NEWS > Terry Schroder's Blog
Summer’s over
August,04th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Not quite the finish that we had hoped for... We ended up losing the last two games to finish fourth. In the semi-final we played Croatia and battled in a close game that we just could not finish. Going down the stretch Croatia once again scored the big 6 on 5 goals that we just did not seem to be able to score. It was an interesting game as we were only up a man 6 times - compared to the night before against Romania when everything was an exclusion - it seemed like we could not do anything to get an exclusion against Croatia. In fact, we only had one chance in the final quarter as Croatia earned three in the final quarter. The final score was 11 - 9.
In the bronze medal game we played Spain for the third time on the trip. They jumped on us early and scored three unanswered goals before we woke up and started to play. We tied pulled back to within one in the fourth quarter but just seemed to run out of gas as we could not close the gap. The final score was 12 - 9. My biggest disappointment in this tournament was our defense which averaged giving up 12 goals per game. This is a big contrast to the Beijing Olympics where are defense was so strong and we were giving up just 6 goals a game.
Our 4th place finish does qualify us for the World Championships next year in Shanghai and for the second year in a row we will be ranked in the top four. I really believed that the team was going to come through and win a medal at a couple of these tournaments this year. Serbia looked good. They won both the World League and the World Cup. In fact, at the World Cup in Romania they beat Croatia 13 - 7 in the final.
Our defense was disappointing and our 6 on 5 was not that great either. We definitely have some things to work on as we get ready for next summer. We can qualify for the Olympics in London one of three ways next summer. The first would be to win World League in late June. The second would be to win a medal (top three) in Shanghai at the World Championships and the third was is to win the Pan American Games which are in Guadalajara, Mexico next October.
There were many frustrations on the trip but all in all it was a time for us to go through some tough times and grow together. I had some great one on one meetings with many of the guys and I will continue to meet with the team when I return from Europe. I felt like we learned some things about each other and we will continue to grow. This is a process and we need to integrate some of the younger players into our system fast. Many of these younger players are behind - mainly just in getting experience in big games.
Sorry I was not too consistent with my blogs this summer. Now that we have passed the two year mark to London, I will try to be better about that as we go forward.
Thank you for all of your support and see you at the pool soon.
Coach
Significant date in Olympic History
July,29th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Yesterday was the 30 year anniversary of the 1980 Olympic Games and also 2 year countdown to London. I wanted to share this essay by Anita DeFrantz with you. It is worth the read.
The Team with No Result
By Anita L. DeFrantz
Our nation does not know us as Olympians. Our sublime moments of exertion and of triumph do not exist. We have no memories and you have no memories of us. We forever are the team with no result. We are the 1980 United States Olympic Team.
After 25 years, I have come to understand the deep feeling of loss. There were 500 athletes on the 1980 United States Olympic Team. For 219 members of that team, the 1980 Olympic Games was their one chance to compete in the Olympic Games. And those 219 would never march in an Opening Ceremony parade. They would never experience the boundless joy of being welcomed because they represented our nation. Two hundred nineteen US athletes would never live in an Olympic Village where men and women representing every size shape and color of humanity live in peace and respect.
I had the opportunity to experience all of this as a member of the 1976 US Olympic Rowing Team. I know what the others missed.
We had all done the work, paid the price, made the life decisions that would bring us to the Olympic Games, yet we were denied access to the culminating event.
Our team was composed of private citizens who had found a way to finance their dream. The dream was one step from reality. Not one penny of public money, federal, state or local funding supported us as we trained and prepared for our final examination at the Olympic Games. This was a time before sponsorship was allowed for athletes in training. We all had made our own way to become members of the United States Olympic Team.
Our reward? We were given our uniforms. We had a parade in Washington DC although nobody really knew why. It was a ride in a trolley car from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue a couple of blocks and back. We had a picnic at the White House. The cost of our visit to the White House was charged to the United States Olympic Committee.
My friends ask why I can’t get over it. Why it is so hard for me to let go? I have the privilege of working at the LA84 Foundation, which is the legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. My daily work is focused on youth and sport on the field of play and in understanding the role of sport in society.
As a member of the International Olympic Committee, I continue to volunteer for the Olympic movement at the highest level. I serve my sport, rowing, as the vice president of FISA, the international federation.
But the feeling of loss remains palpable. And athletes throughout the world who had been forced to stay home share this sense of loss.
It was at the inaugural USOC Olympic Assembly, April 2005 that I finally understood why I continue to feel the loss.
The program began with a video presentation of scenes from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The smiles of athletes and the wondrous show of mutual respect and fair play that is the basis of the Olympic Games delighted the audience.
Later in the program, another video was shown. This time, it was of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. As always, I experienced an overwhelming rush of emotion and pride. These were my contemporaries.
I had chills as I watched those vignettes of stories that I know so well. And we, who had prepared for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games to be held that summer, were to be their twins. Our stories would be told just six months later. Then, a flash of understanding hit me.
There were no videos, no pictures. Nothing could be shown to the Olympic Family or to our nation recounting the efforts of the 1980 United States Olympic Team. We are the United States Olympic Team with no result.
When we search our memories to recall the summer of 1980, there are no pictures of competition and joy where the 1980 Olympic Games should be stored. I realized that for every American that memory is missing. The situation is the same for athletes and citizens from other countries that forced their athletes to stay at home. We have all suffered a loss of something very personal from our history.
It is impossible to change the past. My hope is that the 1980 Olympic Team will stand as a barrier against the use of athletes’ efforts outside the sports venues. We know that the only effect is to leave us all without a result.
Perspective.... I told the guys there are a lot of things that we can not control but the one thing that we can control is how we prepare. To win that gold medal will take 100% commitment by everyone. That gold medal seems a ways off right now after the last two days of competition. We were crushed by Serbia 17 - 9 and then lost today 9 - 7 to Croatia. Tomorrow we play Romania and now all the games are must win. With three wins we can still win the tournament. It seems like a long shot but there are signs that we are coming back to life and getting on track.
Romania will be tough here at home. They have had a big crowd here every night and tomorrow will be no different. We will have to be 2-3 goals better than them to win.
I will keep you posted.
See you at the pool.
Coach
World Cup 2010
July,27th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Oh my -yesterday felt like we might have well of traveled all the way home and back. It was a 14 hour day of travel. We were up at 4:30 am and finally arrived in Oradea, Romania at 6:30 pm. We flew from Catania, Italy to Rome (only about an hour flight), then were delayed for over 2 hours before we flew to Budapest, Hungary. By the time the luggage ordeal had ended - yes once again 3 people lost their luggage- we had spent another hour in the airport in Budapest. Then we boarded a bus and headed for Romania. No one had really eaten so we made a quick pit stop for some Hungarian fast food. Guslaz and Guslaz Hungarian fast food. No lie - That is what the name of the restaurant. Actually, either we were all very Hungary (get it) and it was pretty good. Grilled meat and other stuff... We then boarded back on the bus for the rest of the 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride to Oradea. Oh yeah, I forgot our little border dilemma. After they took our passports - they did not want to give them back until we gave them a signed water polo ball. Wow - what a day.
Needless to say, the guys were a little burned out. We had dinner and then a short meeting. Unfortunately for me - we had to break the news to the three guys who are traveling with us but did not make the final thirteen for the Fina Cup. Not fun. Something that I thought about long and hard and talked to Ryan and Robert about for the past two days before finally telling the team. It was not as bad as making the final Olympic cuts but I had that same knot in my stomach that I get when I have to make cuts. Anyway, Brian Alexander, Shea Buckner and JW Krumpholz did not make it this time. It was rough and after making the announcement the coaches spent the next hour or so talking with the three players that we cut.
