The Adventure continues...6/21/12
We finished up World League with a bit of a disappointment. For the second time in the tournament we played Italy and lost. Italy jumped out early on us and took a 4 - 1 lead. We fought back and tied the score at 4 before Italy rallied and went back up by two. In the fourth quarter, we had all the momentum. We scored to bring the score to within one but then struggled to find the back of the net. We had some great chances, especially on the power play where we went just 3/10. Down by one with 30 seconds left in the game, we called a time out and set up a play for Ryan Bailey. It worked beautifully and Ryan rifled a back hand shot that hit the top bar and settled on the goal line (no goal). The end result was a 7 - 6 loss and a fourth place finish in World League. Merrill led the way on defense with a strong showing in the goal notching 11 saves, while Peter Varellas led the team in scoring with three goals. Peter was actually Team USA’s high scorer for the tournament with ten goals.
Immediately after the game we went to our hotel and had a few hours to pack up and prepare for another long travel day. Our journey to Montenegro began with a five and a half hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Leaving at 10 pm we arrived at 1:30 am (with the time change) and then had a five hour layover in the Istanbul airport. There is not too much to do in the middle of the night in Istanbul. A few guys were able to get into the Star Alliance lounge at the airport because they have a gold card (they have racked up enough miles with United Airline partners). So they rested pretty well and were even able to shower. The majority of us cruised the airport in “zombie mode”. After the layover, we then had another two and a half hour flight from Istanbul to Dubrovnik, Croatia. After picking up our luggage we loaded a bus for another two and a half hours from Dubrovnik to Budva, Montenegro. Exhausted, we finally arrived at our hotel at about 10 am, with our body clocks all messed up. Everyone slept for about three hours and then after lunch, we decided to have a little team bonding (since there was no scheduled training that day) and do something fun together.
We rented a boat and toured the Montenegro/Croatia coast line. Tony Azevedo had spent his last two seasons playing professionally over here in Montenegro so he had some good connections. The boat left from Tivat, Montenegro and eventually ended up in Kotor, Montenegro. We enjoyed time in the Adriatic Sea together - exploring caves and just hanging out as a team. It was a great day, full of sunshine, laughter and relaxation. There were some great conversations centered around our dream to win the gold in London. We finished the day with a nice dinner in Kotor as we watched the sun set over the sea and then headed back to rest and prepare for five good days of training with Montenegro.
Our training schedule is excellent over here. We do weights (P3) in the morning followed by two hours of water time on our own. We have been focusing on our leg work and pushing the guys pretty hard. In the evenings, we play against Montenegro. They have twenty players still in their camp - so we feel like we are playing against a small army. Training has been great. The first night was a bit of a wake up call. With two Montenegro officials, the game was a bit one sided. Montenegro came out with much more energy and pressed us out to the walls. We struggled a bit with the physicality of the play because it was so different then what we had just experienced in Kazakhstan at World League. We have adjusted well and it is actually perfect for training. In an all out press you really have to work your legs much harder. Each player is being grabbed and held all the time and they are learning to rely more on their legs. Since the first night the scrimmages have been much closer. Montenegro won again on Wednesday night in a close game and last night was a tie. We will play them one more time on Friday before leaving for Croatia and preparing for our fight home on Saturday morning.
Weighing heavily on my mind is the final cut which must be made this weekend. It will be another difficult decision. I have been spending a good amount of time talking with Robert and Marco (my two assistants) and also a few of the older (veteran players) about this final cut. Obviously, it is an important decision for our team and our success in London, however, I also know that it is a decision that will impact all of these guys for the rest of their lives.
Once we get home, we will take a few days off before we resume training on Tuesday evening in Thousand Oaks. We will basically have three full weeks of training with our final thirteen before we leave for London on the 16th of July. Our final preparation, will consist of more tactics and fine tuning as we prepare to make history in London.
The team appreciates all of the support that we get. We feel we are in a good place. Even with the fourth place finish at World League, I am more confident then ever. Most of the time losing will teach you more about yourself then winning. So a few loses at World League do not scare me. In fact, I feel that we have grown a great deal on this trip and we are closer now to being the team we need to be to win the gold!
See you at the pool.
Coach
Immediately after the game we went to our hotel and had a few hours to pack up and prepare for another long travel day. Our journey to Montenegro began with a five and a half hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Leaving at 10 pm we arrived at 1:30 am (with the time change) and then had a five hour layover in the Istanbul airport. There is not too much to do in the middle of the night in Istanbul. A few guys were able to get into the Star Alliance lounge at the airport because they have a gold card (they have racked up enough miles with United Airline partners). So they rested pretty well and were even able to shower. The majority of us cruised the airport in “zombie mode”. After the layover, we then had another two and a half hour flight from Istanbul to Dubrovnik, Croatia. After picking up our luggage we loaded a bus for another two and a half hours from Dubrovnik to Budva, Montenegro. Exhausted, we finally arrived at our hotel at about 10 am, with our body clocks all messed up. Everyone slept for about three hours and then after lunch, we decided to have a little team bonding (since there was no scheduled training that day) and do something fun together.
We rented a boat and toured the Montenegro/Croatia coast line. Tony Azevedo had spent his last two seasons playing professionally over here in Montenegro so he had some good connections. The boat left from Tivat, Montenegro and eventually ended up in Kotor, Montenegro. We enjoyed time in the Adriatic Sea together - exploring caves and just hanging out as a team. It was a great day, full of sunshine, laughter and relaxation. There were some great conversations centered around our dream to win the gold in London. We finished the day with a nice dinner in Kotor as we watched the sun set over the sea and then headed back to rest and prepare for five good days of training with Montenegro.
Our training schedule is excellent over here. We do weights (P3) in the morning followed by two hours of water time on our own. We have been focusing on our leg work and pushing the guys pretty hard. In the evenings, we play against Montenegro. They have twenty players still in their camp - so we feel like we are playing against a small army. Training has been great. The first night was a bit of a wake up call. With two Montenegro officials, the game was a bit one sided. Montenegro came out with much more energy and pressed us out to the walls. We struggled a bit with the physicality of the play because it was so different then what we had just experienced in Kazakhstan at World League. We have adjusted well and it is actually perfect for training. In an all out press you really have to work your legs much harder. Each player is being grabbed and held all the time and they are learning to rely more on their legs. Since the first night the scrimmages have been much closer. Montenegro won again on Wednesday night in a close game and last night was a tie. We will play them one more time on Friday before leaving for Croatia and preparing for our fight home on Saturday morning.
Weighing heavily on my mind is the final cut which must be made this weekend. It will be another difficult decision. I have been spending a good amount of time talking with Robert and Marco (my two assistants) and also a few of the older (veteran players) about this final cut. Obviously, it is an important decision for our team and our success in London, however, I also know that it is a decision that will impact all of these guys for the rest of their lives.
Once we get home, we will take a few days off before we resume training on Tuesday evening in Thousand Oaks. We will basically have three full weeks of training with our final thirteen before we leave for London on the 16th of July. Our final preparation, will consist of more tactics and fine tuning as we prepare to make history in London.
The team appreciates all of the support that we get. We feel we are in a good place. Even with the fourth place finish at World League, I am more confident then ever. Most of the time losing will teach you more about yourself then winning. So a few loses at World League do not scare me. In fact, I feel that we have grown a great deal on this trip and we are closer now to being the team we need to be to win the gold!
See you at the pool.
Coach
posted by Dr. Terry Schroeder at
9:14 AM
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