Thank You

Now that the team is back home and in Canada it would be the right time for a big public thank you for all involved.

First, the families that raised the young women that represented Canada in Europe – thank you, the team is only ever as good as the individuals that make the roster and these were great young women.

The clubs that recruited, trained, supported and encouraged these players to reach the level that they have – thank you. Club coaches never get the credit they deserve for starting the fire in the heart of players when they have so many choices of sports in Canada. So, thanks for the vibrant club programs coast to coast that make this sport happen.

The leaders from Water Polo Canada who create these age group teams; Pat, Ahmed, Heather, Jeff – it was not easy to carve this roster out of a National Team structure stretched so thin and with so much team roster overlap. But it was well created and supported from the top down.

To the team staff who worked so well and shared such open dialogue, thank you. The girls had fun and learned enough to be sure they invested time and energy wisely.

Not to be forgotten, the athletes, you know how hard you worked, how seriously you tried and what you have had to deal with in terms of travel, diet and lifestyle. Thank you for being who you are and offering the team what you did.

Olympic Hopes Update

There is an online article and photos about the event we played in this weekend if anyone is interested (http://www.dunaujvaros.com/index.php?p=galeria&g=748). The gallery is at the bottom of the page. All of the pictures here are from that article.

Random Shot of Our Athletes

Gurp

Silver Medal Team

Dunaujvaros, Silver Medal

The Olympic Hopes Tournament is over and the girls all learned a great deal. Could we have won? Yes. Did we do enough to ensure that? No. Is the learning curve all “technical” or “tactical”? No again. It was the emotional side of the game we could not do a crash course in over a weekend or two.

The game today ended 9-7 for Hungary and all of their goals were earned. We allowed them to grab us and drive inside without enough fight to prevent it. Then we did not crash and help from the perimeter as instructed by the coaches. Results were predictable when they scored. Sure, there were a few kick-outs where our players had 2 hands in the air and were backing away from a player who was obviously kicking them but that was not the bulk of the Hungarian goal scoring. Our bigger problem was not reading what the referees were allowing when on offence.

Many times when we drove to the net with the ball we stopped when pulled back, knowing that there was not going to be an exclusion or even a minor foul. The ability to finish is something the team has but they are having to learn to play through contact that would not be allowed in Canada and at domestic events. Telling them to ignore the pull, or the person climbing on their back, is not an easy thing for them to process and change between game 2 on Saturday and game 4 on Sunday.

There were plenty of positives today and we should not lose sight of that when being disappointed in not having a gold medal around our necks. After being winless in Emmen and just starting to figure each other out this team has come a long, long way. Every player responded to coach challenges this weekend and earned the right to be considered for playing time in the last game. Some of the players who did well all weekend got special attention from Hungary, Gurpreet spent much of the game held under water, literally. Our centre forwards who were dominating all weekend were being sunk from behind with 2 hands on their shoulders. That was a tough adjustment after having progressed so much over the past week.

Other than that result we have had a good event here and the girls learned that games are determined not just by what you do tactically when playing 5 v 6, what you do 6 v 5, how you control 2m etc. They also have learned that reacting emotionally to a game or how it is called will not give the tactical result they can predict or control. That is a huge lesson that can best be learned in a foreign country. Playing Hungary, in Hungary, with Hungarian (or European referees) is a really valuable experience we can never duplicate for them in Canada.

Final Lunch in Hungary

After the games this morning there was a brief ceremony where the girls were presented medals and there were lots of pictures taken. Gurpreet also got an award as the top player from Canada. The team then was treated to lunch, by the host club from Dunaujvaros, on a patio at a quiet local restaurant. They had some traditional cold fruit soup and then chicken and a chocolate cake. Not many complaints from that meal.

Medal Winners; Hungary 1, Canada, Hungary 2

The girls have a rest this afternoon and then watch some movies and have pizza and salad ordered in to the hotel. Hopefully they sleep before our bus to Budapest which is at 3:50am so we catch our 7:00am flight to Munich.

Dunaujvaros, Game 4 v Hungary 2

Today was a great lesson for the girls, playing a Hungarian team, in Hungary, with European referees. In that situation there are no gifts, everything must be earned and trying to understand why things are the way they are is foolish. We started off ok, leading 5-1 after the first and this was a reflection of the ability of our team. In the second we had to work much harder to control the ball under pressure as free throws were not awarded, we did not adjust. The second quarter was 1-1. That shift in momentum resulted in a pick-up of spirits for the Hungarians and a panic from us, the 3rd quarter was a struggle and it was played to a 5-5 tie.

Entering the 4th we lead 11-7 and relaxed quite a bit. Time was on our side and Juice talked to the team about taking care of business, not giving up. We went back to 2 lines of substitution so nobody had to carry the team or feel overburdened. That worked well and we won the last 5-0 for a commanding 16-7 win. Breanna was solid in net most game, including stopping a 5m penalty shot. There were lots of 5m free throws and she got to most of those as well.

