overcome even the most talented team. It is amazing what can happen when no one cares who gets the credit on a team. I think we are close to having this. The guys have worked hard to come together and now in the next ten days we will put all that work to a test and see how far we can go. Our next two opponents are Croatia and Germany. After that the preliminary round is over and the top three teams will advance to the quarter finals next week. After watching all the games that have been played here so far, I am certain that we CAN win a medal in these Olympics. I fully believe that the gold medal is within our reach.

The opportunity that we have is incredible. In the next ten days we can change the course of USA Water Polo. We can earn back respect for our Men’s team and in doing so change the future for many young American boys who play the sport. I learned the other day that only 217 athletes have ever represented the USA as part of the Men’s Olympic Water Polo team. Wow – that is an amazing statistic. This is truly an incredible bunch of guys and I feel very proud to be a part of it.

If we play the kind of defense we played today and generate just a little bit more offense we can and will beat anyone here. So cheer loud no matter where you are. Say some prayers and keep all your good energy coming our way.

Thanks for all of your support! See you at the pool!
Coach

Beijing 2008 - The Next Big Game

I hope that you all were able to see some of the Italy game on TV. I heard that they showed the 4th quarter. If you saw it – Is your heart still racing like mine? I think the guys are trying to age me fast. After taking a three goal lead with 3 minutes to go in the game – I thought we had it made no problem. I think that some of the guys might of thought the same thing and eased up a bit. We stopped attacking and we gave the Italians momentum. On reflection, I really think that most of our guys are not used to being ahead by 2 – 3 goals in a big game. We talked about it today and I told them that we need to get used to being ahead and play in control with a “killer instinct”. We really should have put the Italians away when we had the chance. What is the old saying “live and learn” and the most important thing is that we won the game and came away with another two points. Right now we are one of three teams (Croatia, Spain and USA) that have a four points and are 2 – 0. Tomorrow will be a big test to see how far we have come. At 10:50 am we will play Serbia.

Serbia came into the Olympic Games as one of the favorites and I believe that still may be talent wise the best team. However, they have lost two key players in the last 90 days to significant injuries and yesterday they looked a little out of sorts. They lost to Croatia 11 – 8 but at one time they were down 9 – 4. A few of the keys for us tomorrow are as follows; our defense must play well for four quarters – specifically we must do a good job of shot blocking on the perimeter, we must slow down Sapic (he is their big scorer) – our goal is to hold him to two goals, we must continue to do a good job on 6 on 5 and 5 on 6, and we must wear them down by making them go up and down without scoring on three to four series in a row. If we can do these things we will win. We have not beaten Serbia for years in international competition so I say - why not now? We can do it. I just sense that the Serbians are ripe for an upset. In fact, in my mind it would not be an upset. I feel like we are ready to take down some of these water polo giants.

We have an early wake up call at 6:00 am so I am going to get some rest. My voice is coming back slowly – just in time to yell some more. Keep all of those positive thoughts and prayers coming our way. I can feel the vibe! GO USA. It is going to be an awesome day tomorrow - one that I have been anticipating for a long time.

See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing 2008 - Quick update

We beat Italy today in an exciting game. The final score was 11-10. We were up by three with and Italy battled back and had a 6 on 5 in the last seconds of the game. Whew. Too close. Anyway it was a huge win for us and we had 8 different players score. Lots of good energy happening.
I have heard that there is a good chance that the game will air on NBC today between noon and 1 pm. Keep an eye out and watch it if you can - it is pretty exciting. I have also been told that there may be a piece on water polo on KNBC at night between 7 - 7:30 pm. I will fill you in on more of the details later. I have lost my voice from yelling during the game and I am heading to bed to get some rest. Serbia is next on Thursday. Keep the cheering going from home.

See you at the pool!
Coach

Beijing 2008 - Being Prepared

I was a Boy Scout and I learned about “being prepared” as a teenager. There is certainly no better lesson than to be prepared as a coach. So that is what we have been doing over the past day and a half. We have been preparing for the Italy game. This is certainly the biggest game of our “Olympic life” right now. Of course, each and every game will become that “biggest game” from this point forward.

Last night we watched our game against China to review the areas of the game that we played well (defense, and 6 on 5, 5 on 6) and the areas that we need to improve on (getting more players involved in the offense, attacking the zone more effectively and our center game). We made notes and began preparing for Italy. We have some good footage of our game with Italy at the World League Super Finals (which we lost in a shootout) and yesterday’s game between Italy and Croatia. We also have some good footage of our scrimmages with them when we were there this past March. We watched a little last night and saved the rest for today.

