Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Worlds recap and next steps.



Hello once again. I haven’t blogged for a while. The team took some much needed time off after our amazing season ended at the World Championships in Moncton.

We ended up with a 5th place finish at Worlds. After the round robin had concluded our record was 7-4, which was good enough to put us in a 4 way tie for third place. We then faced Norway in a tie-breaker while Switzerland and Germany faced off in the other match to fill out the final four. (Scotland and Canada had already advanced to the number one and number two seeds in the playoffs.)

Unfortunately we just didn’t play very well in the tie-breaker. As it was for most of the week, the ice was quite tricky to read and we didn’t adjust to it very well. On top of that, Norway brought their A-Game to the ice that day and took advantage of every mistake we made. Needless to say, the match ended early and our dream season had come to an end.
As disappointing as it was to be done, we were able to come away from the experience with a number of positives. First and foremost, we didn’t ever play our best game that week and were still in position to make the final four. We feel that bodes well for us and what might be possible in the future. Secondly, we exceeded the expectations of many who felt that we’d finish at the bottom of the standings. I think we opened a few eyes. Lastly, we came away with a good list of things we can improve on....we really learned quite a bit.

So the next step will be to take that list and apply it in our training camps, which start at the end of May. We’ll be spending 2 to 3 long weekends a month at camp and have a great team of coaches to work with. I am really looking forward to the concentrated effort and year round access to the ice that we’ll have this year. Not to mention getting in great physical shape.

In addition to the camps, we’re busy setting up appearances and working on sponsorship efforts. These efforts will help to offset some lost income that the team members will stand to incur over the next year. There is also an effort to help family and friends raise funds to defray expenses for the trip to Vancouver. As it turns out, the Olympics can be a spendy proposition!

We’re also working at finalizing our competition schedule for next Fall and Winter. As I have mentioned previously, it is likely that we’ll be competing in a number of events overseas and in Canada. These events will provide us with the level of competition that we will need to prepare for our time in Vancouver.

So I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that we’re very anxious to get to work! Nobody wants to be on that podium more that we do!