We now play Hungary 1 on Sunday at 9:00 with the winner taking the Olympic Hopes crown with the victory. We are lucky to have played the second Hungarian team today as it was a good intro to what to expect on Sunday. It should be fun and the girls will be happy to have just one game.

Pre Game Cheer

The girls have come up with an interesting post warm-up cheer while in Hungary. It involves Gurpreet leading with a booming song and a team chorus that drowns that out. I may try to capture it on video Sunday but that will be hard as they do it on their own outside.

Just 1 more game, 2 more sleeps and then they are home (or, at least, in North America).

Dunaujvaros, Game 3 v Czech Republic

The girls are tired and it seemed like the Czech team today was setting their weekend sights on playing well vs Canada. They tried hard to keep moving and that bothered us on defence with our energy level. We won the game easily 18-7 but the only real energy in the first quarter was Gurpreet who scored 3 goals early.

We continued with 2 lines and that seemed to have the girls in a comfort zone that we didn’t like. This afternoon coaches will change things again with lines and not rotate groups of 6. That should make them fight a little harder to hold playing time against the energetic Hungary 2 team.

Morning Pre-Game warm up

There is only a very short break between games today, we played at 9:00 and then again at 1:00 so a light meal is happening and then some quiet time before a slow walk back to the pool. We are not too worried about the short turn around and fatigue as we have production from most players now. Emma scored a 5m today, Danielle had a nice power play goal on a quick reaction to a kick-out drawn by Rachel. Vicky and Cara are stealing the ball quite easily in each game now and Sami has found the net a few times with rockets from the right side of the pool. Fiona and Alexa are both doing well at 2m but have not found the groove where they are doing the same thing every time.

In goal this morning Sonia had a solid effort but did allow a soft outside shot that she would love to have back. Her passing was solid and most of the Czech goals were power play or 5m (5 of their 8). That is the sort of thing we expect now as we get into the medal games at this event, a few more quick kick-outs when our hands are down or we let someone drive inside without reacting. The next 2 games we will also have 5 v 6 situations that we need to improve the defence on.

Saturday Market

On the way back from the pool this morning we found a Saturday Market and experienced the vendors that the girls had heard about. Juice and I saw a stall offering the famous heritage hogs that used to be in every backyard in rural Hungary, the Mangalia. This pork was the kind of thing that has been on sale in weekend markets for hundreds of years here and it’s a long way from the factory farm food we see in our cities.

Heritage Pork in the Market

Olympic Hopes, Day 1, Game 2

This afternoon in Hungary the girls showed that they are the class of the field at this event. They opened the game against the Ukraine scoring early and often and finished with a 7-o lead. Everyone was playing well and one line fed off the other in terms of wanting to follow the game plan.

The final score of 21-1 was accurate and appropriate. We are playing with the LEN rulebook and ties stand in each game with goals for and against determining standings. We will not ever run up the score but neither will we tell the girls to back off.

Breanna had a shutout going, well into the 4th quarter when some sloppy defense resulted in a 5m penalty shot. The player hit the crossbar, rebound very high so that Breanna lost sight, and no defensive help on the rebound. That was the part of the game coaches objected too most as it is a fundamental they neglected.

Through the College Campus en route to/from the Pool

Olympic Hopes Tournament, Day 1

We are into the home stretch of our European Tour this summer, the last event in Hungary. The field is not as strong as the one in Holland so expectations are higher for the girls. They are playing the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and 2 teams from Hungary. The Canadians have had time to play together, learn about each other and set some common goals.

Coaches have challeneged the team by dividing them into 2 lines, equal in strength, that will go in and out all game for the first 4 matches. We have told them that the players who play the hardest will earn playing time on Sunday in our final game. Goalies are playing 1 game each day and fighting for the start on Sunday. This appeared to be a good way to push them as they jumped out to a great start this morning against Slovakia and lead 6-0 after one quarter.

Fiona found an internal spark, seems to have embraced playing with the team she has come to know and girls she is beginning to get along with very well. She drew 2 penalty shots and a kick-out in the first quarter this morning, all from great second effort and fight. We all know she has this drive and are excited to see her embrace her skills. Rachel also found an extra gear today and scored her first 2 international goals.

Emily had her best game of the tour and was even called on to shoot (and score) one of the 5m penalty shots. Our final score of 18-4 was very represenative of the game flow and we were never out of the drivers seat. Sonia had the start and was solid, including stopping some tough shots to the corners. Nobody was weak and everyone had enough playing time given the line rotation.