In our training this morning we spent a good amount of time on beating a zone defense. We know the Italians will be running some type of zone against us and we want to be ready. At lunch, I spent a little time with our big center, Ryan Bailey who struggled last night in the game. He shared with me that he was very emotional before the game and even became teary eyed. He said that he was thinking about his dad who past away suddenly this last year. He was missing him and wishing that he was here. I reminded Ryan that his dad would be very proud of him. As I walked away I could only think about how much I missed my dad. I know how proud he would be of this team team.

After training today the staff went back to watching video and putting together a scout film (a sequence of clips from our games with Italy) to show the guys. We spent 5 hours today on film and then met with the team to go over the clips.

I took a few hours off after our team meeting to visit with my family and have a little down time. It was nice to get away from the village for a couple of hours and just relax. It was a healthy break and helped remind me to keep all of this in perspective. There is nothing like a 7 year old to bring you back to earth. Sheridan reminded me to smile and have fun at the game.

All we can do tomorrow is to go out there and do the best that we can do. I have seen enough video to know that we are the better team and if we play well tomorrow we will win. It will certainly be another battle and we have to be ready.

Here is our schedule for the morning.
6:30 am - wake up
7 – 7:45 am – team swim a the village pool
8:00 am - breakfast
9:45 am - team meeting to share the game plan
10:30 am – bus to venue
12:10 pm – beat Italy

Sounds like a good day to me. Time for some shut eye. We are prepared!
See you at the pool!
Coach

Beijing 2008 - We have liftoff

At training this morning I wore a new shirt that I had ordered that says “I didn't come here to lose.” I wanted to send a subtle message to the guys. We had a light training and then had some down time before we had our pre-game meeting at 2:15 pm. We went over the game plan and talked about playing with a calm confidence. We also talked about the fact that each game we play here will be a dog fight and we could not take these guys lightly. I finished the meeting by reading them a card that we had been sent from Pat McCormick (an Olympic Champion in Diving). She told the guys that she was proud of them all and that they were ready mentally and physically – now it was the time to work their magic. She went on to say that you can live a lifetime in a moment and this is your moment.” I was ready. I felt good all day until about 30 minutes before game time and then I got that sinking feeling that I often get as a coach. Had we done everything we could have done to be ready? Maybe I still have a little too much of a players mind set. I always knew as a player that I could totally impact the outcome of a game. There are certain things during a game that you can control and there are others things that you can’t control. Coaching I feel the pressure build up and then the game begins and you really have no outlet for that pressure. Anyway, I had the Pre-Olympic butterflies and I had to go and sit in the locker room by myself and just relax and pray.

The game began well for us as we jumped on the Chinese 3 – 0. At the end of the first we were in control 3 – 1. The second quarter we kind of lost our composure and things got a little sloppy. The Chinese came back and tied the game 3 – 3 before we scored one near the end of the second period to take a 4 – 3 lead into the half. At the end of three quarters it was 6 – 4 and we went onto to win 8 – 4. It certainly was not our best effort. We struggled on offense and had many opportunities to put the game out of reach but just could not shake them. Our defense was pretty solid even though we gave up a couple of cheap goals, we held them to four goals and that is definitely a positive.

We allowed the team to spend 30 minutes with their friends and family before we jumped on the bus and headed back to the village. It was fun for me since my youngest Sheridan was celebrating her 7th birthday. She had made a deal with Merrill for him to win the game for her as a birthday present. Maybe we will have to celebrate a few more of her birthdays in the next few weeks. I know I enjoyed spending a little time with my family and I am sure that the guys did too.

Other results of interest from today in our bracket – Croatia beat Italy 10 – 6 and Serbia beat Germany 11 – 7. On Tuesday we will play Italy in a huge game. This will be a big test for us. In our World League Super Final we were ahead of Italy most of the game and then let them back into it with a few minutes to go in the game. The game ended in a tie and we lost to them in a penalty shootout. Italy has a couple of good centers and some good outside shooting. They are definitely beatable and if we play well on defense we will handle them.

It is a nice feeling to have one win under our belts. No time to relax though – the tough ones are coming.

