Pan Am Gold
Last night, we won the gold by beating Canada 7 - 3 in the final match. This means that we are officially in the Olympic Games next summer in London. Our defense made the difference in this game. Merrill Moses led the way, playing another great game for us. He made 10 saves, including a one on nobody break away and 4 saves on the 6 on 5. Our perimeter defense was excellent also as we made 9 field blocks. This is the most we have had in any one game in a long time. The Canadians were very frustrated, especially on 6 on 5 where they went 0/8. Our five man defense did a great job of shutting them down.
Offensively, we did what we needed to do. The Canadians played very physical and yet were only called for 3 exclusions. We scored 2/3 of our extra man situations. Tony Azevedo was back in the water, playing his first game of this tournament. His presence and leadership are critical for us. He scored 3 goals and made two assists. Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Tim Hutton and Jesse Smith also scored for us. Our centers were frustrated and it seemed that the officials just were not going to pay us off at all. We made 11 good entry passes and only drew 2 exclusions at center. (This is extremely rare; normally one would expect to see about 50% of your good entry passes result in an exclusion).
I was happy with the game. It is the defense that must excel in these big games and that is what we relied on last night. Lori flew in just for the game and made it with a couple of hours to spare. It was awesome having her there supporting me and the team. After the game, we had a great team dinner which was hosted by the Varellas family. It was great being together as a team with all the family members that traveled down. Everyone had a great meal and enjoyed the time together. It is so important for a team to celebrate the successes along the way.
We return home today and then have a few months to take a bit of a break. The guys will be training on their own. They are all on a specific weight training program with a group called P3, which is showing very good results. They will also be swimming 3 times per week to keep their fitness level up. The break is important both physically and mentally. I want them all to come back ready and hungry to make a push towards that gold medal in London. We are now within 9 months of Opening Ceremonies in London. Wow! Time will fly as we prepare and get ready for the Games.
Thank you to everyone for your support. Your emails, thoughts and prayers are all appreciated. We need it all to be successful next summer. One of our big goals over the next few months is to find housing for the team when we go into full time training in January. If anyone out there has a solution; an empty house, guest homes, granny flats, or reduced cost apartments, please let me know. We have a few months to figure it out.
See you at the pool.
Coach
tschroeder@usawaterpolo.org
Offensively, we did what we needed to do. The Canadians played very physical and yet were only called for 3 exclusions. We scored 2/3 of our extra man situations. Tony Azevedo was back in the water, playing his first game of this tournament. His presence and leadership are critical for us. He scored 3 goals and made two assists. Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Tim Hutton and Jesse Smith also scored for us. Our centers were frustrated and it seemed that the officials just were not going to pay us off at all. We made 11 good entry passes and only drew 2 exclusions at center. (This is extremely rare; normally one would expect to see about 50% of your good entry passes result in an exclusion).
I was happy with the game. It is the defense that must excel in these big games and that is what we relied on last night. Lori flew in just for the game and made it with a couple of hours to spare. It was awesome having her there supporting me and the team. After the game, we had a great team dinner which was hosted by the Varellas family. It was great being together as a team with all the family members that traveled down. Everyone had a great meal and enjoyed the time together. It is so important for a team to celebrate the successes along the way.
We return home today and then have a few months to take a bit of a break. The guys will be training on their own. They are all on a specific weight training program with a group called P3, which is showing very good results. They will also be swimming 3 times per week to keep their fitness level up. The break is important both physically and mentally. I want them all to come back ready and hungry to make a push towards that gold medal in London. We are now within 9 months of Opening Ceremonies in London. Wow! Time will fly as we prepare and get ready for the Games.
Thank you to everyone for your support. Your emails, thoughts and prayers are all appreciated. We need it all to be successful next summer. One of our big goals over the next few months is to find housing for the team when we go into full time training in January. If anyone out there has a solution; an empty house, guest homes, granny flats, or reduced cost apartments, please let me know. We have a few months to figure it out.
See you at the pool.
Coach
tschroeder@usawaterpolo.org
posted by Dr. Terry Schroeder at
7:26 PM
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