Last night was extremely hot and humid and nobody slept more than 4 hours or so. The rotation will help this afternoon against Ukraine when we are very tired. The game shpould be fun and much the same as this morning. I hope to have a group of pictures to add tonight when I do a summary.

Dunaujvaros Hungary, another hot one

Breakfast For the Brave

The day started with another interesting breakfast, meat being the core. The bus ride was an adventure as the main highway between Kecskemet and Dunaujvaros was closed as we got about 10 minutes into our journey. We ended up on a very scenic route through farm land and country roads. But we arrived in time for a huge lunch so it all worked out.

This was the View Much of the Way

The hotel is quite new and the rooms clean and comfortable (but without air conditioners). There was a brief trip to a shopping area after lunch, the area is quite Eastern European in the layout and architecture so nothing flashy. Hopefully they have been resting this afternoon as we have a practice at 8:00 tonight. The pool is about a ten minute walk away from the Hotel.

Not the Flashy Sort of Shopping they are used to

Our games this weekend are Friday at 1130 v Slovakia, 1630 v Ukraine; Saturday at 900 v Czech and 1300 v Hungary 2. We finish Sunday morning at 900 v Hungary 1. The girls know they are the team to beat at this event and coaches will be pushing for an ever improving performance as we go.

Hungary, Training finished, Competition Ahead

Activation & Sunscreen

The routine at the outdoor pool is a bit different than an indoor pool in Canada. Besides athletes having to activate; to wake up a tired, over-heated body, they need to apply generous amounts of sunscreen. This is because we train in full sun, no clouds, no roof, no trees, no building shade at all. I’d love to use the outdoor training to explain to the team all about the sun, vitamin D, how it is actually a vital secosteroid that is a cornerstone of human health, but … there is too much of it so protection is the primary concern.

This building they are behind is one of the only shaded areas in the pool area and it is where they begin their prep. Then they go to the cold showers on deck and into the pool. They are using sunscreens with 30 -60 SPF and drinking lots of water but it is still hard to deal with for 2 hour sessions. The pool that we play in during the weekend is indoors so this is the last training session outdoors.

The girls are ready for the next event, also ready for home. I expect to see them play very, very well on the weekend and put the business of performance front and centre. They know each other, are getting along and want to do well to feel like they are playing to their united potential (which they didn’t believe they did in Holland).

Our bus in the morning is at 10:00 so the sleep and wake up will be laid back and easy. The evening practice we have is only one hour so it is considered an easy day of light travel, light workout and then serious mental shift before game 1.

Kecskemet, did I mention it’s HOT?

This morning, before practice, the girls from both teams were allowed to use the park water slides. Why not, it looked fun. Here are a few shots of some Calgary girls as they exit the long, winding slide that you had to go down in a tube. It was a 6 or 7 second trip, in the dark.

Julia, in a tube, out the slide exit

Sami, same slide, different tube

I’m working on converting the video of Justin and Gurpreet going down a different slide that is open all the way. Let’s just say Justin had the mass to generate a considerable speed and splash on entry.

After that fun we practiced skills for about an hour and then had a power play scrimmage with the Hungarians for another hour. That gave the girls a chance to alternate in the sun playing and on the side under towels. It’s about 34 here today and no clouds or breeze.

The walk back to the hotel for lunch was slow and quiet, the girls had been drained by the sun and exercise to silence. Make a mental note of that if you are a coach or chaperone. The lunch today was a step up from breakfast and a big relief for most. Mid day is the largest meal; today – mushroom soup, roasted chicken and potatoes followed by chocolate pudding. Breakfast had been a basket of buns on the table and a plate with 2 hot dog wieners for each player. Perhaps there is a Hungarian word for the type of breakfast sausage that looks like a hot dog but I am giving you the girls categorization.

I had hoped to make some headway with this group in terms of nutritional guidance and education. That started in Holland but I am not going to discuss proper nutrition in a setting where they are already not excited about what is put in front of them. That would just give them more reasons to reject the food and coaches are working on them accepting all the challenges they encounter. So we smile and tell them to eat and be look at the big picture of why we are here.

Speaking of challenges. It was so hot at lunch that everyone had to go to their rooms after to cool off, dry off and change. The ones that wanted to go into the city centre then met in the lobby to go as a group, by bus. We waited so long for the bus that time became an issue ie if it arrived that slowly on the return we would have to basically get off, take a few pictures, get back on. As that became apparent the girls started to withdraw from the journey and we abandoned it so they could visit the shopping area across from the hotel and then relax in the air conditioned rooms. That seemed like a great idea by the time they got to the hotel.

If you are wondering what this place looks like, here are a few pictures, one from the front and one from inside. It is not fancy but not rundown either. People in the hotel are very friendly so that is the most important part.

Hotel Parking Lot, Flower Box in the Window

Street View of the Hotel