See you at the pool!
Coach

Countdown Beijing - Opening Ceremonies

It has been 16 years since I last marched into a stadium for Opening Ceremonies at the Olympic Games. After meeting with President Bush and then waiting for a few hours the team was anxious to get into the stadium. I had showed them my video from the 1984 Olympic Games when our team strategically placed ourselves close to Michael Jordan as we marched in. We had some good face time back then and the strategy was the same for these games. Stick together but stay close to the basketball guys – especially Kobe. OK –what can I say water polo needs all the exposure it can get.

The USA was number 140 out of the 204 countries that marched last night. As the parade of athletes began we slowly made our way through a long line towards the Bird’s Nest. On both sides were groves of fans that either could not get into the stadium or were volunteers who were there to help keep control of the fans. Being close to Kobe was interesting. The Chinese people went crazy whenever they saw him. Some rushed the volunteers and stormed close to Kobe screaming “I love you, I love you” (this was a male fan). At that moment I was right next to Kobe so I boxed out the crazed fan and earned some respect as a body guard from Kobe. He seemed to appreciate my help and opened up a little telling me how crazy this was. I told him that I thought his earring was attracting all the attention (he was wearing a huge diamond stud earring) and he laughed and began to take it out and said here you go then you keep it. That was a fun moment but what was interesting and kind of strange was that there were many more Kobe Kobe Kobe chants than there were USA USA chants. I tried to start a Tony Tony chant but it did not get too far.

As we finally approached the tunnel my heart began to race. The memories from my previous Olympic Games and especially Opening Ceremonies began to race through my mind. As we came out of the tunnel, one of the first things that I saw was a family waving an American flag. The cheers from the crowd did not rival the powerful USA USA chant that went on for 15 – 20 minutes when we came into the coliseum in Los Angeles for the 84 Games. However, I would say that the Chinese people gave us a very warm welcome. I should say hot (I’ll explain in a minute). It was great to see so many American flags throughout the stadium as we marched around. Looking around at our guys I know that they were really enjoying the moment – something that we will all remember for the rest of our lives.

We came to the middle of the stadium and lined up as the remaining 60 countries marched in. It took a few minutes to realize just how hot it was on the stadium floor. Jackets came off and shirts were soaked through in a matter of minutes. Everyone was sweating like they were in a sauna. Regardless, no one complained. Lots of photos were taken and we shared some nice moments as a team. We watched in awe as the Olympic Flag was raised and then it was time for the torch to enter the stadium. The lighting of the torch has and always will be one of my greatest Olympic memories. In 1984, when Rafer Johnson lit the torch it was like a flame was ignited inside my body. I knew at that moment that my dream had come true. I had made the Olympic team and now I was going to get my chance to win a gold medal for my country. The torch lighting last night was just as exciting for me. I did not know the final athletes that ran with the flame but it did not matter. The Olympic flame means a great deal for me. I guess it represents for me that burning desire to be the best, to compete against the best and more importantly to see how far you can go as a man or a woman. By the time the torch was lit I think I was standing in a puddle of sweat but it was a very cool moment. I had goose bumps as I watched the final runner moon walk around the upper edge of the stadium. I was ready to jump back in the pool and play after the Olympic Flame was ignited. All I know is that I am very blessed to have this opportunity with this team. It has already been a great experience and it is just going to get better.

It was a great night and the team enjoyed the Ceremonies. We finally hit the sack around 2:00 am, so I am glad that we have a day to recover and prepare for the Chinese team on Sunday. By the way, there is a rumor that our game against China will get some air time on Sunday morning at 10:15 am back home. Tell your friends…


See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - Distractions and our final tune up

Training this morning was on our own at BNU. As we arrived there was all sorts of security and commotion. Our bus was not allowed to travel its normal path to the gym. We were stopped and told to wait. Finally they told us that President Bush was at the gym watching some of the teams practice. We never saw him but we certainly felt his presence.

Practice went well and as we finished the basketball team was just finishing up there practice. A bunch of the guys had pictures taken with them. Adam Wright even played Kobe in PIG. Just for the record Kobe made two slam dunks and made Adam look a little silly. I was a little bummed that I did not stick around. Coach K is one of my favorite coaches and I would have loved to have a picture taken with him. Perhaps I will run into him at Opening Ceremonies tomorrow.

The basketball team was actually very friendly to our team and made the guys feel pretty special. Like I said the Olympic Games are full of great life experiences and many memories that will last a lifetime. I am sure that we will create many more in the next two weeks. I am good with all this as long as the guys focus when they need too. All of these things can certainly be distractions if we let them.