Today we had to get ourselves up early for our pre-game swim at 8 am. Oh - I forgot to mention that we moved time zones and we lost another hour so we are now 10 hours ahead of back home and we all got one less hour sleep. We also drew the first game of the tournament against China at 3 pm. So we had a short day to prepare and get our selves ready to play. I can tell you as the coach - I was tired when game time rolled around - it had been a rough day of travel and the body felt a little weary.
The guys actual played pretty well considering. We jumped on Chine early and cruised to a 10 - 6 win. In the other game in our bracket Croatia beat Serbia tonight 10 - 7. We play Serbia tomorrow at 6:30 pm. It will be a good test to see where we are at. Time to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Siracusa-- Experiencing Team
July,22nd 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
I think that one of the difficult things for most people to understand is how a team is formed. Many may think that it should be easy. Just put a group together and tell them all about what it takes to be a team - snap your fingers a few times - and there you go - you have a team. This may be true on paper and sometimes it does come together fairly easy but most often it takes time. To truly become a team you have to experience it - the highs and the lows. The wins the loses. It is much easier to come together and feel good about each other when things are going well and you are winning. The true test is in the adversity.
Do the difficult times pull you apart or bring you together. Either can happen. It is often times easier to get pulled apart in the difficult times but these are the biggest opportunities for growth for any team. The challenges can help the individual team members understand each other better. Every team must get to a point where the individual team members understand and respect the differences that exist. Respecting and caring for each other are cornerstones to team chemistry. When the team members respect each other trust begins to build. This is another cornerstone that must be present for any team to be successful.
As we look back onto World League and our 5th place finish, we are all a bit disappointed. The reality is that we did not play at the top of our game. Our 6 on 5 was not good. We struggled to finish on the counter attack and most disturbing was our shot blocking on our front court defense. I think that we have become a little lazy on defense knowing that Merrill is in the goal and he is playing very well. This needs to change. We have to take pride in how we play defense. We have to take pride in our shot blocking. We have to be the best defensive team in the world in order for us to reach that ultimate goal of Olympic gold.
We are now in Siracusa, Italy playing in the second tournament in a row over here in Europe. We opened up last night with Canada and we stuffed them pretty good. We won 11- 6 and we were able to rest most of our top guys. This is really a training tournament and the goal is to play many of our younger players as much as possible. Get these younger guys some good experience and keep everyone healthy heading into next week and the World Cup.
The guys are a little angry about there performance in World League and we have set our sites on winning the World Cup. We can do it. We are growing. There is healthy talk about coming together and getting on the same page. We are living it and breathing it everyday. We eat together, train together and have meetings to discuss and talk about things. We are virtually together 24/7 for a three week period. Believe me with the heat we have been experiencing over here we all smell the same - pretty bad.
Today we play Kazakistan. This is a team that we have not played since the 2004 Olympic Games. They are mix of older players that used to play for Russia and some pretty young players. They lost to Germany yesterday 12 - 9. The will be decent but we should be able to take care of business. We are going to try to rest a few of our key guys - Tony and Jesse will both be sitting out this game.
We actually have 10 games left on this trip in the next 11 days. With the day off a day of travel. This could prove to be a great team building experience or it could be a disaster. We (the coaches) have to find the right balance of keeping the guys fit and ready for the World Cup without breaking them down this week. It will be interesting to see how it works out. I am confident that good things are happening here. The “team” is building. The personality of this team will evolve and grow as we go through this next two year period into London and the 2012 games. It is a journey and I am blessed to be experiencing the process with the guys.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Some Rough Spots on the Road
July,17th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
We played a solid game on Thursday against Montenegro. Unfortunately, we could not close it out. After taking a two goal lead with two and a half minutes to play in the game, we allowed Montenegro to tie the score. The game ended in a 7 - 7 tie and went directly into a penalty shootout (World League rules). We lost in the shootout which sets up a quarterfinal game against Croatia.
The bottom line in the Montenegro game was that we had our chances but did not finish. We were 2 out of 11 on our 6 on 5 opportunities. This is very bad and shows that we are not yet working together at the highest level. The 6 on 5 is part of the game that requires the most team work. We also seemed a little tentative - especially after we missed our fist couple.
On the bright side our 5 man defense was strong only allowing the Montenegrans to score 3 out of 11. Unfortunately they scored on their last two to tie the game. On the most crucial 6 on 5’s we did not stop them. We still have some growing to do...
Yesterday we played Croatia in the quarterfinals. It was ugly. Right from the beginning it was apparent that we were not mentally ready. The loss against Montenegro had taken it’s toll on us. I need to examine what I could have done better to properly prepare the guys. We were flat and just a little slow on everything. At one point we were down by 5 goals. I guess on a positive note we did continue to fight but it was two little too late and we lost 13-11. The officials also allowed the Croatians to grab and hold quite a bit and it was tough for us to drive and move.
So now we are in the 5-8th place bracket. The best we can do is 5th and we have to get the guys focused to do that. We play China today and then probably Spain again on Sunday. Lots of water polo still to play.
This team has come a long way and one bad game will not set us back. We will rebound and find our groove again. It is a journey for us and all of us need to continue to grow in that journey. We have the pieces here it is really just all about putting those pieces together and forming a team that is ready to lay it on the line for each other.
We are close and I am confident that we will get there. The guys have experienced what being on a authentic team feels like and they all want that back. For now we have to get focused on beating China today and then making sure that we get fifth in this tournament.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Winning and the "Red Devil"
July,15th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Our opening match here in Nis was against Spain. Over the past few years since I have been the head coach they have had our number and have beaten us when it really mattered. Last year they beat us in Rome at the World Championships in the semi-finals. This time we played very well - especially on defense and came out on top with a convincing 7 - 3 win. Our 5 man defense was great - we only gave up one goal on Spain’s 10 extra man opportunities. That is a great team stat and one that could win us the tournament here if we can keep it up. It was a good team win and a good way to start off the tournament.
Yesterday we played China. The biggest challenge of the day was not actually playing China but digesting the lunch that we had eaten. It was your typical mystery meat - although a bit more mysterious than usual. It was red in color, round, greasy and tasted a bit like sausage??? but it definitely had a mixture of flavors. We named it the “red devil” sausage (see attached picture) for what it did to your stomach. I am pretty sure that it might have been a play by the Chinese to get us all sick. I had a few bites and my stomach was unsettled. Many of the guys ate the entire meal and 30 minutes later were running to the toilet with diarrhea. A few were even vomiting. Not good for a pre-game meal. Anyway, after a slow start we beat China 10 - 5. No more of the red devil.
This sets up a big game tonight against Montenegro. A win gives up first in our bracket and a cross over game on Friday against South Africa. A loss would mean a cross over game on Friday against Croatia. So this is a big one. I believe that our guys are ready. We are playing good defensively and Merrill is playing very strong in the goal.
Serbia played Croatia last night with a rowdy pro Serbia crowd. The Croatians were booed out of the stadium and ended up losing by one. A good intense game that sets the tone for tonight’s game. It should be fun.
Two games down and fifteen to go...
See you at the pool.
Coach
Summer 2010
July,13th 10
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
We arrived in Nis, Serbia last night after a long day of travel. Ten hours on the plane from LAX to Munich, another two hours to Belgrade and then a three hour bus ride from Belgrade to Nis. Everyone was pretty hungry after we arrived in Belgrade so we stopped for dinner (or at least a quick snack) at a local gas station. These gas stations seem to be the hot spots on the road to Nis. We passed by numerous gas stations that were crowded with locals enjoying a late night snack - so we joined them at one and loaded up with sandwiches and waters and before we climbed back on the bus for the long ride. We finally arrived in Nis at 1:45 am. It was a long day of travel to say the least.
Fortunately, most of the guys are pretty experienced travelers and like me slept most of the way. I think I logged 8 hours sleep on the first flight, an hour on the second and another 2 on the bus before sleeping soundly through the night.
