Passing another test 3/31/12

Over the past ten days we have hosted the water polo teams from Italy, Germany and Montenegro. We kicked off the training with the four nation tournament at CLU last weekend. The results were good for Team USA. We opened up the tournament with a 9 – 8 win against Italy, the top ranked team in the world. In our next game, we held off a late surge by the German national team and won 12 – 10. On the final day of the tournament, we tied Montenegro 8 – 8 with a goal in the last minute of the game. With two wins and a tie, we come away as the champions of the four nation tournament. With this result we have now won the last three international tournaments that we have played in – the Pan American Games last October, the Pan Pacific tournament a few months ago in Australia and now our own four nation tournament.

Throughout the week, we had some very good days of training with the three teams that were here. It was valuable. On Thursday night we traveled up to Santa Barbara for the final exhibition match against the Italians. This was another exciting match. Entering the final period of the game, Team USA was down 7 – 4. With an enthusiastic crowd behind us we cut away at the lead and with 37 seconds left in the game we scored a goal to go ahead 9 – 8. Unfortunately, we could not hold off the Italians who came right back and scored a goal with only 4 seconds remaining on the clock to tie the game. We finish the week off undefeated, two wins and two ties. Winning tournaments is definitely a good habit for us to build on. We are on a good path and while I am pleased, we still have a great deal of work to do. We can not let ourselves rest or get complacent at all with this success. Volleyball legend and a good friend, Karch Kiraly was once asked “how did you prepare for the gold medal? Karch simply answered, “I never prepared for the gold medal, I prepared for the next play”. I love this quote and it is very appropriate for us. We must stay in the moment! This is a powerful lesson that applies to all areas of life. I know for myself, I try to show up each day and give my best. Whether it is on the pool deck, in my chiropractic office or at home – my duty is to give my best. Each individual that I am with deserves no less. We must as a team, train hard everyday, learn something new and challenge each other to get better. There are now less then 120 days to go before the Opening Ceremonies. It is a bit overwhelming to think about how quickly that is going to go and how much work we have to do before that day. However, as we take it day by day and as Karch said “play by play” we will be well served.

There is no doubt that the Olympic Games will be one of the most competitive water polo tournaments ever. There are eight teams that are all within a goal of each other. Every game will be a battle. One of the most positive stats from this past week of training was that in each of the four games that we played we scored a goal to win or tie in the last minute. In three of the four games, our final goal came as a result of a man up (power play) situation. This is a great statistic for us – we must be able to score in these situations to win the big games. These are the pressure situations and we did a great job of finishing in these critical moments. We are on a good path – doing many things well. This was another “test” for us and while we passed this test – we also learned that there are areas of the game that we must improve on. There is no time to cruise. Tomorrow is another chance to get better!
On a separate note, next week will be a tough week for me and the team as we have to cut two players from our roster. Making cuts is by far the most difficult job that I have as the head coach. I am not looking forward to this at all. Each and every one of these players becomes family and it is not fun to tell someone close that their dream is over. All I can say is that I do not take this lightly. I know what each player is giving up to be a part of this team – and I know what being an Olympian means. I spend hours contemplating and praying about the cuts. Each one of our guys knows that there are no guarantees in this process. Everyone must earn their spot on the team and in the end only 13 players will the Olympic team. We have 18 on the roster now and at the end of next week it will be 16.
I would like to thank everyone that helped to put on a great tournament at CLU. Thanks to you and the many fans that showed up to support our team the four nations tournament was a huge success.
See you at the pool.

Coach

3/24/12 Giving Credit

It was fun to be back in the coaching chair last night and coach Team USA. There is a huge difference between practice and actually coaching in a game. Certainly a different energy as the adrenaline is pumping for both the payers and the coaches alike. We had a nice “home” crowd of close to 1,000 fans at CLU for the opening of the Four Nations tournament. In this predominantly European sport we don’t often have this opportunity to host too many international games so when we get the chance it is exciting. The first game of the tournament featured Team USA vs. the Italians (currently the world’s number one ranked team). Obviously, it was a great opportunity for us to test ourselves to find out where we are in our preparation. The game was not the prettiest of game as both teams looked a bit “out of sorts” at times. We missed numerous golden opportunities to put the game away – we were 1/3 on penalty shots, 3/9 on our extra man and we missed a few one on nobody shot opportunities. However, at the end of the game - in the most critical of extra man opportunities - Layne Beaubien scored with 17 seconds left on the clock to seal the game in our favor. The final score was USA 9, Italy 8. Our captain Tony Azevedo led all scorers with a hat trick (3 goals), Jeff Powers added 2 goals, and Beaubien, Ryan Bailey, JW Krumpholz and Janson Wigo all scored a goal. Merrill Moses played the entire game in the cage and made 9 saves. It has been said by many it is better to have won ugly then to have lost playing well. Finding a way to win is imperative in this game and last night that is what we did.

