Firstly a huge thank you to our supporters that have been following our progress and connecting with the team on Twitter and Facebook!
I’m feeling a little pressure following up on the superbly written blogs by Becks and Maddie. What I lack in writing style and vocabulary I shamelessly attempt to make up for with humor and sarcasm….. a classic cover up that never seemed to work in university papers either…..but I soldier on.
March 17th, game day against Ukraine!
We started the day with breakfast at 9am, and were greeted by the coaching staff fully decked out in St Patty’s Day gear. Stef ‘single bed red’ Sloaboda had donned her trademark red suit for a green feather boa. Elliot resembled an academic Justin Timberlake with his green sequin fedora. But the honorable mention for the lady looking groovy in green has to go Steph ‘sandy’ Andrews, with a brilliant green bob that would have made Victoria Beckham jealous.
That was all fun and games, but it was time to get serious and enter the breakfast war zone.
We are staying at a tournament hotel with 3 other teams; Austria, Turkey and Chile. Somehow we all end up eating breakfast at the same time and it’s every team for themselves, there is no room for polite Canadians here.
Nothing gets your adrenaline going in the morning like dashing for the last yoghurt pot while trying to hold your place in the toast line….because no one likes their toast stolen from the toaster.
Like most mornings, I quickly ambushed the cereal line, and while having to dodge some Chileans en route to the milk, I would call it a successful breakfast…small, everyday victories on tour.
Breakfast was followed by a morning activation session with our physio Elliot. We’ve commandeered a local school’s field for our sessions, and apart from ducking some funny looks from the school kids, I don’t think anyone minds that we’re there.
Along with our stretches and agility, we have recently challenged Elliot on providing us with a fact, or joke of the day. Today we learned that Elliot’s Grandma was born in Ireland, 150 years ago to the day. Nobody could really top or follow up that fact so the conversation ended there….nice one Elliot.
Our game was at 5pm, not my favourite game time as it leaves a lot of time for hanging around the hotel. To make matters worse, my favourite local coffee shop was closed for St Patricks’s day, so my afternoon stroll with the coffee crew was off the table. I traded my daily walk for a roll and stretch, and hung out with my roomie Mac Attach McManus until lunch.
Lunch rolled around at 1pm, the daily selection of sandwiches and a soup of the day. Identifying the soup of the day has become a daily challenge for the team. After 10 or so days into tour, I believe we’ve come to the consensus that the flavor doesn’t actually change….just the colour.
Next up on our agenda was a short video meeting for some quick reminders about the opposition, and to drive home the consistent message of this tournament “Our game, Our way.”
The game against Ukraine finished with a 3-1 victory. I think Ian summed up the game well by saying that Ukraine can be an awkward team to play against. We weren’t able to play our prettiest hockey, but we stuck to our process, remained disciplined and walked away with the three points. Those three points now place us second in the pool, resulting in a quarterfinal match up with Austria on Thursday, March 19th.
Throughout our pool play we have stayed true to our game plan and our process. One thing that we can take forward into these knockout rounds is “what’s the price you pay to win.”
This was the theme of our game debrief after a narrow loss to Ireland, and left something for each of us to think about. There’s no doubt that we are tough team, and that every single player is willing to put her body on the line. But it’s the recognition that at this level every single play matters. Jogging instead of sprinting, reaching instead of diving can give an opposition the opportunity to turn nothing into something.
We have all of the winning ingredients, now we just need to find that little bit of magic, the little bit of passion that comes from wanting it just a bit more than the other team. We find that and we’re unstoppable.