Our hotel is brand new and sits atop a hill overlooking the city of Nis. The pool is about 15 minutes away via bus and is a nice facility with indoor and outdoor pools. The views from the hotel are beautiful and there was a wonderful sunset last night. The food has been very good. Although, it is a lot of meat and potatoes. That seems to be the main staple here and you are not always sure about what kind of meat you are eating. I have learned through the years not to ask... It tasted pretty good so what the heck - just go with it.
Tomorrow we begin the World League Super Final here in Nis. We will play 6 games beginning with Spain. The brackets look like this. We play Spain, China and Montenegro. On the other side is Croatia, Serbia, Australia and South Africa.
This is how the summer breaks down. We are here for a week for World League, then we travel to Italy for a week for a training tournament in Siracusa, then it is onto Romania for the World Cup. We actually have 17 games in the next 21 days. It will be a great test for us physically and emotionally. This first tournament is the most important as far as our result. It has been designated our Operation Gold marker so the results will determine to some degree how much funding we get next year from the USOC. This is our biggest tournament of the summer.
I believe that we have prepared better this summer for this short season. The guys all came back in late May, early June and we had about 5 weeks with everyone home to prepare and bring a team together. We seem to be in better shape this year but the true test is still ahead of us.
We now have only nine Olympians active on the team this summer. They are Merrrill Moses, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Adam Wright, Jesse Smith, Jeff Powers, Tim Hutton, Peter Varrellas and JW Krumpholz. This is our core group. These guys will be the leaders and will help bring some of the younger players along. We actually decided to travel with 16 players due to the demanding schedule. Here is the group that fills out our roster. Brain Alexander, Shea Buckner, Mike Sharf, Andy Stevens, Thomas Hopkins, Jeff Tyrell and Tommy Corcoran. I like our team. There seems to be a good feeling both in the pool and out. I believe that we will have a good summer.
If we play together we will come home with a couple of medals this summer.
It is all about being a team and that is yet to be determined. The great baseball player Jackie Robinson who was the first to break the color barrier in professional baseball was quoted as saying that “The true impact of your life is how you impact the life”s of others”. I feel that this is at the heart of what a team is all about. Can our best players bring along our less experienced players. Can we make each other better. This will be our test this summer.
We will find out beginning tomorrow. It is exciting and a little scary. You never really know until you are tested against another team. I believe that we are ready. I sense a good summer ahead.
Stay tuned for more....
See you at the pool.
Coach Schroeder
Work To Do
August,02nd 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Here is the bottom line – we are close. We are definitely one of the best teams in the world. Now we have to climb that last mountain to get to the top. We lost to Croatia last night 8 – 6. It is always disappointing to lose and once again we had our chances to win this game. Yeah at the end you could say that we had some terrible calls and that was the difference but the bottom line is that we did not get the job done when it counted. We had some critical 6 on 5 opportunities and we wasted them. In the last two games, we lost the 4th quarter and basically it came down to one stat. We missed on the most important 6 on 5’s while our opponents made theirs.
We end up taking 4th place in this world tournament. Not bad but a little disappointing after we started out so well. While it is nice to be in that top tier if we want to climb to the top we will have to work hard. There are parts of our game that we need to get much better at in order to become the best team. We need to continue to build each of our player’s individual skills while we strengthen the team concept. We have a core group of players that understand what it takes and are willing to go to work to make this happen. I believe that in the next year or two we will emerge as the world’s best.
I am honored to be a part of this team. They are a special group of young men. As we close another chapter and wind down another year together I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. Thank you for being a part of our journey. Stay tuned because there are some good chapters ahead. There is much work to do.
See you at the pool.
Coach
A Tough Loss
July,31st 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Spain 7 USA 6
We battled Spain for four quarters last night but fell a little short. We just seemed slightly out of sorts. Perhaps it was Spain’s defense that kept us off balance or perhaps we were just a bit timid and not attacking with confidence. We never seemed to get into a good flow. We especially had trouble with our 6 on 5. In the end we only scored 2 out of 6 of our man advantage situations. There were also some shaky calls (2 critical no calls at the end of the game) made by the officials – but that is water polo. We certainly had our chances to win but fell short. Although we will not realize our ultimate goal of winning the World Championships we are still very much alive in our hunt for the USA Men’s first medal in the Worlds.
This was a frustrating game with the officials letting the teams play (wrestle, hold and grab) with very few calls. We earned 6 exclusions and Spain earned 6. The big difference in the game was that they scored 4 out of their 6 man advantage situations and we scored 2. The game went back and forth with the score being tied for the majority of the time. We were either tied or up by one for most of the first half and then the score was tied or Spain was up by one most of the second half. We had some really good opportunities at the end of the game to send it to overtime but either did not get the calls or could not get the ball in the net.
Now the goal is to get everyone over the loss and begin to focus on our next opponent. In the other semi-final Serbia defeated Croatia 12 – 11 in a game that had 33 exclusions (remember ours had 12). Amazingly that is almost 3 times the number of exclusions as our game. This one should be a very physical game. The Croatians like to press hard and grab and hold even more than the Spaniards so we will have our work cut out for us.
We tend to match up pretty well with the Croatians. In fact, in the last few major championships that we have met up with Croatia - we have a perfect 4- 0 record. This includes world championships and Olympic Games. So we should have confidence on our side. It is always interesting as a coach to see how your team bounces back from difficult losses too. We will come out and be flat or will we come out and be excited and ready to win a bronze medal. I guess that is our job as coaches to get them fired up and realize what a great opportunity we still have in front of us.
Tonight we will study game film from Croatia. The coaching staff just spent 4 hours reviewing film and we feel like we our formulating a good game plan. Once again, I believe that this game will come down to 6 on 5 and 5 on 6. In fact, as we were watching game film it seemed to us that the Croatians did not mind taking the exclusion. They will press hard and then take the exclusion when the ball goes to center and then rely on their 5 man defense. In order to beat them, we need to break the press and get the ball into our centers and then score on our 6 on 5. It is a simple plan but in truth this is what we need to do tomorrow. We will need all of our energy against these guys. They are big and physical.
Game time tomorrow is scheduled for 4 pm here in Rome. So we are back in the heat of the day. The game will be on back on at 7 am on www.universalsports.com Tune in and cheer us on as we try to make history and become the first USA men’s team to win a medal at the worlds. We are ready.
See you at the pool.
Coach
The Final Four
July,29th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
The team continues to do well here in Italy. We struggled early against the Germans but our team defense really played well for four quarters. After trailing early, we fought back to tie the score at 2 and that is where the first half ended. I told the team at half that we were playing tight. I think that the German goalie (one of the best in the world) was in their heads. I also told them that I thought the way the officials were calling the game that we were going to have to score some naturals goals.
We came out in the second half and played very well. Jesse Smith started the scoring off and then Ryan Bailey, Jeff Powers and JW Krumpholtz all scored natural goals in the third quarter to open the game up. It was a great quarter as our defense continued to dominate the Germans. We started the third quarter up 7 – 3 and ended up winning 8 – 5. One bad stat for the game was our 6 on 5 which was 3 for 10 for the game. Not too good and definitely an area that we will have to improve on in order to win the next two games.
Merrill played a very solid game in the cage. You can see his confidence growing as the tournament goes on. As he gets better the defense in front of him seems to get better. Yesterday it was as if they were all working together. Coach K defined defense in his book Gold Standards as “five guys attacking as one”. Yesterday we were seven guys attacking as one. It was awesome to watch.
