Dr. Terry's Blog

The final chapter 8/12/12

2012-08-13T08:25:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, we played better water polo but still could not overcome a slow start. After going down 3 - 0 against Spain, we battled back and lost a close game 8 - 7. In the end, we could not score on our critical extra man and then we could not make the critical stop. Another disappointment. It has been tough to overcome our broken dream. The 48 hours after losing to Croatia were very difficult to say the least. Walking around our players rooms was like being in a funeral home. I don’t blame them. I know I was having a very difficult time processing our loses and getting myself out of a fog. We had a few good meetings as a team and talked about playing the last two games out with pride and for each other. This is the last time this team will play together. Ryan Bailey stepped up and challenged the guys “to play for their character as men. He said, even if we get beat, we need to go out there and give it our best shot. Do not have any regrets about the way that you play”.

I shared a story with the team about my final game with the national team in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games. We had lost to Spain in the semi-final game. In a similar situation - our dream was over - and we had to find a way to get ourselves ready for the bronze medal game against Russia the next day. The bottom line is that we could not overcome the loss in the semis and we played with very little passion or excitement. We finished fourth in the tournament and left with no medal. To this day, not being able to get the team (or myself) ready to play in the bronze medal game has been biggest regret as an athlete. It was after all my final game as a national team player and my final Olympic games and it has always left a sour note in my mind. I shared this story because I do not want these guys to have that same experience and have the same regret.

As I have reflected, processed and prayed about our situation it has occurred to me that part of our pain has been the super high expectations that we placed on ourselves. Going in it was almost as if we did not win the gold it would be a failure. Part of this had to do with our success in Beijing. Going into the Olympics in Beijing, no one expected us to do well and certainly no one expected us to win a medal. There was virtually no pressure on us going in and we were able to relax and play. Here we felt an enormous amount of pressure. Our goal was no longer to “get back to the podium” as it was in 2008. Our goal now was to climb the highest mountain and stand on top of the podium by winning the gold. We like to say “go for the gold”. Perhaps it is the American way that success is only achieved by reaching the top. While this is definitely not true, as an athlete and a coach id I don’t dream about being on the top of the podium or going for the gold - I feel I will never reach that goal. So there lies the conundrum - if we don’t dream it, say it and talk about it how do we ever reach it? There has to be a balance in there somewhere and obviously we somehow lost that balance this year.

I also realize how difficult it is to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games and how this is especially true in a team sport like ours. There are so many pieces that all have to come together at the right time and for us in this Olympic Games some of those pieces did not come together. My hat is off to all of the gold medalist here at these games - especially Coach Adam Kerkorian and the USA Women’s water polo team. They beat Spain on Thursday night to win the first gold for America in water polo in 100 years. They played an outstanding game and won 8 - 5. It was a special moment.

The village is quieting down. Many athletes and teams are done now and have left. There is a totally different vibe now - especially since we are playing on the final day for 7th place instead of a gold medal. Even though this is a difficult, we have to realize that God has a plan and that our dreams and goals do not always fit into that plan. The journey that we have shared together is very special and we have all learned from each other and often times in life the toughest situations and the greatest defeats or loses teach us the most. Traveling the world with this team, we have shared some tremendous experiences. We have laughed until our stomachs hurt and cried on each others shoulders - we have experienced together the full spectrum of human emotions. We have learned about love, trust and respect and built a relationship as a team based on those traits. I would not trade this experience for anything. I read an article the other day that said “the Olympics are less about who wins the gold, and more about a gold standard of living.” I would agree and it is my hope that this experience has made us all better men, better friends, better husbands and better dads.

I close this final chapter with gratitude. First, I want to thank my staff. Robert Lynn, Marco Palazzo, Rick McKee, Karen Bloch, Alex Ash and Jack Kocur for all of their commitment, dedication and hard work. They are rarely recognized for what they do and yet they are vital for our success. I would also like to thank all of the athletes that were a part of this team (whether they made the final team or not). I am very proud of their sacrifice and their commitment to making their Olympic dream come true. Many of these guys will retire and move on to their careers outside of the pool. I wish them all the best as they transition out of sport and into the “real world”. To the guys that will continue on, I wish them all great success in their future - perhaps there is a gold medal out there. I hope I can be involved at some level with the National team going forward. I would also like to thank all of the families of the players and coaches (including mine). Their love and support allow us to do what we do and they share in our pain at this time. Finally, I appreciate so much all the support that so many in the Conejo Valley have given to me and our team. I am thankful to the Ventura County Star for allowing me to share our journey with all of you. Although, it has not turned out the way that any of us had hoped for - it surely has been quite an adventure. Tomorrow is a new day and it time to move forward with some new goals and new dreams...