Tonight we had our final tune up against Monte Negro. These guys just won the European Championships so they would have to be considered one of the favorites for the gold. Our guys played very well tonight and we gave them all that they could handle. No one was really keeping score but we beat them 8 – 5. Ha. OK – it was just a scrimmage but it is a nice way to close out our common training. The guys are definitely getting back into their competitive mode.

Tomorrow is opening ceremonies. It is going to be a very long day. We have training in morning for 90 minutes than we have an hour with the media. Then at 5:15 we have to be dressed and ready to go. We will go over and meet with President Bush and have a team picture with him. After that we join the parade of athletes in the ceremony. We have been told to expect to be home after midnight. I have told the guys to stay off of there feet as much as they can between now and then. It should be exciting but tiring.
At least we have a day off before we play.

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - Amazing Awaits

The Beijing fog has returned. The weather report says that it is suppose to rain tomorrow and then be a nice clear day for Opening Ceremonies. I am feeling it now. That anticipation, that urge to get things started. I watched “Miracle” for the 100th time or so since I took over this job. It is a great movie and every time I watch it I shed a few tears. I am touched and inspired. When I was playing with the national team in 1980 and we were getting ready for the Moscow Olympic Games – our entire team was able to sit together and watch the USA vs. Soviet Union game. Obviously, the game stirred a great deal of emotion in us all. We were preparing for our opportunity at the Games (not sure if we were going to boycott or not) and to watch our young college kids beat the powerful Soviets was very motivating.

As I watched the movie today two things came to mind. The first is family. A good team is really so much like a family. In the movie, the players protested when Coach Brooks brought in a player from the outside because he had not been a part of the family. Every good team becomes a family. I believe that we have become a family over this past year. This team is close – they believe in each other, they trust each other and perhaps most importantly they have learned to respect each others differences. They are willing to sacrifice for each other. That leads me to the second thing that really hit me as I watched the movie. At the end of the movie Coach Brooks told the audience what his favorite part of coaching the Olympic Team was. Here is what he said “Seeing 20 guys from so many different backgrounds come together as one team and seeing those 20 guys willing to sacrifice so much for the unknown”.

This is the epitome of what it is all about. The Olympic Games are so much different than any other sporting event. This is an opportunity that comes along once every four years. It is especially true in our sport like water polo. This is what we train for, what we sacrifice for and what we live for – a chance, an opportunity to be the best in the world – perhaps more importantly – an opportunity to be your best as an individual and as a team.
There is the unknown – there is certainly no guarantee of a gold medal or even a medal of any color and yet these guys give so much of themselves just for the opportunity.

The USA Olympic Committee has adopted the tag line “amazing awaits”. I certainly believe that amazing does await for this team over the next two weeks. They are ready to put it all on the line and “test” themselves against the best teams in the world. I believe that we have become one of the so called best teams in the world. We will be tested and we will find out. Regardless, amazing has all ready happened for me. It has been amazing being a part of this journey. Watching this team come together and witnessing their growth as a team. I have come to love this family and I believe in these guys with all of my heart.

Amazing Awaits…

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown beijing - A Day Off

I opened my eyes this morning and saw black mold growing on my ceiling right above my head. Not good especially since we are going to be here for another 3 weeks. I immediately reported it to the cleaning crew and before I left for breakfast they had building manager in here inspecting it. In broken English he told me that they would fix it but that it would take a half of a day. I told him that was not a problem since we would be out and about for most of the day.

After eating breakfast in the dining hall (which seems to be even more crowded today) we all jumped on an 11:00 am bus to Tiananmen Square. The bus ride took about 30 minutes even with the Olympic lane. This is a dedicated lane that only official Olympic vehicles can drive in. The traffic seems to be getting worse and they have odd even driving days established in order to keep the traffic down. Today (August 5) is an odd day - so only vehicles with their license plates ending with odd numbers are suppose to be on the road.

It seemed strange that Tiananmen Square was all decked out in Olympic décor. They have turned it into an Olympic park for the Games. Thousands of people were sightseeing like us (mostly Chinese) and in the middle of the Square in now a giant Olympic monument. I took a few pictures and then we made our way into the Forbidden City. Robert Lynn (who can’t say no to the Chinese) hired a tour guide named Mary. She did a nice job and helped explain many of the building and symbols we were looking at. For instance, any building with 9 animals on the corner of the roof line was an emperor’s building; a building with 7 animals was the emperor’s wife. And it all went down from there. It was pretty cool although with each layer we walked into there seemed to be more and more of the same. We walked up to one of the watch towers at the end of the tour and took the attached picture with our staff. In the background is the entire Forbidden City.