Today is an off day – so we had a light training at noon and then we will watch video for tomorrow’s game and go to training again tonight. We will match up with Spain in the semi final game on Thursday night. Everyone said that the game time will not be changed so we are set to play at 9:00 pm here in Italy (noon back home). The other quarter final winners were Serbia and Croatia. Serbia beat Hungary in overtime and Croatia beat Romania 7 – 5. So Serbia and Croatia will face off in the first semi final tomorrow night.
I have received so many emails from back home - wishing us luck and congratulating us after each win. These are much appreciated - keep them coming. We need all of your positive thoughts and energy coming our way. What is exciting is that I believe we have not played our best yet. I feel like we are peaking at the right time. We really have not had too much production from our centers. Bailey has been sick and JW is just beginning to find his timing and power again. Our 6 on 5 can definitely be more efficient also. 3 for 10 will not get the job done. What is great is that we are finding ways to win. If one area of our game is not working right then we have been able to adapt and find other ways to be successful. Overall our defense has been strong and we seem to be getting more confident as the tournament goes on. So here we go into the final four. We learned some valuable lessons last year as a team and I believe that this will be another factor that is on our side. WE CAN WIN THIS TOURNAMENT.
See you at the pool.
Coach
An Interesting Weekend
July,27th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
I was totally premature with my picks from last Friday’s games. First of all, Canada surprised everyone and beat Germany 5 – 4 to finish second in their bracket. This pushed Germany into third place in that bracket and set up an elimination game between Germany and Montenegro. Montenegro was the heavy favorite – especially after seeing Germany lose to Canada. Well – anyone can beat anyone and Germany played a great game and beat Montenegro 9 – 8 in overtime. Both teams had to lay it out on the line and both were physically spent after the game. That was good to see as we were resting up and preparing for our next game.
As it was last year in Beijing, I believe this extra day off in this type of tournament is huge. We resting physically and mentally and at this point everyone is healthy. Although, Ryan Bailey is still recovering from the virus that knocked him down last week. We should be at full power for our game tomorrow night against Germany.
The game is scheduled for 9 pm here in Rome so it should be on back home at 12 noon. Many have emailed and asked if I like the match up with Germany better than Montenegro. I think that we are going to be ready no matter whom we played next. We have had trouble with Montenegro lately. They have beaten us 2 times in the last month and seemed to have been really playing well during the World League finals earlier this month. Germany would appear to be a better match up for us but they present some problems too. The biggest potential problem is they have one of the best and most experienced goalies in the world. Their goalie is 42 years old. He retired after the Olympics last year and is making a comeback here at this tournament. He has been around a long time. In fact, I played against him in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He was playing for Russia at the time. He is good but in my opinion, Merrill is even better. Either way a great performance by a goalie can make the difference in this type of game.
The Germans are big and physical and they do a lot of grabbing and holding which will slow us down if we play into that style. We need to be mobile, swim and keep them off balance. They don’t have a real strong center game so we should be able to press them out. They do have some of the best outside shooters in the world so we will need to be on top of our game on defense. It should be a very good game and I know that we are all very excited about playing again. I do believe that we are the better team. We need to bring our best game and continue to play with good fundamentals. 6 on 5 and 5 on 6 will be a big key. We need to be aggressive and confident against this goalie.
We had a very good meeting with Peter Haberl our sports psychologist. We talked about Germany and the potential danger of taking them lightly or getting intimidated by the German goalie. It is rewarding to see these guys share their thoughts and concerns with each other. That is the beauty of team. Everyone is there for each other and as we go through these tournaments we lean on each other more and more. It is coming together and we are ready for the next challenge.
Training has been going well. We have a video meeting tonight to go over game film and then one easy pre game loosen out in the middle of the day before we battle. I hope you all can watch the game and cheer loud as we attempt to get back to the final four with a win tomorrow. I am excited and I know the guys are too. Our dream is to become World Champions. William Shakespeare once said “Dreams are but thoughts until their effects be tried.” We will be tested and tried and we will find out this week if we have what it takes to make that dream come true.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Hard Fought Battle
July,24th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Today was another good test for us as a team. Last night Ryan Bailey came down with a fever. We immediately went into isolation mode and separated Jeff Powers from Ryan. Hopefully, this bug does not run through the team. Ryan did not feel much better this morning and the team doctor recommended that we hold him out. She believes that he might have strep throat. Yikes…
During our pre game meeting today, I reminded the guys that in order for us to become champions we will have to overcome the obstacles that are placed in our way. I told them that many of the greatest moments in sports have been teams or individuals that have overcome great obstacles to win big games. I told them about one of my favorite examples of this. During the 80’s the Lakers were facing a game 7in the playoffs without their big center Kareem Abdul Jabar. He had sprained his ankle and was out. It did not look good for the Lakers who seemed to be overmatched without a big man. However, behind Magic Johnson the team rallied and overcame what seemed to be great odds to win the NBA Championship. It was pretty amazing.
At game time, Ryan came to me and said he wanted to give it a go and see what he could do to help the team. He started and actually scored the first goal of the game. Overall, we were definitely off a little today. We did not have the same intensity or energy. Perhaps it was Romania’s scrappy defense or maybe we were just off today but it was a battle. The Romanian’s took a 2 – 1 lead after the first quarter. We came back and scored the next two goals to go ahead 3 – 2 at the half. On the break, I reminded the team that even when the offense is struggling, we need to stay focused on our defense. Win every series on defense was our goal.
We came out with some good energy in the second half and scored the first goal to go ahead 4 – 2. Romania was not done as they fought back and scored two in a row to tie the score at 4. We battled back and forth and ultimately took control of the game down the stretch. Layne Beaubien had three goals for us today to lead the team and Tony Azevedo scored a big goal near the end to seal the win. Jesse Smith, Justin Johnson and Ryan Bailey also scored. We won 7 – 5 to advance first in our bracket and earn an extra day off. We will not play again until Tuesday, when we will match up with the winner of the Montenegro/Canada game. It will be nice having some down time both physically and mentally it will be a nice break. We will have a light training tomorrow and then get back to work focusing in on our game plan for Montenegro (the likely winner against Canada) on Tuesday.
I received a great compliment from Jesse Smith after the game today. He told me that in the past we have surely lost this type of game. We were off and struggling but we stayed together and battled for the win. He then said “Thanks for helping us to find that confidence in ourselves and win”. These are the rewards that make coaching so special. To be a part of these guys lives and to help them grow as a team and hopefully as individuals as we go through our journey together. As I have said before, I have grown from this experience too. It is incredible.
Tomorrow is exciting in that my family arrives. Sheridan has been very cute on the phone – screaming in excitement with the news of each victory. They are excited to come and support the team and of course take in the sites of Rome while they are here. Sheridan has also been asking about Merrill all the time. She is his biggest fan.
Rick's wife, Brenda and Ryan’s wife, Rebecca also arrive tomorrow. Merrill’s parents come in and perhaps a few others. Our family grows over here and hopefully we are ready to give them some excitement as we make a run to become World Champions. It certainly will not be easy but it can be done. Here is my quote for the day “Whether you think you can or you can’t you are probably right”. We believe that we can do this. Send all your positive thoughts our way. We are half way there. Three wins away from gold.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Staying Focused
July,22nd 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Today we faced a Macedonia team that we knew we should beat. These games can be difficult because many times when you take your opponent lightly – it turns out to be a battle. So the key today was to come out with some fire in our eyes and stay focused for four quarters. The team did well. They came out on fire again (similar to Monday night) and before we knew it we were in control with a 5 – 0 lead. It has been a long time since we have had a lead like that on anyone. We continued to dominate play and led 8 – 2 at the half and 11 – 4 after three quarters. The final score was USA 13 – Macedonia 6.
