Most difficult Blog 8/9/12

 I would have to say that this blog has been the most difficult to write.  I have never even thought about trying to write what I am about to write.  The script in my mind was so different.  I always believed that we would climb Mt. Everest and make it to the top and win a gold medal.  Unfortunately, that dream ended last night with an 8 - 2 loss to Croatia in the quarter-finals.  To say that we struggled offensively would be a huge understatement.  I give Croatia and their coach Radko Rudic a great deal of credit because they played very well and executed a great game plan against us.  We did many things well.  Our defense was strong enough to win.  In fact, eight goals was the lowest total for any of the winning teams in the quarter-final.  On offense, we were moving well and working the ball to our center very effectively.  We just could not score.   We had 15 chances on the power play and managed to score just one goal.  I am not sure I have ever been on a team as an athlete or a coach that went 1/15 on the power play.  A decent percentage on the 6 on 5 is 50%, which means 7 - 8 goals for us - we scored just one.  Very frustrating and sad to say the least.  The bottom line is that on this day Croatia was the better team.

We all left the pool deck with our heads down.  I felt terrible - like I had let the team down.  I waiting inside the warm up pool area and talked to many of the players one on one before leaving to go meet with my family.  My message to them was one of gratitude for allowing me the opportunity to work with them.  It has been a very special journey and I know how much they all gave up trying to reach their dream.  It has been a privilege for me to work with this team.  I did not want to walk out of that pool area.  There was a sense of finality to moment and I did not want it to end just yet.

As I left the arena and crossed the bridge to meet with my family I felt a swirl of emotions that made me feel very sad and empty.  I tried to hold back tears as I approached families and was greeted by a round of applause and USA cheers.  There I met my girls and we united into a family hug.  As I held them, I knew deep down that my family, that I held tightly in my arms was my true gold medal.  I am a lucky man to have the love and support of a beautiful wife and two awesome daughters that have been there for me all of the way on this Olympic journey.  I did not want to let go.  Many of the parents came by to hug me and say thank you for being there with their sons on this journey.  I could no longer hold back the tears.  For me as the coach, I get most of my joy out of the relationships with the players and the families.  We have shared great moments of accomplishment together and today we share the same pain and sadness of a broken dream. 

Sports in so many ways mirrors life.  There are highs and lows.  Moments of great joy and times of pain, suffering and loss.  It is difficult at this moment to keep it all in perspective but our loss is but a game.  Yes - we have all sacrificed together to make a dream possible, yet is it really sacrifice when you have such an amazing opportunity to do something that you love to do. It really has been an incredible chapter in my life with lots of laughter and fun interspersed with some tears today, we cry together for a dream that was broken. I am still very proud of these guys.  They are and forever will be a part of my family.

We are not done here at the Olympic Games.  We still have the opportunity to finish strong against some very good teams.  On Friday, we will play Spain in the semi-finals of the consolation bracket.  The winner on our game will play the winner of the Hungary vs. Australia game.  The four teams left fighting for Olympic gold are Montenegro (which we beat), Serbia, Croatia and Italy.  Three of the four teams are from what used to be Yugoslavia.  Pretty incredible...

These consolation games are difficult to play in.  Every team had high hopes and is not happy playing for 5th.  Can we recover from three difficult loses in a row?  Actually, I am not sure that we can, but I am going to do my best to get these guys fired up to play with all of their heart and finish this Olympic Games and in some cases their careers with some pride. 

Thank you for all of your support.  I have received so many emails and text messages from fans back home.  It has been really appreciated.  If you would like to send a note to the team you can use my email and I will forward it to them.  tschroeder@usawaterpolo.org  

See you at the pool

Coach