And yes, I will still see you at the pool!

Coach

Most difficult Blog 8/9/12

2012-08-09T07:05:00.001-07:00

I would have to say that this blog has been the most difficult to write. I have never even thought about trying to write what I am about to write. The script in my mind was so different. I always believed that we would climb Mt. Everest and make it to the top and win a gold medal. Unfortunately, that dream ended last night with an 8 - 2 loss to Croatia in the quarter-finals. To say that we struggled offensively would be a huge understatement. I give Croatia and their coach Radko Rudic a great deal of credit because they played very well and executed a great game plan against us. We did many things well. Our defense was strong enough to win. In fact, eight goals was the lowest total for any of the winning teams in the quarter-final. On offense, we were moving well and working the ball to our center very effectively. We just could not score. We had 15 chances on the power play and managed to score just one goal. I am not sure I have ever been on a team as an athlete or a coach that went 1/15 on the power play. A decent percentage on the 6 on 5 is 50%, which means 7 - 8 goals for us - we scored just one. Very frustrating and sad to say the least. The bottom line is that on this day Croatia was the better team.

We all left the pool deck with our heads down. I felt terrible - like I had let the team down. I waiting inside the warm up pool area and talked to many of the players one on one before leaving to go meet with my family. My message to them was one of gratitude for allowing me the opportunity to work with them. It has been a very special journey and I know how much they all gave up trying to reach their dream. It has been a privilege for me to work with this team. I did not want to walk out of that pool area. There was a sense of finality to moment and I did not want it to end just yet.

As I left the arena and crossed the bridge to meet with my family I felt a swirl of emotions that made me feel very sad and empty. I tried to hold back tears as I approached families and was greeted by a round of applause and USA cheers. There I met my girls and we united into a family hug. As I held them, I knew deep down that my family, that I held tightly in my arms was my true gold medal. I am a lucky man to have the love and support of a beautiful wife and two awesome daughters that have been there for me all of the way on this Olympic journey. I did not want to let go. Many of the parents came by to hug me and say thank you for being there with their sons on this journey. I could no longer hold back the tears. For me as the coach, I get most of my joy out of the relationships with the players and the families. We have shared great moments of accomplishment together and today we share the same pain and sadness of a broken dream.

Sports in so many ways mirrors life. There are highs and lows. Moments of great joy and times of pain, suffering and loss. It is difficult at this moment to keep it all in perspective but our loss is but a game. Yes - we have all sacrificed together to make a dream possible, yet is it really sacrifice when you have such an amazing opportunity to do something that you love to do. It really has been an incredible chapter in my life with lots of laughter and fun interspersed with some tears today, we cry together for a dream that was broken. I am still very proud of these guys. They are and forever will be a part of my family.

We are not done here at the Olympic Games. We still have the opportunity to finish strong against some very good teams. On Friday, we will play Spain in the semi-finals of the consolation bracket. The winner on our game will play the winner of the Hungary vs. Australia game. The four teams left fighting for Olympic gold are Montenegro (which we beat), Serbia, Croatia and Italy. Three of the four teams are from what used to be Yugoslavia. Pretty incredible...

These consolation games are difficult to play in. Every team had high hopes and is not happy playing for 5th. Can we recover from three difficult loses in a row? Actually, I am not sure that we can, but I am going to do my best to get these guys fired up to play with all of their heart and finish this Olympic Games and in some cases their careers with some pride.

Thank you for all of your support. I have received so many emails and text messages from fans back home. It has been really appreciated. If you would like to send a note to the team you can use my email and I will forward it to them. tschroeder@usawaterpolo.org

See you at the pool

Coach

Beat but not defeated 8/6/12

2012-08-07T08:46:00.002-07:00

After beginning the tournament 3 - 0 and feeling pretty good about ourselves we fell flat on our faces in the last two games. First, it was Serbia that ripped our defense apart. They came down on their very first possession just :33 seconds into the match and scored. We seemed flat from the beginning and by the end of the fist quarter it was 4 - 1. We actually played a decent second quarter. We scored the first goal of the quarter to make it 4 - 2 and then had a couple of good chances to make it 4 -3, including a power play. Serbia would keep us off of the scoreboard and add one themselves to make it 5 - 2 at the half. By the end of three quarters it was 8 - 4 and then 11 - 6 at games end. Merrill Moses played solid in the goal and ended with 12 saves. Ryan Bailey had two goals, Tony Azevedo, Peter Varellas, Tim Hutton and Jeff Powers all added a goal. Certainly not the result we wanted. My observation was that we seemed to be playing on our heels. Timid at best. We allowed Serbia to take it to us at both ends of the pool. Our defense - which needs to be strong if we have any chance to win a medal here - was porous. We allowed too many easy goals, including four counter attack goals and one center goal this is bad - these are our golden rules - we do not allow counter goals or center goals. Anyway, I have to give Serbia credit. They played very well and dominated us. They showed everyone that they are the team to beat right now.