Two games – two wins. Winning is definitely fun. Everyone is happy and the momentum is building. Tomorrow we train in the afternoon and then on Friday at 12:10we will face Romania. Romania defeated Italy tonight 6 – 5 so we know we are in for a battle. They have a very good left handed center and a very good left handed outside shooter. The winner of the game on Friday will win our bracket and will have the extra day off again. This means that with a win on Friday against Romania we would not play again until Tuesday. This is huge in a tournament like this where endurance becomes a factor. Last summer, we took advantage of the extra day off by resting up and then coming out in the semi-final game against Serbia and blasting them out of the pool.
Obviously, the team is playing well and the guys seem to be coming together more everyday. They are family and as a coach that is what you want. Today after the game the entire team took the time to hang out with a group of high school players that have been traveling around Europe. The kids and their families were overjoyed. It was nice the see the guys willing to give back and connect with some up and coming young players.
It was very hot and humid over here today. I went over this morning with Ryan Brown and we watched Croatia beat Montenegro 11 – 4. It was surprisingly lopsided. Even though the game was at 10:50 am it was very hot and not much fun to be in the stands. Our game was at 5:00 pm and the sun was still blistering hot. There is no shade on the deck so 12:10 on Friday should be an oven.
There have been a few other surprises too. Spain beat Serbia 11 – 9 and Germany tied Hungary 7 – 7. There are four teams that are 2 – 0 (two of them in our bracket). USA, Romania, Croatia and Spain. Obviously, this is where we wanted to be. We are in control of our own destiny. A win on Friday means we are top 8 and two wins away from a medal. Three wins away from the gold.
It is time to call it a night and get some sleep. We have some game film to break down tomorrow and then an afternoon training session. All that matters now is Romania. One game at a time – one possession at a time. Keep the focus – keep the edge. So far we are playing like champions and living our standards.
See you at the pool.
Coach
Passing the First Test
July,21st 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
The guys came through with flying colors last night. We came out with great energy and took at 3 – 1 lead. We built that lead to 5 - 3 at the half. The Italians made a run and actually tied the came at 6 all in the fourth. We immediately scored two quick goals and took control of the game. It was nice to see the guys be able to stay together and work hard to regain the momentum. The bottom line – we came into a tough environment and did a great job. I was very proud of the team. It was a nice team win. Although our scoring was not as balanced as it has been in some big games in the past, it was definitely a team win. Our defense held the Italians to 8 goals and we gave up a cheap one with 7 seconds left in the game. Merrill played great in the goal and Tony led the team with 4 goals, Layne had 3, Jesse 1 and Peter V. had 1. 
This was a very emotional game with lots of energy from a sold out stadium. Now our job as coaches is to bring them back to earth and make sure we stay focused on the task at hand. Tomorrow we play Macedonia. We really don’t know much about them as we have only seen them play one game here in this tournament. They are made up of a bunch of old Serbian, Croatian and Montenegrin players. This is a team that actually beat Greece last year to knock them out of the World Championships. They can be dangerous. Yesterday they lost 6 – 4 to Romania and they did not look so good. However, I am sure they will be fired up to play us. We need to stay focused as we are now totally in control of our bracket. We play Macedonia tomorrow and then Romania on Friday. Two wins means that we automatically advance to the top 8 and get two extra days off which as we saw last year in Beijing is a huge advantage.
We had a light training today and went over some game film for tomorrow. Game time tomorrow is at 5:00 pm. The real key for us is to stay focused and to be consistent – if we can play with the same energy and team work we played with last night then we can beat anyone. I have attached a few pictures from last night’s game. Keep on cheering for us. Go USA.
See you at the pool.
Coach
I received an email from a friend today with a great quote from Lou Holtz (one of the best football coaches ever). The quote read “I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary”. Have an extraordinary day!
Ready or Not
July,20th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
I guess no matter what as a coach you always have a little doubt as to whether or not you have done everything that you could have done to get your team ready. In Beijing, I had a good meltdown prior to our first game with China. I was very nervous and felt like I was going to faint. It was not until I went down on my knees in the locker room and handed it all over to God that I finally felt a comfort of knowing that their was nothing else I could do. I felt a comfort that stayed with me the rest of the tournament.
So here I am on day one finding myself a bit nervous again. In reality, we have had just three weeks together as a team to prepare for this tournament. We have had to balance conditioning and tactics and use our time as wisely as possible. We did our best not to waste any workouts. It feels like we had to rush through a great deal in a short amount of time. So I am a bit more nervous feeling like we have not prepared as well as we could have if we would have had more time. I guess that is the would of, should of, could of - that no one can really afford to get into. Like my Dad taught me years ago – you go out and you give it your best shot and then you should be satisfied. I am confident that our staff has done that. We have done our best to prepare these guys in the amount of time that we had.
In our meetings I have reminded the guys of what we went through last year. I have encouraged them to use that as an anchor – to help them to feel a comfort in knowing that we can do this. We can perform at our best in the biggest stage. We did that last summer and now I am asking them to do that again. That is what tonight is about and that is what this entire tournament is about. Testing yourself and your team to see how far you can go. I know very well and the guys know that if we play our game we will do well. It seems simple. There are many factors that we can not control – like the officials and the crowd and the late busses or the changes in schedules but we can control our play. We must stay together and play as a team - especially on defense. This must be the heart of our team. Our team goal is to give up 6 goals or less per game in this tournament. We all know that we can do that. It is a realistic goal – we must play to win every possession. We must shot block in the field and give Merrill some help. I am excited.
Over the past few weeks we have developed our own set of standards. These are not team rules but they are standards on how we want to live and how we want to play. Game time is the biggest test of these standards. We must hold each other accountable for what we (the players) have come up with as their championship standards. Right now it is on paper - but our actions will be the biggest litmus test to how well we play by these standards. If we stick together and stick to these we will do very well here. There is no question in my mind. Here are a few of the standards that we have set for ourselves.
• No excuses – we have what it takes to win.
• Great Defense – no one wants to play against us because the way we play defense.
• Sacrifice – the team wins not the individual
• Care – we have each other’s back
• Family – no one is closer
This is a sampling of what the guys put on paper as their “championship standards”. Like I said, if we play this way everything will be fine. In a few short hours we will find out how ready we are. For me – I think that this blog as helped to alleviate some of the stress of being a coach. It allows me to tell our story and let it go. I am confident that we will do well but don’t think for one second that I won’t say my prayers again today and ask God to guide us through another fun adventure. It is time to create a new chapter in this book of life. Do we have it in us to become world champions or even win a medal? We will all find out over the next couple of weeks. I am looking forward to the tournament getting started. Buckle your seatbelt and hang on because I believe it will be a great adventure.
See you at the pool.
Coach
P.S. Todays game is being televised on universalsports.com @ 11:35
Italian Home Cooking
July,18th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
It was an interesting day here in Rome. Tony Azevedo (our team captain) was awakened by a knocking on his hotel door at 5 am. It turned out to be four police officers who said that there were some problems with immigration and Tony would have to go down to the police station with them. As it turned out, he talked them out of going with them at 5 am and agreed to go down to the police station after our morning training. Obviously, when I found out about this I was a bit concerned and upset. 
Our training was set for 9 – 11 am at the competition pool. The first hour was with Germany and then we were to be on our own for the second hour. Our bus arrived at 8:45 and when we arrived at the pool we were informed that they had had changed our training time and we were now suppose to be in from 8:30 – 10:30 with only one hour in the competition pool and the other hour in the warm up pool. Apparently our host had been called last night at 10 pm but had never informed us of any changes.
After practice, Tony went down to the police station with Ryan Brown and the head of the USA delegation here. As it turned out - they had Tony sign a piece of paper that appeared to be some bogus document and he was done. It appears that they are doing whatever they can do throw us off balance. I think the guys rolled with it pretty good and if anything they all are saying that they would expect no less from the Italians. I believe that we are maturing. We are becoming mentally tougher. In the past this is the stuff that would have really got under our skin. It nice to see the guys just brush it off.
