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 offens
e 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
e 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
posted by Dr. Terry Schroeder at
9:20 AM
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