Two days later, on Monday we would come back for our final game of the preliminary round. Our opponent - Hungary, the winner of the last three Olympic Gold medals. That is right, they have won the gold in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Although, they had not played that well here in London, we knew what they were capable of. Our situation going into the game was as follows. We had already assured ourselves a birth in the quarter finals. A win or a tie against Hungary would mean that we would finish second in our bracket; a loss would mean that we would finish fourth in our bracket. Basically, how you finish in your bracket determines who you would play in the cross over (quarter final game). Finishing second would mean Spain or Italy in the cross over and fourth would mean Croatia. More importantly, I tried to get our guys to focus on ourselves. Getting back to playing good USA water polo. Four quarters of good solid defensive water polo. No easy goals for the other team. We came out playing strong defensive water polo. At the end of one quarter, Hungary was up 1 - 0. Definitely, our style of game. We had some good scoring chances ourselves but could not find the back of the net. Regardless, we seemed to be back on track with our game. We totally fell apart in the second quarter allowing Hungary 3 unanswered goals to take a 4 - 0 lead. Finally, we scored a nice goal but then the Hungarians came right down and scored on their very next possession. We traded goals again at the end of the quarter and found ourselves down 6 - 2 at the half. The third quarter was just as bad as we were outscored 4 - 1 by the Hungarians again and by the end of three quarters the came was essentially over. We were down 10 - 3 and although we showed life and won the final period 3 - 1, the final score was once again 11 -6. So much for one goal games. We left the deck with our heads down totally defeated. Hungary had totally outplayed us. They looked and played like the defending champions. I felt sick to my stomach. We had been beaten badly two games in row. As the head coach, I have to first look in the mirror to find the answers. Much of the responsibility falls upon my shoulders. Why have we played poorly on the world’s biggest stage? Once again, that begins with me... We gathered for a short meeting in our very somber locker room. I reminded them of a couple of things. Here is a summation of what we talked about. We had been beaten by two of the best teams in the world. They played well and we did not. Both of these games are in the past now. We can only learn and grow from our loses and many great teams have said that their defining moments have been in their most humiliating loses. We are very much alive. Beginning in the quarter finals everyone in the tournament is 0 - 0. Everything begins all over.

We do need to find the answers and as I mentioned above that begins with me. I spent some time with my family and then just hung out by myself in the Olympic Park for a couple of hours. I walked and reflected. I sat and prayed for guidance. I searched my mind for answers. Where is that team that I have seen play so well in the past? What has happened? As I sat in one area of the park. I read this quote etched into the marble wall.

“That which we are, we are

One equal temper of heroic hearts

Made weak with time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”

As I thought about it and reflected, I realized how true it is here at the Olympic Games. We are all tested and often times defeated, however loses are only temporary. We must never give up, we must stay strong and to seek to find the answers. We must stay the course and continue to strive for the goals that we have set out to accomplish.

Although, I did not sleep well. I woke thankful that we have the opportunity that we have in front of us. It is a new day and we are very much alive. We are here at the Olympic Games and as Yogi Berra once said “it’s not over till its over”. Today we will spend the day preparing for Croatia. We will spend time watching video and developing a scouting report and game plan that gives us the best possible chance against Croatia. They are a great team and they are undefeated here in London. They have played very well and will be a very tough opponent. The coaches will work hard to help get our guys back on track and get ready to play at our best level. I still believe that we can do this...

We may be a bit beat down right now but we are far from done. Keep the faith.

See you at the pool.

Coach

Full Capacity 8/2/12

2012-08-03T07:36:00.002-07:00

Team USA went to 3 - 0 with a solid win over Great Britain last night. Merrill Moses played only the first quarter in goal - helping us to a 5 - 0 first quarter lead. Chay Lapin saw his first Olympic action in the goal when he replaced Merrill and played the final three quarters. A very spirited crowd cheered loudly for Great Britain with each goal or save they made. It was a fun atmosphere. On the offensive end, we were led by team captain Tony Azevedo with 4 goals. Ryan Bailey had three, Shea Buckner added two, Peter Varellas, Adam Wright, Jeff Powers and John Mann all scored one.