Training went well today. We also had training on our own tonight at a pool just outside the city and we spent the time walking through our 5 man defense. Once again, the 6 on 5 and the 5 man defense (man down) will be big keys as we get into this tournament.
Today was our first look at the competition venue. It was very impressive. They put a temporary pool inside a tennis stadium. The water polo venue seats 5,000 spectators and it is very nicely done. I have attached a couple of pictures so that you can get an idea of what it looks like. Regardless of all the home cooking (changes in schedule, etc.) going on it was exciting to be at the pool and visualize what it will be like on Monday night when we play Italy. When I close my eyes I can see a lot of Italian fans going home disappointed that evening. Anyway, we will see what they have up their sleeve for tomorrow.
To close out a good day we watched the USA vs. Italy game from the Olympics last summer. It was fun to watch and it definitely reminded us all of what a special experience we went through together last year. Here we are one year later – working together to create another great team experience. Look out world - here we come.
See you at the pool.
Coach
P.S. The food has been pretty darn good here – so not all the home cooking is bad.
The Heat Is On
July,17th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Wow – it has been hot! We have been melting the training facility in Montenegro. Yesterday it was 107 degrees when humidity was factored in. I had to soak myself in the water every 15 minutes or so just to be able to coach from the pool deck. We had two good trainings yesterday. The heat has definitely been a factor with the team. You can’t help but feel somewhat drained. I know that all of us coaches feel it and we have been mostly just standing around so I can’t imagine how the players are feeling. Regardless, we have been doing better in training. We had good scrimmages against both Montenegro and Spain and gave them a little more to think about before leaving town.
This morning we got up early (4:30 am) and headed for the airport. Our flight was at 6:30. Even though Rome is not too far away, there is no easy way to get there. We had to fly Podorica to Belgrade and then Belgrade to Rome. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was almost noon. We were able to get right in for lunch but unfortunately our rooms were not ready. The hotel was jammed with people from a Princess cruise that were in no hurry to get out of their rooms. Finally, after waiting around for a few hours everyone was able to get in their rooms and relax. We gave the team the day off – to recover and do some team bonding. They are going to go out for a nice dinner in town tonight.
Rick and I took the opportunity to drive around town and take a look at some of our training venues and try to figure out where we are going to do weights and what the pools are like so that we won’t have any surprises in the next few days. Three days to go before our first game with Italy. Even though it is a bit cooler here in Rome I think that many of the guys are beginning to feel the heat. There seems to be a little more pressure – perhaps it is self imposed now that they have a silver medal in their pocket. I feel like one of my biggest jobs is to keep the pressure off them as much as possible. There is no doubt that the team is one of the favorites. Everyone wants to train or scrimmage with us. Tomorrow we have been asked to train with the German team. They have a time slot right before ours in the competition pool so we will actually get two hours straight of training. This is so much better in my opinion, instead of running all over town – our two main venues are 20 – 45 minutes away depending on traffic. Many of our scheduled training times are for one hour which seems silly. You spend more time driving around then actually in the pool. So combining times and saving a drive to and from a training session sounds pretty good to me.
We were very fortunate in Beijing to have a dedicated training facility. If you remember - the USOC had rented out Beijing Normal University for the USA team so we only had to schedule our training times around the women’s team and we were able to do two hour blocks which significantly cut down on the tiresome drives around town in a bus. Here we will have to rely a little on combining workouts with other teams and seeing if we can get one good workout in rather than two shorter ones with much more driving time.
I think that the team dinner will be really good for the guys tonight. Then need just some fun time together. Time to relax and talk among themselves and find that inner confidence or peace that being on a united team brings to you. I told the guys last night in our meeting that our success in this tournament will come down to how we handle the stressful situations. Can we be calm in a storm? When we are down a goal or two can we stick together and rely on each other to fight on and win as a team or do we break apart and begin to play like individuals. The true measure of our team will be not how we perform in the times when we are winning but how we perform in the times when we are down. All great teams are tested and I truly believe that we are a great team and that we will find a way to become stronger in these situations.
It is exciting. The “team” has two weeks left in our lifetime together. The reason I say this is that every team is different. Last year’s team was made up of a few different players and next year will be different too. This “team” has these two weeks together and then we are done. Can we create some wonderful memories over the next two weeks that will surely last a lifetime? I believe that we can and we will!
See you at the pool!
Coach
Training
July,14th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Today was a typical training day for us. We began the day with weights and cardio work in the gym at 9:00 am. Next, we had about an hour on our own before we scrimmaged four quarters with Spain. It was good training and it gave us a chance to play against a team that will play a similar style of game to Italy. The scrimmage went well. It was close and it was obvious that we did not quite have our legs yet. The first 2 – 3 days are always difficult and I believe each day now we will get stronger and stronger.
After lunch the guys settled in for an afternoon nap. Typically this is a 2 – 3 hour rest period. Then came a light snack and back to the pool. In the evening we had about an hour and a half on our own and then we scrimmaged against Montenegro. After jumping on them 6 – 0 we cruised to a 12 - 6 win in 2 plus quarters. The guys looked like they were starting to feel better this evening. It was a good confidence builder and hopefully, we will build on this as we go forward. The final part of the day consisted of dinner and then relaxing before getting a good night’s sleep.
All in all it is a pretty normal day in our water polo life. Eat, sleep and play water polo. Tomorrow will be much the same. We will scrimmage with Spain in the morning and Montenegro in the afternoon. It is great training for us and it is preparing us well for Rome. We now are 6 days away from our first match at the Championships. It is getting more and more exciting as the anticipation builds.
The best news of the day was that our luggage arrived. Most everyone received their bags this morning before training and Tony finally received his this afternoon. It was a bit interesting that not only did we smell better but we also played better this afternoon.
Things are looking up. See you at the pool.
Coach
Another Adventure
July,13th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
We are off on our final trip off the summer – the World Championships. We left LAX on Saturday and finally arrived in Montenegro on Sunday night around 8 pm. It was a long day of travel with stops in Frankfurt and Belgrade. Unfortunately, most of our bags are still in one of those cities. My chiropractic table made it but none of my clothes. So as I write this I am going on three days with the same clothes. I guess it just adds to the adventure. Half the team is wearing the same outfit everyday. We were told our bags would probably get here today but no such luck. It just so happen that today was Montenegro’s Independence Day. Apparently, not too many people were working today - maybe tomorrow.
It is a bit interesting that we have witnessed a small part of that Montenegrin history. Three years ago we were here training with Serbia-Montenegro when we learned that the countries were going to split while we were in town. It was strange – we practiced in the evening with the Serbia-Montenegro team and then the next morning we showed up for practice and it was just Montenegro. The worst part about it was that they did not skip a beat. They had brought in about 7 new players and were just as good as the night before. What an incredible wealth of water polo players this region produces. Anyway, we were here on there first Independence Day and now helped them celebrate their third birthday.
So you ask – what did we do today to celebrate? Well the Montenegrin’s had that one figured out. They scheduled an official game with us for tonight – to help them celebrate! Here is how the day played out. After training in the morning we immediately boarded a bus and were driven to lunch. We arrived at a beautiful winery for an extended lunch and wine tasting. We had a short tour of the winery which is called July 13th and is the largest winery in Europe. After the tour, we sat down for lunch (with the entire Montenegrin team and delegation) and after a few speeches from the mayor and a few other dignitaries we had a very nice lunch. I knew we were in a bit of trouble right when we sat down and saw that each setting had 5 wine glasses in front of it. Actually, the winery is one of the team’s sponsor’s and it was pretty good wine. Probably would have made more sense to have the event after the game though. Anyways, we came back to the hotel and had about a four hour nap before the game. Not exactly ideal but the game was a bit of a set up anyway.