I have been thinking a great deal about the huge task in front of us as we prepare for London. We now have just over four months left before the Olympic Games open on July 27th. It is overwhelming at times and I really could not do what I do without great support. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and thank my staff for the time and energy that they all put into this team. Each one of them deserves much credit and they often do not get much because most of their work is done behind the scenes. It is important for those that are following the team to get to know the coaches and staff. I could not do what I do without any of them. I am confident that we have the right team on deck and I am thankful for each one of them. Let me briefly introduce them to you.

Robert Lynn – 1st assistant. Robert represented Team USA in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He also played professionally in Europe for 13 years. Robert is a water polo genius who lives and breathes the game. He is also a great teacher of the game. Robert is in charge of conditioning and works closely with me on tactics and planning. I am very thankful that Robert is working with us. I feel very strongly that we would not be nearly as successful without him.

Marco Palazzo – 2nd assistant - Marco spent 20 years playing professional water polo in Italy (his home country). He also played for the Italian National Team for a number of years. He understands the game extremely well and is able to provide a bit of an international perspective to our team. He is primarily in charge of training and conditioning the goalies. Marco also works closely with me on video analysis (breaking down games).

Rick McKee – Team Leader – pretty much everything behind the scenes falls into Rick’s job description. He sets up travel plans, training calendars, meetings, pool times etc. Basically Rick works to make sure that we have everything we need to be successful. He has been with Team USA since I came aboard as head coach in 2007. Rick also works closely with our national office so he has to commute back and forth to Huntington Beach on a regular basis.

Karen Block – Head Trainer – Chiropractic Intern – Karen worked as a Head Trainer for many years at the collegiate level. She then decided to become a Chiropractor and will be graduating next month. Karen works with the guys to keep them all healthy. She is very caring and enthusiastic about her job and spends endless hours with the players.

Alex Ash – Strength and Conditioning Coach – Alex lives in Santa Barbara but travels to CLU three times a week to coach and direct the team through our weight training program. We have been utilizing a program called P3 (Peak Performance Project) which is pretty much as state of the art program.

Jack Kocur and Dusty Litvak – Video Scouts – We just brought Jack and Dusty on board to help break down game films and put together scouting reports for the teams we will be playing. This will be extremely helpful for both staff and players as we build a stronger library of games that we can pull clips from.

Most of all I am happy to call each of these people my friend. In the end, the relationships are what will last long after the Games are over. I really could not do my job without them. Each one of them deserves a great deal of credit.

See you at the pool.

Coach

An exciting week 3/17/12

The team had another solid week of training as we prepare to take on a few of our competitors this next weekend. Training was very hard and it is evident to me and the coaching staff that we are getting in pretty good shape. With a strong base we will now be able to spend more time on fundamentals and team tactics. By no means are we done with our conditioning. I am just saying that we have a solid foundation to build on. We finished the week Thursday night with a competitive intersquad scrimmage. It was a hard fought battle with both teams playing very spirited. It was nice to see more fans in the bleachers watching and cheering us on. The community support is growing.

We decided to take an extra day off this weekend and give everyone (including the coaches) a short break. This is an important part of our training. We must be smart and build in breaks both physically and mentally. As we go through the hard work together we all are learning to lean on each other. Slowly we are learning to trust and rely on each other more and more. As trust and respect grow for one another - the team slowly comes together as one. This is a wonderful process. There will be bumps along our path but for now we are growing and becoming a better team and family.

This next week we will host the national teams from Montenegro, Germany and Italy. We will have some great common training and also play four official matches while these teams are in the area. It is a good opportunity for us to be tested and to see where we are as a team in this stage in our training. Italy is the reigning world champion. They have already qualified for the Games in London. Their coach, Alexander Campagna (whom I competed against as an athlete), has helped Italy soar to the top of world water polo rankings in this past year. Montenegro and Germany are both in a different situation. They have yet to qualify for the Olympic Games and are stopping here for there final preparation for the Qualifying tournament which is to be held in Edmonton, Canada April 1-8th. There are twelve teams in the qualifying tournament and only four will qualify for the final spots in London. This means that Montenegro and Germany will be in great shape because they are literally fighting for their lives. If they don’t make the top four in the qualification tournament they are out. On a side note, Hagen Stamm, who coaches the German team, is also a long time friend and former Olympian. In my opinion, there are eight teams that have the potential to win the Olympic Games this summer and four of those eight will be competing right here next week. I hope that you all can come out and support Team USA in these games. It should a nice Olympic preview right here in our back yard.

I have a big milestone to celebrate this week and I would be amiss if I failed to pay tribute to my beautiful wife, Lori. Wednesday (March 21st) marks our 25th wedding anniversary. Lori has been with me every step of this journey. I am grateful for the blessing of her love and support for all of these years. She has already earned the gold medal. Happy Anniversary Lori – I love you.