Our next stop was the Silk Market. This is like a giant swap meet except for the fact that the vendors are extremely aggressive. Poor Robert (remember he can’t say no) shopped until he dropped and he went home with a HUGE bag of goods. I ended up getting a suit made for a great price. I also tried on a beautiful formal Chinese jacket but decided against it. I am glad that I can say no.

On the bus ride back home the traffic was once again very bad. About half way home a small car veered into the Olympic lane and smashed into our bus. No one was injured but it caused a big stir. Before long we were on the side of the road with 6-7 police vehicles all taking pictures and berating the driver of the small vehicle. It was a 45 minute ordeal and we finally made it back to the village just in time for dinner.

I was exhausted when I finally arrived back in my room. I was ready to just read a few pages of my book and go to bed. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that my room was to be “fixed”. As I opened my little “cubby”, I was just about thrown back from the smell of paint. They had fixed the ceiling - put up some new drywall and given the work a nice coat or two of some of the finest “lead based” paint they could find. I opened up all the windows in the place and aired it out. In a few hours it was not so bad and I was ready for some more Olympic dreams… Good night.

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - The Nest and The Cube

Things are getting busier here in the Village. More and more teams are arriving everyday. When we first arrived the village seemed quiet. This is not the case anymore. It is like a bee hive with lots of activity and athletes everywhere. The dining hall is getting crowded and I hate to say it but there are no more dove bars (bummer).

Many of the more recognizable athletes are beginning to show up. I saw Dirk Nowitzki (basketball), Rafael Nadal (tennis) and Michael Phelps (swimming) today. I am beginning to feel a little short with many of the basketball and volleyball players showing up. It is fun to sit and people watch and try to guess what sport each athlete is part of – obviously some are easy – like the gymnasts and the weight lifters and the wrestlers (almost all of them have wrestler’s ears). Many of the other sports are very difficult. Regardless of the sport it is fun to just sit back and realize that these are the best of the best at what they do in the world.

Today we scrimmaged against the Chinese team at our competition venue again. We seemed a little tired and we played pretty poorly. We made a lot of bad passes and after two quarters the score ended in a tie. I think that overall it was probably good for us to realize that if we do not play well it will be a battle. I got on them a little after the scrimmage and they woke up and dominated play in our 6 on 5 and 5 on 6 training (each team played 15 minutes of offense and 15 minutes of defense). I have attached a team picture of the team at the competition pool.

After dinner Rick, Ryan and I caught a taxi to the Cube and did some exploring. It was getting a little late but we were able to get into the Cube and see the competition venue for swimming and diving. It was very impressive. The Cube is an amazing building and it is one of two of the central venues (along with the Bird’s Nest) that are in the middle of the Olympic Green. After we explored the Cube we walked over to the Bird’s Nest which was also lit up and did some exploring around there. We were not able to get into the stadium but it was pretty cool just being outside and listening to them rehearse for the Opening Ceremonies.

Tomorrow we are giving the guys the day off. I think that most of us are heading for the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. This will be our last day to relax and just sight see a little. It should be a fun and relaxing day.

See you at the pool!
Coach

Countdown Beijing - Sparring

We trained at BNU this morning and the coaches snuck into the boxing ring that our USA team is using to for training. We hit the heavy bags and the speed bags and then after we found a few pairs of gloves Ryan and Robert went into the ring for a little sparring.

They had fun until Ryan took a blow to the head and then we decided it was time to go back to the pool and do what we do best.

Training was good this morning. We walked through some front court plays, after goal plays and some special situations. The guys are feeling confident. Tonight we get to do a little sparring of our own and play a couple of quarters against China in the competition pool. This will be good for us. It will be our first competition against another country since we played in Hungary. Over the next week we will train against Hungary and Monte Negro and perhaps pick up one or two other teams to scrimmage against. One week from today we will jump into the pool for our first game of the Olympics.

Our team leader Rick McKee told me he had a dream last night that we won the gold medal. That is a great dream and one I have had many times. We will keep on dreaming for one more week.