We were told prior to the game that one of their old players was retiring and that one minute into the game they would stop the game and have a little ceremony for him. I had seen this before in my playing days so I warned the guys that we would probably get an exclusion on their first possession and then after that player scored they would stop the game and have a ceremony. As if that was not enough, one of the officials was also retiring after the match so each player and coach was kissing the referee prior to the game. Obviously, we knew it was going to be a tough game to win but never the less, we were prepared to battle. Sure enough, on our first defensive possession, we were excluded and they worked the ball around to the big lefty who was set to retire. Merrill made a great save and we kept on playing. On the very next possession Jesse scored a nice outside shot and we were in their heads a little. A few possessions later Montenegro earned a second exclusion. Once again, they worked the ball to their lefty who shot and scored on a ball that was deflected. The game was immediately stopped and after a five minute ceremony in which the player received a great standing ovation - he left the pool and retired. They really know how to honor a player over here! Play resumed and although we played pretty well we just did not have the gas to keep up with them tonight. We were obviously a bit fatigued after our long day of travel and the officials were not going to give up too much help tonight. Montenegro ended up winning the game 12 – 9. It was good training and the reality is that we are getting ready for one week from now. That is when we will square off with Italy in the first game of the World Championships.
That is all for tonight. I will be checking in frequently over the next three weeks. What will tomorrow bring? Bring on the adventure – we are ready. I can once again sense a great swell building and we are coming together as we share these great experiences together. We are learning to be champions.
See you at the pool!
Coach
Excellence
July,06th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
I am happy to report that I normally don’t get to watch a great deal of television. However, this weekend Leanna was home sick with the flu and in between catching up on paperwork I watched some of the sports. It was a good weekend to watch a couple of the best athletes in the world competing on the world stage. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras’ record and won an epic battle with Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. Tiger Woods won the AT&T National and Lance Armstrong stayed in the hunt at the Tour de France.
As I sat and watched these “greats” perform, I could not help but think about the hours of hard work that they have put in to reach the top. As I watched each of these athletes you could almost see and feel excellence ooze from their persona. It was inspiring to say the least.
This week we begin our final week of training at home in preparation for the World Championships in Rome. Our first game is now less than 2 weeks away. At practice tonight, I will remind our team about the habits of a champion that together help each of us to become more “Excellence Oriented”. This is when your usual way of doing things is to wake up and focus on being your best - everyday. I truly believe that there is a champion within each of us. In order to become that champion, we need to develop strong habits that become a way a life and help us to become the very best that we can become.
Our goal now is to become a World Champion. We will need each of our guys to be 100% in this mode of being the best – excellence oriented. Each and every day, Robert, Ryan and I try to get the best out of our team. We try to challenge them to become better. We ask them to push themselves day after day. Over the past two weeks at home we have focused on a balancing conditioning and tactics. Many of our guys have felt kind of beat up and broken down as we have pushed them to the edge. This is what we want – to help them find the best within themselves. We will need each and every one of our guys to be at their best when we get to Rome. We have never medaled at the World Championships so this is a great opportunity for us rewrite the history books of USA Water Polo.
We can all learn from the best and this weekend was a great inspiration for me. I want this for our guys. I want them to be champions and I know that this is what they want too. Some of our veterans have stayed around for another crack at being the best. We came close last year in Beijing and now that they have tasted success they want more. I am excited for them and look forward to seeing them perform on their world stage.
Excellence is all around us!
See you at the pool.
Coach
The Medal Round-Super Final
June,23rd 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
With Friday’s win against Australia we guaranteed ourselves two good games and two chances to win a medal. This is where we want to finish all tournaments - in the hunt for a medal. We find ourselves in the final four with three teams all from former Yugoslavia. It is pretty amazing that there are so many great players coming out of this area. Wow. We need to make sure that we break this final four up some.
Saturday we matched up with Montenegro in the semi-finals. The game did not start out well and we quickly found ourselves behind 3 – 0. We fought back hard and midway through the second period we were down 3 – 2. Unfortunately, we gave up two unanswered goals again and we went down 5 – 2. This was a lead that we never really overcame. We once again seemed out of sync and not really firing on all pistons. Our 6 on 5 looked rusty as we scored only 2 out of 8. I would have to say that Montenegro looked like they were in peak form. They were well conditioned and played well together as a team. What was amazing to me is that as well as Montenegro played and as poorly as we played with two minutes to go in the game we scored a goal to cut the lead 9 – 7. We were very much right in the game. We were unable to score again and Montenegro finished with a goal from center to make the final 10 – 7. It was a fun environment. 4,000 rowdy fans all screaming for their home team. Actually, it was a great opportunity to play in front of this kind of crowd. When we go to Rome next month, our first game will be against Italy in front of 5,000 Italian fans.
In the other semi-final Croatia beat Serbia 7 – 5 in a hard fought battle. This set up the gold medal match with Montenegro playing Croatia and the bronze medal game with us getting a rematch against Serbia.
In our pre-game meeting for Serbia, I reminded the team about some of our principles that we lived by last year. One was a commitment to each other. This meant sacrificing part of ourselves for the good of the team. We certainly want to utilize each of our player’s personal strength. However, we have to match this with the role we are asking them to play on this team. We also spoke about playing defense with more energy and awareness – especially since we have only been back together for a few weeks. Our goal was to make every series on defense count. We can’t afford to give up cheap or easy goals against a team like this. A low scoring game would favor us. We needed to control the tempo of the game for four quarters.
At the pool for warm up, I liked what I saw in our player’s eyes. They looked confident and hungry. As the game progressed we seemed to be in control. We either led or were tied for the majority of the game. Our defense was playing very well and we were not giving the Serbs anything in their front court offense. We did have some miscues on our offensive end that cost us as we gave up four counter attack goals. We set the tempo and kept the Serbs off balance. However, when it came down to it we could not score the critical 6 on 5 or penalty shot in the fourth quarter and Serbia pulled ahead at the end with two late goals to win 9 – 7.
Even though the score did not come out in our favor, I liked what I saw with our team in this game. We played under control and there was definitely a resemblance to the way we played in Beijing. Merrill played great in the cage, recording 15 saves and the defense did a pretty good job of funneling the ball to him. The game was a good step in the right direction. The past two weeks have been good. We have played five games with Serbia, played Montenegro, Italy and Australia. We have also had some good training. Now it is time to head back home and prepare for the World Championships. We have about 17 days of training at home. Not much time but I believe that it will be enough. It will be nice to be on our own and focus on our tactics, fundamentals and conditioning. We need to keep everyone healthy while challenging each one of the guys to work hard and push themselves to their limit.
We will once again be training at Cal Lutheran University in the mornings from 9 – 12:30 and at Oaks Christian HS in the evenings from 7 – 9:30 pm. Practices are open, so feel free to come by and say hello. The team is really looking forward to getting back to the Thousand Oaks community. Many of the guys are returning to their host families. They all appreciate the support they received last year from our community and look forward to seeing many of the familiar faces again.
Here we go again – the final push towards our goal. We are aiming for that gold medal at World Championships. It will be intense, exciting and somewhat exhausting all at the same time. Thanks for sharing it with us. Going for the gold.
See you at the pool.
Coach
The Final Four
June,19th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
We beat Australia today 10 – 6. It was not our best game but it was good enough. The real story was our defense, led by Merrill Moses with 15 saves in the cage. We also recorded 7 field blocks and had a fair number of steals. The play was still a bit sloppy but part of that was the officiating which was very erratic. There was really no flow to the game. The officials called 3 double kick outs in one quarter alone. Our 6 on 5 was adequate and we totally shut down the Australians on their extra man. I believe that they were 1 for 10 on their extra man. We did have some casualties - Ryan Bailey woke up from his nap this afternoon with a severe tendonitis in his right arm. He was unable to play and John Mann has a bit of a whiplash. Overall, we seem a little out of condition. We definitely wore down pretty quickly. Anyways, we are working hard to get everyone rested and healthy by tomorrow.