See you at the pool

Coach

Why? 3/9/12

As a follow up to lasts week blog – our family did indeed grow this past week. Jeff and Kirsten Powers are proud parents of twins, a boy named Jeff Jr. and a girl named Avery. Adam and Kerri Wright had a baby boy this past Wednesday. They still have not named the little boy. I hear they are thinking “Polo”. Just kidding… anyway parents and babies are all doing well. I am very excited for the Wrights and the Power’s family. Our family is growing and I guess that kind of makes me a grandfather.

We have had another good week of training although we have a few guys that are a feeling a little beat up and broken down. Besides a few days missed for Jeff and Adam this week we have had three others that have been sick this week with flu like symptoms. The end result was that we had to actually cancel our normal competition Wednesday (this is our normal night when we have a full four quarter inter-squad scrimmage) and move it to Friday. Unfortunately, we had some disappointed fans come out expecting a scrimmage and instead watched a normal training. Most weeks we will have these scrimmages and fans are welcome to come out to Oaks Christian. Scrimmages generally begin at 7:45 pm. Next week, due to our schedule we will be having our scrimmage on Thursday night. As coaches, we are treating these scrimmages like real games. Video taping, taking stats, running shot clocks and bringing in real officials. By doing this we are adding 15 more good competitive games to our schedule and giving ourselves a chance to evaluate all the players in more game situations. Normally, we see some very competitive high level water polo. I would encourage anyone from the community to come out and watch. It is a great way to learn the game and support our team. There is no charge to come watch.

This week I had a patient at my office ask me “why do I do this? Why do I spend countless hours coaching these guys as they are preparing for the Olympic Games? I simply told him that I love what I do. Sure it is a strain - keeping all areas of my life in balance but to me it is a tremendous opportunity to push myself and my team to our limits. I believe that within each of us there is a desire to see how good we can be in whatever we do. In many jobs people may get into the day after day routine and lose track of this concept. However, with the Olympic Games this is the goal. To push yourself - mind, body and spirit to the limits and to see how much you can improve and in our case contribute to the team to help them potentially win a gold medal. There is huge risk involved in the process, in fact, most will fail. Many will not even make the team and only one team ultimately wins a gold medal. However, the real success or the real joy is in the journey - the pursuit of excellence itself. My dad always emphasized to me that “a man can be no happier than when he knows he has done his best”. This is what we are all trying to reach. To do our best on the biggest stage that there is in sport with the whole world watching. It is an amazing journey and along the way we find out much about ourselves and our team mates. We become a family with each one wanting the best for one another. When you want to win for your team mates more than yourself it is powerful. The Olympic Games are bigger than any one of us. It is a great honor and opportunity to represent our country in this journey. Each one of us will carry a responsibility to one another and our country to represent us well. Finally, I do this for the relationships. There are not too many opportunities like this in life where you get to dedicate and spend hours on end with a group of men that are fully committed to reaching a goal together. You build powerful relationships that last a lifetime. A few years back we had a reunion for our 1984 Olympic team. After 25 years that connection that each of us still felt with one another was powerful. Each one at some point during the evening commented that being a part of the Olympic team was so special because of the friendships that they had made with each other. We (human beings) all crave close connections with others and this provides each of us with that opportunity.

In two weeks we host Montenegro, Germany and Italy for a series of games at CLU. Check the USA Water Polo website or follow this blog for more info. Friday March 23rd, USA vs. Italy at 5 pm. Saturday March 24th, USA vs. Germany at 4 pm and Sunday March 25th USA vs. Montenegro at 4 pm. Hope to see you all out there supporting our team.

Go USA - see you at the pool.

Coach

Daily Challenge 3/2/2012

This week we passed the 150 day mark to the Games. Wow - the days seem to fly by. The real challenge for me as a coach and my athletes is to stay in the moment as we go through this journey. The days tend to blend together. We are working hard and sometimes it seems as though a week goes by with a blur. However, we must remain in the moment and try to get as much as we can out of each and every workout.

This is the only way that we will compete for the gold in August. We can not waste a day of training. Each one of these athletes are amazing at what they do and yet each one has the ability to grow and improve. That is our job as coaches to challenge and teach them to grow, to change a habit (sometimes even on a very fundamental skill), or to learn a new technique (like a new fake), or perhaps just to learn patterns of movement of our defense or offense. There is much to learn and the time is not going to stop. As Coach Wooden once said “make everyday your masterpiece”. It is a challenge, but that is our goal. To make everyday the best we possible can and get the most out of ourselves and each other.

Today we are heading out for a team building activity. We are going to get some training from our friends at the Navy Seals. This one will not be a rough as our training was with them in 2008 when we spent a half day at the obstacle course at the Seals training base. Today we are going to a shooting range and learning from the Seals sniper team about how to make the critical shot. It should be a good exercise for us and obviously an important lesson. Off to the range...


See you at the pool.

Coach