Three Wins 7/30/12

Finally, we get to play our first game.  There is no doubt that this period before that first game are the longest days ever.  The anticipation and excitement get to all of us a bit.  Athletes are already coming into the village wearing medals that they have won.  There is also more noise in the village as some of the athletes are done competing and are up late listening to music or talking with their friends.  The court yards created by the athlete dorms have made for a good echo chamber where voices and noise carry.  One of my jobs during these early days (before we begin) has been to keep the guys calm and confident.  Through experience, I know what these days are like and hopefully I have been able to help the guys handle this period a bit better.  We also have a group of veterans who all know the drill and have helped the younger guys deal with it better. Observing the guys, looking at their eyes, talking with them - I felt like we were in a good place - confident and pretty relaxed. There is no question that all of us feel the pressure. This is a good thing as long as you recognize that this nervousness is normal and healthy.  If any of the guys did not feel a bit nervous, I would be worried about them. It is really just a matter staying in the moment and not letting these nerves get to us.  All of these guys have passed the test of playing well in the biggest games (Olympics, World Championships, Pan American Games) and have learned to control that nervous energy.  They are here for a reason.

We had a good pre game meeting and I felt very confident with our game plan.  The coaching staff has spent hours looking at video and developing a plan to beat Montenegro.  The plan was simple - we win by playing great defense and not allowing their best players to hurt us.  They have one of the best centers in the world and we knew going in that it was going to be a huge task for us to stop him. They also have a couple of great outside shooters and to win this game we were going to have to keep them from having big games.  Looking at the players as we left the meeting room, I felt even more confident.  This group cares so much about each other - they really are a family.  Yes - we have talent but I believe that our closeness and our belief in each other is what is going to make the difference.

As we marched onto the pool deck for the game it was very evident that we had a “home crowd” here in London.  There we dozens of American flags hanging in the crowd.  Thousands of USA water polo fans were in the building and this was certainly going to work for our advantage.  Here is a my brief recap of the game. Montenegro scored first but two minutes later we evened the score at one with a nice goal by Ryan Bailey.  The first quarter ended tied at one.  The low scoring defensive game was exactly what we wanted.  The teams traded goals early in the second quarter before we scored two unanswered goals to take a 4 - 2 lead into half time.  In the third, we actually pulled in front 6 - 3 at one point and had them on the ropes.  However, we all knew that it was far from over. Montenegro scored with less than a minute to go in the quarter to pull within two at 6 - 4.  Just one minute into the fourth quarter they scored again to make it a one goal game.  This is where the true test occurs.  A one goal game - heading into the final five minutes of the game.  How would we respond?  We bounced right back and scored the next goal a minute later and pulled back ahead by two. Montenegro was not done and they would score again to make the score 7 - 6 with two minutes to go.  OK - now I was feeling a bit stressed... but still confident.  With 1:23 left on the clock I called a time out to make a few substitutions and get the guys settled down.  Coming out of the time out, Tony Azevedo scored a huge goal that brought us back up by two.  We seemed to have the game in hand - up by two with less than a minute to play.  Montenegro would come right down and score 11 seconds later and make it a one goal game again with :46 seconds to play.  With a 30 second shot clock we could not hold the ball for the entire time.  We used most of the clock and but were unable to get a shot off and Montenegro would call time out with :17 seconds remaining.  We played great defense and did not allow them to even get a shot off.  Final score USA 8, Montenegro 7.  A big win for Team USA.  Obviously, a great way to begin the Olympic tournament.  Peter Varellas led the team in scoring with 3 goals, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Layne Beaubien,  Tim Hutton and Adam Wright each scored one.  Adam had a front tooth dislocated in the first half, came back into the game in the second half and gave us a great spark with a nice goal. Merrill Moses had a great game in the goal to lead the defensive effort.  It was a good team win. We can enjoy the win for a hour or so and then we must move on and begin to prepare for Romania on Tuesday.  Each game is huge and now all focus is on Romania.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the other two wins. Win # 2 - for the first time since we moved into the village we (the coaches) had hot water today and I was able to take a hot shower.  Those cold showers in the morning were getting old and they finally were able to fix our hot water heater.  A hot shower never felt so good.  Win # 3 - we also had fans for our rooms delivered today.  There is no circulating air in the building, so on the days when the sun has ben shining our rooms have been getting very warm.  Now we have some air moving!  Oh yes - the simple things that we take for granted... Obviously, the win in the pool was the one that really matters, however the other two “wins” are much appreciated too.

See you at the pool.

Coach