In our pre-game meeting we had talked about the importance of getting off to a good quick start and setting the tone. Although, they are not considered one of the powerhouse teams in the tournament they have been playing well for a quarter or two with all the teams that they have played. After building a good lead (7 - 0), we were able to rest a few of our veteran players that have been playing a majority of the minutes. Everyone played a good deal and although it was not our best game - it did not need to be. We did what was needed to do and now it is time to prepare for the Serbians.

In my opinion, Serbia has been the best team in the world for the past few years. They are very strong and well balanced with highly skilled players at each position. We have not beaten this team since Beijing in the semi-final game. Along the way, we have suffered a coupe pretty embarrassing loses to this team. They have in the past taunted us and laughed at us. We have something to prove... I know this for a fact - they do not have what we have. We have a group of guys that truly care and love one another. We have spent the past seven months together preparing for this moment. I believe with all my heart that we can beat them. Serbia showed some vulnerability yesterday in their game with Montenegro. After taking an 11 - 9 lead they let Montenegro come back and tie the game at 11. Basically, our bracket shapes up like this. We area on top of the bracket with 6 points (2 points for every win) and Serbia is next with 5 points (2 for a win and 1 for a tie). We beat Serbia on Saturday and we will win our bracket no matter what happens against Hungary. This would mean that we would cross over in the quarter-finals against the fourth place team in the other bracket.

In the other bracket, Croatia looks very strong. They beat Italy yesterday 11 - 6 behind a solid defensive effort. Spain and Italy will battle for second and third in that bracket while Australia and Greece fight it out for fourth. Lots can happen in the next two games so I definitely don’t want to get ahead of myself here. We can only control one thing and that is how we play. The coaching staff is now spending hours reviewing game footage on Serbia and together we will come up with the best possible game plan to beat them on Saturday. We have put ourselves into a good place and it is very exciting.

The village is buzzing now. Inside the village, there is a lot going on. Walking around yesterday, it appeared to be “rush hour” all day long. Swimming is still going on, track and field is going to start and most events are in full swing. It seems that the village must be at full capacity. Even the huge dining hall (which was empty when we first arrived) is now full at meal times. The energy is palpable. I ran into Usain Bolt (the fastest man in the world) and Pau Gasol yesterday. There is so much excitement and anticipation. It is after all, the Olympic Games and there is nothing that compares.

On a side note, I was able to get tickets to tennis on Wednesday (our half day off). The girls and I all went and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at Wimbledon on Centre Court. What a special place! It was beautiful and inspiring. We all enjoyed the day and saw some great tennis. We actually watched Djokovic beat Leyton Hewitt and then saw most of the Andy Murray match before we had to go. Definitely a great experience for the entire family. All the team enjoyed an afternoon off with their families before getting back to work. Once again, I believe in keeping that balance as much as possible. Some relaxing down time with our families will help to keep us a bit fresher as this tournament goes on.

See you at the pool.

Coach

Royalty in the House 7/31/12

2012-08-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

Over the past two days, I have stressed to the guys the importance of staying mentally focused on the next game. Game one in the Olympic Games is always so emotional and draining. We put a lot on the line vs. Montenegro and I was afraid that we had spent a great deal of emotional and physical energy in that first game victory. In my mind, I was thinking back to 1988, my team had beaten Yugoslavia - the reigning World Champion and reigning Olympic Champion - in our first game. In game # 2 we came back to play Spain, a team that we had beaten 16 -6 just a month before the Olympic Games, and lost 9 - 7. We had also spent a good deal of energy against Yugoslavia and then had come back thinking that Spain was to be an easier match. This is one of the biggest mistakes that any athlete can make. When we think that our opponent is “easy”, we get into big trouble. It’s amazing to me that, this occurs even at the highest level in sports. Also, it is incredible how being just a little off mentally makes such a big difference. I was a bit concerned that we were heading into a similar situation. Montenegro is a medal contender and Romania is not supposed to be as good. I tried to emphasize this point to the guys - “we have to go out and prove ourselves again today, we can not take Romania lightly.”

