We have the first game of the day at the pool and no one is in a good mood meeting at 7:40 am, gear ready. We're into our routine: settle our gear, Vice Captain leads the stretch, line up, and at the allowed time, march into the pool.
Tristan leads the warmup. I tell him "400 yards, your call". He thinks about it and lines the team up and calls "100 swim, easy". They peel out in perfect formation and he yells at them as they hit the return wall to tighten up. After the HUHOs and FUs, we bring it in. Arms locked in a circle, I tell them to play hard but not to be drawn into any rough play. I tell them to let it go and save it for our afternoon match. "play the corners and control the puck". We cheer and peel out.
The buzzer sounds and as fast as Conrad is, the Kiwis beat him to the puck by a mile. The center flicks the puck to the left forward and he's off to the races. We can't stop him. Score. World class fitness, ripped bodies and coached by seasoned veterans, these are incredible athletes. After six goals, I call time out. "Take it the wall and pin it." Cycle and protect it from being kicked out. It works. We slow the scoring and keep fighting. They sense our new spirit and use age old tactics. Legs are grabbed, masks are pulled off. Yes, a few of our players have yet to covert to YO straps. I tell the boys to let it go.
At halftime, it's 10-0. I tell the boys to stay on the wall for the second half and we begin to control the puck. Samuel, Quantum and Raymond drive it up the side and we play in their half of the court. John Meisenheimer shows his speed on a rare breakaway. But the Final Score: New Zealand 15 USA 0.
I tell the team that they have seen a world class team that will win the gold medal at this worlds, and they now know what it will take to get to this level. I tell them tell them that the tournament starts for us this afternoon with Canada. We'll leave everything on the pool bottom to win this game.
A win will make things right. Wish us luck.
Tristan leads the warmup. I tell him "400 yards, your call". He thinks about it and lines the team up and calls "100 swim, easy". They peel out in perfect formation and he yells at them as they hit the return wall to tighten up. After the HUHOs and FUs, we bring it in. Arms locked in a circle, I tell them to play hard but not to be drawn into any rough play. I tell them to let it go and save it for our afternoon match. "play the corners and control the puck". We cheer and peel out.
The buzzer sounds and as fast as Conrad is, the Kiwis beat him to the puck by a mile. The center flicks the puck to the left forward and he's off to the races. We can't stop him. Score. World class fitness, ripped bodies and coached by seasoned veterans, these are incredible athletes. After six goals, I call time out. "Take it the wall and pin it." Cycle and protect it from being kicked out. It works. We slow the scoring and keep fighting. They sense our new spirit and use age old tactics. Legs are grabbed, masks are pulled off. Yes, a few of our players have yet to covert to YO straps. I tell the boys to let it go.
At halftime, it's 10-0. I tell the boys to stay on the wall for the second half and we begin to control the puck. Samuel, Quantum and Raymond drive it up the side and we play in their half of the court. John Meisenheimer shows his speed on a rare breakaway. But the Final Score: New Zealand 15 USA 0.
I tell the team that they have seen a world class team that will win the gold medal at this worlds, and they now know what it will take to get to this level. I tell them tell them that the tournament starts for us this afternoon with Canada. We'll leave everything on the pool bottom to win this game.
A win will make things right. Wish us luck.