Attached is the picture of the stadium here in Podgorica. There will be 4,000 screaming crazy Montenegrin fans filling this place tomorrow. I am sure that they will have drums beating while they chant their fight songs and have a good time. We might be lucky to have 5 cheering for us. It will be a great experience for our guys. In fact, I am sure when we play Italy a month from now in Rome at the World Championships; the situation will not be much different. At this point we are two games away from a championship here. It will certainly not be easy.
Montenegro is playing with a great deal of confidence and they will be very difficult to beat at home. However, I think that we match up pretty well with them. We have always played well against them and I don’t expect it to be any different tomorrow. The keys for tomorrow are as follows:
1. Defense first. Hold Montenegro to 6 goals. This is s huge task. They have many weapons and we will have to play our best defensive game of the tournament.
2. Play under control - keep the turnovers down to a minimum – we can’t get in a run and gun type game with these guys. Control the tempo
3. Score our 6 on 5 opportunities. I have no doubt that we will get our chances on the extra man (probably 10 – 12). We need to score 7 – 8 of our extra man to win.
Can we beat them? YES. I believe we can. The guys have all told me that they now believe that they can win every game they play. This is a giant step for us. I am looking forward to the challenge and I know the team is too.
For now it is time for a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow at the pool.
Coach
Disrespect
June,18th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
Just a few days ago, I told you about one of the best experiences I have ever had as a player or as a coach with our national anthem. Today, was possibly the worst experience. As our Star Spangled Banner was played prior to the start of the game, a loud and rowdy group of Serbian fans began to whistle and boo as they held up banners that referred back to their civil war. I have attached a picture which was taken of the banners by our team leader. It was extremely disrespectful and made me very upset. They whistled and booed so loud that you could hardly hear our anthem.
At the opening sprint, I would have to say that my blood pressure was high and my face was red with anger. Unfortunately, the game did not go much better. After playing reasonably well in the first period we kind of fell apart and got out of our rhythm. We committed 7 offensive fouls and turned the ball over on numerous bad passes. We were out of sync and the time away from each other looked like it was getting the best of us. Our sloppy play definitely fed into the Serbian’s strength. The countered us hard and if it wasn’t for a good game by Merrill Moses, the score could have been very lopsided.
As it turned out we hung around and with about two minutes left scored a goal to bring the score to 9 – 7 in favor of Serbia. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal on the very next possession and Serbia went on to win 10 – 7. The story of the game was really our uncharacteristic sloppy play. We gave up 2 goals from their center and 3 goals on their counter attack. These are two of our cardinal rules. We do not give up goals on the counter and we do not give up goals from center. I would have to say that this was one of the uglier games that we have played as a team since I began coaching 2 years ago. It was not pretty and we will have to change the way we play in order to have a successful outcome here. We are still very much in the tournament, in fact we could still win the whole tournament.
Tomorrow, we begin play in the elimination round. We will play Australia in what is essentially the quarterfinals. The winner will move on to face Montenegro on Saturday in the semis. Australia actually gave Montenegro a pretty good game tonight. They ended up losing by a score of 6 – 4 but had numerous opportunities to make the game even closer. The bottom line is that we need to get back to doing the simple things well. This needs to begin with good defense and good legs. We were pushed around a little tonight and the Serbs pressure forced our sloppy play. We made numerous passing errors and our 6 on 5 was not strong. We were 3 for 8 on our extra man attempts.
Everyone is disappointed. We are not used to losing so we all had our heads down a bit. Tomorrow we will rally the troops and get back on a winning track. Go USA!
We can do this…
See you at the pool.
Coach
The Stage is Set
June,17th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
It has been a long time since we had a game that we as coaches could actually relax a little. It was nice to be able to smile and laugh on the bench. We dominated the game from the beginning and pretty much had our way with an over matched Japanese team. After leading 7 – 0 at the half we went on to win 14 – 3. Another game where are defense was the story and on offense we had a very balanced attack. In fact, tonight we did even better than last night – 10 different players scored.
After our game, we stayed around and watched the Croatia vs. Montenegro game. The stadium was packed with 4,000 screaming Montenegrin fans. Every one of them seemed to hate the Croatian team. They had drums and noise makers and were singing and dancing for most of the match. It was a very fun water polo environment. If all goes well, we will be playing in that environment in a few nights. The whole team stayed and watched as Montenegro beat up on Croatia 12 – 7. It was good for the guys to see.
So here is the story. We play Serbia tomorrow night in the final game of the preliminary round. A win would put us in a cross over game with South Africa on Friday night. A loss will put us into a cross over game with Australia. We are playing well but tomorrow will be a good test. Serbia beat Italy today 6 – 3. They have a few players here that were not in the States last week when we played, but then so do we. I like our chances.
It would be very nice to play South Africa in the quarterfinals. They are the weakest team here and it would be beneficial to have essentially a day of rest before the semis and finals. The truth is that either way we will get some great competition before the week is out.
One of our hosts (our translator) was talking to me this morning and he passed on the fact that we were the talk of all the other coaches last night. The word was that we beat the Italians and made it look easy. The other coaches were saying that it looked like we were playing at about 60% and yet we were in control of the game from start to finish. As I told our host, “now all we have to do is get our guys to play at 100%”. This is nice water polo gossip and it is nice to hear that we are still turning heads. The real test will be in the pool as the tournament progresses. There are big games ahead and tomorrow is the first of many.
See you at the pool.
Coach
World League Super Final - Day 1
June,16th 09
Author: Dr. Terry Schroeder
In our pre-game meeting today we set a goal of holding each of our opponents to 6 goals or less in this tournament. I stressed the fact that we must play defense first. We know that if our defense is strong we will be in every game. I also talked about making winning a habit. Getting back to the podium last year was a huge step for us – but now that we are an Olympic medal winner we are a target. Every team will show up wanting to play their best game against us. We are now a target. It is harder to stay at the top than to get to the top. This is our challenge. We as a team need to get used to winning - we need to get used to being in contention to win every tournament that we play. Essentially, success is a habit and I want our team to develop this habit.
We came out and played a solid four quarters today. The Italians stuck around and made it difficult but in the end we accomplished our goal and won 10 – 6. Even better from a coaches perspective is that we had 9 different players score today. Jesse Smith led the team with two goals, and Tony Azevedo, Peter Varrellas, Ryan Bailey, Jeff Powers, Justin Johnson, JW Krumpholz, Tim Hutton and Brian Alexander all scored. As a coach, this is a nice thing to see. It was a total team effort.
This was an important game for another reason too. Next month, when we travel to Rome for the World Championships we will face Italy in our first match. So it was important today to send them a message. They are a team that plays with a great deal of emotion and if you let them feel that they have a chance they are much tougher. I am sure that they will give us a battle in Rome but for today – we definitely got the best of them.
On a side note. We played a 4:20 pm today. Game time temperature was about 95 degrees and extremely humid. The benches also faced the afternoon sun which made it almost unbearable. We did not have ice on the bench and all the water that they brought for us was luke warm at best. I know that I left the game pretty dehydrated and all I did was stand in the sun for an hour. We will be better prepared over the next few days. We are sending Rick out to get an ice chest so that we can have ice and cold water on the bench.
Tomorrow we will face Japan at 7:00 pm. The Japanese lost today to Serbia 12 – 6 after being tied at the half. They are relatively small but fast. It should be a decent game but I will be surprised if we don’t over power them.
It feels good to be back with the team. I am enjoying being back on the deck with our guys. They are a joy to work with and the rewards have been great for me.
See you at the pool.
Coach
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