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