The FISU games women's soccer tournament started for real yesterday as we played Great Britain. We came out on top with a great 2-0 win.
We were somewhat concerned about the weather as the day started out very hot and humid but by half time, the clouds had rolled in and the temperature seemed to cool off. We had a solid game plan supported in part by some intel that both Graham and I gathered in speaking to the Japanese coach on two different occassions. We started off strong and put GB on their heels defensively as they had to account for our pace. A great penetrating run forced one of their defenders to foul us and on the ensuing free kick, Andreanne Gagné blasted one of the inside of the far post to give us the lead. The game was in no way a one sided affair but we defending well as a group and our goalie Rachel Bedek came up with the big safe when we needed them. Our scouting report indicated that GB's #17 would be a handful with her size but she only lasted 45 minutes are Justine Labreque introduced her to some good old fashioned physicality for the entire first half and she was subbed off at the break. The team played with passion, desire, heart and the right skill at the right time. It is always great to get a tournament like this started with a win and in doing so, we have the chance to dictate our destiny moving forward. Today is an off day, and many of the players are looking to return downtown for some shopping. We leave for Shenhzen Bay stadium for the opening ceremonies at 5pm for what should be a fairly long evening but probably an incredible experience. That is one aspect that I was disappointed with in Belgrade as I didn't get to experience the type of opening ceremonies that I had seen on TV at the olympics growing up. Tonight it will be another and ew life experience that I will get to be part of. Tomorrow it is back to competition mode as we face the hosts China and the largest soccer venue of the games. Rumor has it that the stadium (40,000 places ) is sold out although apparently there as still tickets available here at the village. Looking to track down a player or two who hasn't run off shopping and have them share some of their thoughts about the FISU experience later today. I will also try and loa
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Like 2009, I will be asking various players to share their thoughts about life in China and at the games. Today's guest writer is U of Alberta's very own Carleigh Miller, midfielder and happy go lucky individual. We'll see if she can live up to her former Panda team-mates Fro and Jackie for wit and creativity as their 2009 post is still talked about today.
Take it away Carl ! Hello everyone! Well it has been quite the journey so far. Having arrived in China after the what felt like a 24 hour flight, the heat wave struck us immediately. At night it reached a wopping 30 degrees celsius. We arrived into the village with tons of smiling volunteers ohhing and aahing as the "Canadians" have finally come. Long day, but we were quite glad to see the amazing village and residences that were built especially for the games. Having played 2 exhibition games now against Mexico, (2-2) and France, (2-1), we are finally feeling the competition creep up on us. The weather here is hot and humid, but fortunately there has been torential downpour, cooling off the air around us. Playing in the heat and humidity has been challenging, but with the rain, it will be manageable. The best part and my most favorite time of the day are the meals, with 300 different varieties of food. Everything has been outstanding, allowing me to eat Asian, Muslim, mediterranean food anytime of the day. The milk has been a little sketchy, but otherwise I can actually recognize all the food. Seeing all the athletes from all the different countries has really been interesting, and interacting with them has been even better. Everyone has been so nice, and for some reason, everyone just loves the Canadians! We start our journey in the tournament this Thursday, so our first challenge will be against Great Britain. Wish us luck! Over and out. Carleigh With our competition to start tomorrow, I wanted to get on and give everyone a quick recap about our training camp and first few days here.
I arrived in Langley Aug.2nd (the players had been there since July 29th) to join up with a group of players that was quickly coming together. During our preparation time, we were able to play 3 games in B.C. and 2 in the first days arriving in China. In Langley we had a record of 1W, 1T, 1L although in fairness our loss was against a very good U16 boys team. Once on site, we played Mexico to a 2-2 draw and then last 2-1 to France yesterday. However results aside, we continue to see progress in the team and I am sure that once tha games count, we will play quality soccer and more importantly play to the level of our potential. The first few days on site have been pretty routine, getting settled, the prep. games and simply getting into the flow of the games. The hot weather we thought we would get hasn't really happened per say as we have had lots of rain especially today. At least today, we get to have a little break and took the team into town for a 2hours shopping spree. Hard to believe what some can buy in a short period of time and the winners for best deal were Vero and Cynthia getting some sharp Nike shoes which they negociated the price down to $23 when in the real I am a day away from getting on a plane and heading out to Vancouver for our pre-tournament camp. The team has been together now on site since Thursday afternoon so I have had to miss some of the initial prep. work but that is life when you have a full time to balance with your part time passion of coaching.
As I move towards the start of this adventure, it makes me think about what I want to take away from these games and this trip. I have coached soccer at different levels, different locations and of course many different teams and players, and in the end, soccer is soccer. It is the same game I first played at 5 years old and have played or coached ever since. What makes it different for this tournament is yes obviously the level of competition, but I already experienced that in 2009. So I think it is about living it with a new and different group of players and coaches and of course in a different location, a country that before this I had never thought about visiting. What is going to be amazing once again in being in one location that will bring together nearly 11,000 people from 100+ countries all unified by one factor, our involvement and love for a sport. It is pretty special to walk around the village during a given day or moment and cross paths with individuals from some many different places. It is also an experience that forges a bond for those who get to participate in it together. I won't say I have remained close with everyone who was involved with the team in 2009, but I can say that anytime I come across one of these individuals, there is a shared experience that will remain between myself and that person forever. I think it also makes one appreciate a lot of things in our everyday life. If I am lucky enough to enjoy these games for a second time, it is due in large part to the support and help I have gotten from a lot of people along the way... my wife who puts up with a lot of time commitments, travels and constant calls and emails that come with being a coach and is there to listen to me complain, vent and sometimes yes even share some exciting (and for her maybe boring (hahahaha) stories, my family who follow my exploits encourage me to try different things, certain coaches along the way who helped me develop my style of coaching and of course some (and for sure not all ) players that I have had the chance to coach who validated the time and effort that I put into it. Sometime tomorrow evening (or early hours Tuesday Montreal time), I will be arriving in the hotel and having my first contact with this year's team as a group... and from that point, most of my time and energy will be spent on making this whole experience, the best competitive result (cause I do hate to lose) but more importantly the best life experience for myself and all those invovled Well time is winding down and we are working hard to get everything in place for our trip to China. In 2009, Montreal was the jump off point as we gathered everyone here for a day before heading to France for training so it was somewhat easier to get everything done for me, especially equipment ordering, hotels etc.
