Summer 2010
We arrived in Nis, Serbia last night after a long day of travel. Ten hours on the plane from LAX to Munich, another two hours to Belgrade and then a three hour bus ride from Belgrade to Nis. Everyone was pretty hungry after we arrived in Belgrade so we stopped for dinner (or at least a quick snack) at a local gas station. These gas stations seem to be the hot spots on the road to Nis. We passed by numerous gas stations that were crowded with locals enjoying a late night snack - so we joined them at one and loaded up with sandwiches and waters and before we climbed back on the bus for the long ride. We finally arrived in Nis at 1:45 am. It was a long day of travel to say the least.
Fortunately, most of the guys are pretty experienced travelers and like me slept most of the way. I think I logged 8 hours sleep on the first flight, an hour on the second and another 2 on the bus before sleeping soundly through the night.
Our hotel is brand new and sits atop a hill overlooking the city of Nis. The pool is about 15 minutes away via bus and is a nice facility with indoor and outdoor pools. The views from the hotel are beautiful and there was a wonderful sunset last night. The food has been very good. Although, it is a lot of meat and potatoes. That seems to be the main staple here and you are not always sure about what kind of meat you are eating. I have learned through the years not to ask... It tasted pretty good so what the heck - just go with it.
Tomorrow we begin the World League Super Final here in Nis. We will play 6 games beginning with Spain. The brackets look like this. We play Spain, China and Montenegro. On the other side is Croatia, Serbia, Australia and South Africa.
This is how the summer breaks down. We are here for a week for World League, then we travel to Italy for a week for a training tournament in Siracusa, then it is onto Romania for the World Cup. We actually have 17 games in the next 21 days. It will be a great test for us physically and emotionally. This first tournament is the most important as far as our result. It has been designated our Operation Gold marker so the results will determine to some degree how much funding we get next year from the USOC. This is our biggest tournament of the summer.
I believe that we have prepared better this summer for this short season. The guys all came back in late May, early June and we had about 5 weeks with everyone home to prepare and bring a team together. We seem to be in better shape this year but the true test is still ahead of us.
We now have only nine Olympians active on the team this summer. They are Merrrill Moses, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Adam Wright, Jesse Smith, Jeff Powers, Tim Hutton, Peter Varrellas and JW Krumpholz. This is our core group. These guys will be the leaders and will help bring some of the younger players along. We actually decided to travel with 16 players due to the demanding schedule. Here is the group that fills out our roster. Brain Alexander, Shea Buckner, Mike Sharf, Andy Stevens, Thomas Hopkins, Jeff Tyrell and Tommy Corcoran. I like our team. There seems to be a good feeling both in the pool and out. I believe that we will have a good summer.
If we play together we will come home with a couple of medals this summer.
It is all about being a team and that is yet to be determined. The great baseball player Jackie Robinson who was the first to break the color barrier in professional baseball was quoted as saying that “The true impact of your life is how you impact the life”s of others”. I feel that this is at the heart of what a team is all about. Can our best players bring along our less experienced players. Can we make each other better. This will be our test this summer.
We will find out beginning tomorrow. It is exciting and a little scary. You never really know until you are tested against another team. I believe that we are ready. I sense a good summer ahead.
Stay tuned for more....
See you at the pool.
Coach Schroeder
Fortunately, most of the guys are pretty experienced travelers and like me slept most of the way. I think I logged 8 hours sleep on the first flight, an hour on the second and another 2 on the bus before sleeping soundly through the night.
Our hotel is brand new and sits atop a hill overlooking the city of Nis. The pool is about 15 minutes away via bus and is a nice facility with indoor and outdoor pools. The views from the hotel are beautiful and there was a wonderful sunset last night. The food has been very good. Although, it is a lot of meat and potatoes. That seems to be the main staple here and you are not always sure about what kind of meat you are eating. I have learned through the years not to ask... It tasted pretty good so what the heck - just go with it.
Tomorrow we begin the World League Super Final here in Nis. We will play 6 games beginning with Spain. The brackets look like this. We play Spain, China and Montenegro. On the other side is Croatia, Serbia, Australia and South Africa.
This is how the summer breaks down. We are here for a week for World League, then we travel to Italy for a week for a training tournament in Siracusa, then it is onto Romania for the World Cup. We actually have 17 games in the next 21 days. It will be a great test for us physically and emotionally. This first tournament is the most important as far as our result. It has been designated our Operation Gold marker so the results will determine to some degree how much funding we get next year from the USOC. This is our biggest tournament of the summer.
I believe that we have prepared better this summer for this short season. The guys all came back in late May, early June and we had about 5 weeks with everyone home to prepare and bring a team together. We seem to be in better shape this year but the true test is still ahead of us.
We now have only nine Olympians active on the team this summer. They are Merrrill Moses, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Adam Wright, Jesse Smith, Jeff Powers, Tim Hutton, Peter Varrellas and JW Krumpholz. This is our core group. These guys will be the leaders and will help bring some of the younger players along. We actually decided to travel with 16 players due to the demanding schedule. Here is the group that fills out our roster. Brain Alexander, Shea Buckner, Mike Sharf, Andy Stevens, Thomas Hopkins, Jeff Tyrell and Tommy Corcoran. I like our team. There seems to be a good feeling both in the pool and out. I believe that we will have a good summer.
If we play together we will come home with a couple of medals this summer.
It is all about being a team and that is yet to be determined. The great baseball player Jackie Robinson who was the first to break the color barrier in professional baseball was quoted as saying that “The true impact of your life is how you impact the life”s of others”. I feel that this is at the heart of what a team is all about. Can our best players bring along our less experienced players. Can we make each other better. This will be our test this summer.
We will find out beginning tomorrow. It is exciting and a little scary. You never really know until you are tested against another team. I believe that we are ready. I sense a good summer ahead.
Stay tuned for more....
See you at the pool.
Coach Schroeder
posted by Dr. Terry Schroeder at
9:56 AM
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