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - A Beautiful Day in Beijing

We woke up today to blue skies. The rumor is that the Chinese have been seeding the clouds and have made it rain over the past few days (mostly at night) to clear the air. Today is beautiful – it is warm and slightly humid but it is the nicest day they have had here in months maybe years (according to some that have been here for awhile). I totally believe that these Olympics will be spectacular (for more reasons than just the blue skies). It is interesting to think about whether or not the Chinese can actually control the weather. We will see…

I have been having individual meetings with each player to make sure that they all understand what their role and responsibility is here at the Games. I have also discussed what my expectation is for each player. They have been good meetings with a great deal of positive coming from them. All of the guys feel like we are ready. They feel strong and they believe that they can beat anyone. They are realistic and know that this will be a very difficult tournament and that there are 10 teams that are all very close. Who will step up and make there way to the podium. We all feel really good about our chances.

It has been nice for me to sit with each player and here his concerns. All of them are somewhat nervous. They have leaned on me to tell them about my experiences with the Olympics. I have told them all that you would not be alive if you did not feel nervous. This is normal. I have also shared my experience with them about my first game in 1984. I was nervous. As I sat in the ready room and spoke with a team mate named Drew McDonald. Are you ready? He asked me. The first thought that I had was to ask myself - had I done everything that I could have done to be ready? This is almost a trick question to ask yourself – because there is always more that you could have done. The key is that mentally you have to be comfortable with what you have done. I knew that I had worked extremely hard and done a great deal to prepare myself and I was ready. Being able to answer yes to that question helped me to relax and get myself ready for that first game.

I have also been able to share my father’s wisdom with them – he always used to tell me
“All you can do is to go out there and do the best you can”. We are ready and we will do well if we stick together and trust each other. One of the great things about being on a team sport is some of that individual pressure or stress gets deflected a little to your team mates. You can build each other up and it is comforting to know that your team mates are there for you.

Last night I showed the guys a video of the 20 year reunion of the 1984 Olympic team. The guys enjoyed watching highlights from our gold medal game that were broken up by the guys on the team talking about what that time of their life meant to them. It brought tears to my eyes and I think that it put things in perspective for the team. It helped them to see beyond the next few weeks and understand that the team is really like a family. These bonds will last a lifetime. It touched them all in a way. Every guy on the team came by and told me that the video was great and thank you for sharing it with them.

Another beautiful day in Beijing with many more expected…

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - The Great Wall

This morning we trained at BNU for two hours. We have been spending a good portion on every workout on our 6 on 5 offense and 5 on 6 defense since this part of our game will more than likely determine how well we do. This morning we finished our workout with 30 minutes of 6 on 5. On the last play of the practice Tony Azevedo took a shot with Jesse Smith blocking him. The shot scored but no one really cared. Jesse went straight underwater and Tony was grabbing his hand. Tony’s follow through had hit Jesse on the bridge of the nose. This is actually a very common water polo injury. A shooter follows through and hits the shot blocker in the face. It is dangerous for both the offensive and defensive players. We all held our breath to see how bad it was – as Jesse surfaced he had blood running down his face and Tony was still grasping his finger in pain. I knew what the worst case scenario was – I have seen this happen before – so I knew that it was possible that Jesse could have a broken nose or end up with multiple stitches in his face and Tony could have a broken finger or even worse he may have split the webbing on his hand. My heart was pumping as I made my way to the side of the pool where Jesse was heading. Obviously, that would not be good with a little over a week to go before the competition is to begin. As it turned out Jesse had a small cut on the bridge of his nose. He went to the medical room at BNU and ended up with two stitches. Tony had a jammed finger and after lunch seemed to be just fine. Ok - I have had my scare for the trip.

Everyone is healthy now and we plan on keeping it that way. That is the risk that we take everyday in our preparation. We can’t exactly stop practicing and just lock the guys in padded rooms. We want our practices to be competitive and game like as much as possible to prepare us for the battles to come. I am confident that we will stay healthy and be ready for what lies ahead.

We had a nice lunch at BNU and then jumped on a bus to the Great Wall. The Olympic Games is all about the life experiences. This was a great one. It was nice to take a little break from our training and just let the guys be tourists for the afternoon. We took a team picture at the wall and walked around the wall for awhile before we headed back for the Village. It was a pretty cool day – we took at ski lift up to the top of the wall and then took a toboggan down the mountain. It was a very nice day and one that will be a great memory for the team. As you can see by the other pictures attached I picked up a new hat and some new friends.

It is amazing to think that there is only one more week until the Opening Ceremonies. We are back to our regular training schedule tomorrow.

See you at the pool!
Coach