Added to the mix, is getting the VISA required for travel to China. Between the fact that the CIS has given each team the responsability to obtain the individual visa for their participants and that there are only 4 locations in Canada where you can actually get them, this has proven an interesting task. I am sure everything will come together fine but a lot of legwork and prep. is required and I am looking forward to simply getting on the field and runnig training sessions. Luckily packing for a trip like this is easy. With all the gear we are getting from the CIS and purchasing for a Adidas dealer, mainly all that we have to do is grab anything with a TEAM CANADA logo and toss in the suitcase, it isn't like we wear much else. Well of course have to make sure to have sufficient socks and clean underwear, hate to run out of those. Tomorrow evening is our final team conference call and I am sure that we will feel the stress and excitement in the players as we inch closer to what is going to be a once in a lifetime experience... unless like me, you have the chance to live it twice in some form. to be continued .... Well I sincerely hope that from this point forward for the next few months I will be posting here regularly with thoughts, comments and recaps about my experiences both at the 26th Universiade in China, but also about what I hope will be an exciting and succesful season with the Stingers. Obviously most of the stuff for the next few weeks will be about the FISU Games but I hope to toss in some Stinger tidbits along the way. Once the FISU team is together, I will go back to guest bloggers that some of you seemed to enjoy in 2009 so that you can get the perspective of some of our athletes who are giving up a lot and making great efforts to represent both Canada and the CIS at the international level.
In terms of FISU, two weeks tomorrow the team will assemble for 7 days of preparation in Langley British Columbia. I will join them a few days later as other commitments will keep me in Montreal until Aug. 2nd. This will be a significant change (and I hope for the better) as we will get a better chance to prepare the team prior to starting the tournament. In 2009, we had one practice in Montreal prior to heading to France for 4 days to bring the team together. This year, in addition to the 7 days in Langley, we are heading to the games early, to give us 3 1/2 days on site before our first game. In this type of tournament, team dynamic and how quickly we can get everyone on the same page is crucial to achieving the success we are gunning for. Our plans include 3 games before leaving Canada plus two scrimmages in Chine (vs. Mexico and France) in order to get the players used to the weather and enviroment over there. This year's group is quite different from 2009. Our strength that year was how strong the bond was among the players.. I think we can re-create that but I think there years group has a little more variation in terms of the type of system we can play and the difference qualities various players will bring. We are lucky that we have 8 players returning for a 2nd games (vs only 2 in 2009) and we are counting on their previous experience to help the others get on the same page quickly. I am quite excited for this year's games, partly in getting to do it again (and mostly likely the last time) with the knowledge that Graham and I were able to get the 1st time around, but also for the chance to visit a country and only my involvement in soccer gives me the chance to see (although as I have told many people, not sure how I will react to 13 hours stuck on a plane). The time is passing So as someone once said, if a tree falls in the forest and no one sees or hears it, did it really fall ?
Why do I start with this, well if I don't write anything on my blog, does this mean, that I am not doing anything related to soccer..... Of course I am, preparations are heating up. We finally selected the 20 athletes who will make up our team. It was an exciting process as we had many different players to choose from which showed the interest that more and more athletes are having to be part of this team and to participate in the FISU Games. Over the last few years, FISU games have gone from something many were somewhat familiar with but weren't sure how the team was picked to being something that our top CIS female soccer players strive to get recognized, and selected for. Once the dust had cleared on our selection process, we have 8 returnees from the 2009 team plus one member who was selected for those games but had to be replaced due to injury. The group will be different and in many ways deeper and more skilled that the previous games, just hope they show the same chemistry and team dynamic that was able to come together so quickly last time around. The CIS should be releasing the names of our athletes shortly and you will be able to find that list by clicking on the image in the Shenzhen 2011 web page. From this point forward, lots of work to do getting all the paperwork submitted so we can get the accreditation for all the athletes and staff. I will try and update more regularly as we move forward and for sure, will have the return of guest bloggers once the team gets together. I will also try and add some comments and thoughts about the upcoming Stingers season Well, I thought have the chance to coach at the FISU Games in 2009 was a great honor but I am lucky and have been selected to be part of the coaching staff once again for the 2011 games which will take place in China.
I will have the chance to once again coach with Graham although Liz has chosen not to return and therefore we will have Eva Havaris from University of Toronto joining the staff. You can follow the link below to see the CIS press release http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/cis_international/2009-10/releases/20100511-int21 This year we hope to use the lessons learned in 2009 to help us both put together a team and plan the team preparation in such a way that will allow us to better our 7th place finish from 2009. I will start to provide regular updates as well as start commenting on the upcoming fall2010 Stingers season |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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