Even during warm-ups, I sensed a different energy. We seemed a little flat and sure enough as the game vs. Romania began we just did not have that same swagger. We were struggling. Romania was playing very physical and we seemed to be back on our heels. After being down at one point 5 - 3, we began to get ourselves into the game. Down 5 - 4 at the half, we jumped on Romania and scored three unanswered goals. Merrill Moses came on strong in the second half and recorded 12 saves by the end of the game. He is an emotionally charged goalie and when he makes a couple of good saves the entire defense comes alive. We also had some great leadership in the water by some of our veteran players who kept their focus and really helped to get us back on track in the water. Adam Wright has been punched, kicked and head butted during the last two games. He actually had a dislocated tooth in game one that had to be reset and cemented in place. He played last night with a mouth guard and once again had a great game. Winning this type of game takes a team effort and every player deserves recognition. Peter Varellas and Ryan Bailey each had three goals, Adam Wright had two, John Mann and Layne Beaubien added one and we came out on top 10 - 8. The game was really won by our defense. In the second half, Romania became very frustrated because our defense came alive. Our five man defense (when the other team has a 6 on 5 advantage) was excellent in the second half. After giving up 4 power plays goals in the first half - we gave up just one in the second half. This was a highlight of the game for me. When it comes down to the medal games - five man defense is going to be a huge factor in who wins.

Two games - two wins. We are positioning ourselves nicely in bracket play. The top four teams advance to the quarter-finals next week, with first place in the A bracket playing fourth place in the B bracket. Second in A plays third in B and so on. There are already some interesting results coming in. Hungary which has won the last three Olympic gold medals has started this tournament with two loses. They lost to Serbia in game one and then yesterday lost to Montenegro 11 -10. Only three teams are 2 - 0 at this point - USA, Serbia and Croatia.

Last night Prince William was in the “house” watching our game. I did not see him but was told after the game that he was sitting up in the stands with a t-shirt and a baseball cap. From what I have been told, Prince William was a pretty good water polo player himself so perhaps we have a good fan. Lori and the girls saw him and took a few pictures. The girls are having a wonderful time. They have been all dressed up in their red, white and blue cheering on Team USA. It is nice to have them here with me to share in the Olympic experience.

Earlier in the week, I was able to get the girls into the village on a day pass. I gave them a good tour and at the end of the day we were all treated by a visit by the Queen. I had no idea that this was happening but the girls visit coincided with the Queen’s. Another special memory that we all will be able to share together.

Today, we are having a light training and then giving the team the afternoon off to spend with their families. This will be one of the only breaks that they will have over the next ten days and I feel that it is very important to let their minds and bodies rest and enjoy the company of their families. I will enjoy the day with mine too. We will get back to work on Thursday morning with a meeting and training and then in the evening we will play Great Britain. Although the Brits are currently 0 - 2 we will have to be mentally prepared to come out and battle. After a good lesson yesterday, I believe that we will be ready to play at a high level.

See you at the pool.

Coach

Three Wins 7/30/12

2012-07-30T08:45:00.001-07:00

Finally, we get to play our first game. There is no doubt that this period before that first game are the longest days ever. The anticipation and excitement get to all of us a bit. Athletes are already coming into the village wearing medals that they have won. There is also more noise in the village as some of the athletes are done competing and are up late listening to music or talking with their friends. The court yards created by the athlete dorms have made for a good echo chamber where voices and noise carry. One of my jobs during these early days (before we begin) has been to keep the guys calm and confident. Through experience, I know what these days are like and hopefully I have been able to help the guys handle this period a bit better. We also have a group of veterans who all know the drill and have helped the younger guys deal with it better. Observing the guys, looking at their eyes, talking with them - I felt like we were in a good place - confident and pretty relaxed. There is no question that all of us feel the pressure. This is a good thing as long as you recognize that this nervousness is normal and healthy. If any of the guys did not feel a bit nervous, I would be worried about them. It is really just a matter staying in the moment and not letting these nerves get to us. All of these guys have passed the test of playing well in the biggest games (Olympics, World Championships, Pan American Games) and have learned to control that nervous energy. They are here for a reason.

We had a good pre game meeting and I felt very confident with our game plan. The coaching staff has spent hours looking at video and developing a plan to beat Montenegro. The plan was simple - we win by playing great defense and not allowing their best players to hurt us. They have one of the best centers in the world and we knew going in that it was going to be a huge task for us to stop him. They also have a couple of great outside shooters and to win this game we were going to have to keep them from having big games. Looking at the players as we left the meeting room, I felt even more confident. This group cares so much about each other - they really are a family. Yes - we have talent but I believe that our closeness and our belief in each other is what is going to make the difference.

As we marched onto the pool deck for the game it was very evident that we had a “home crowd” here in London. There we dozens of American flags hanging in the crowd. Thousands of USA water polo fans were in the building and this was certainly going to work for our advantage. Here is a my brief recap of the game. Montenegro scored first but two minutes later we evened the score at one with a nice goal by Ryan Bailey. The first quarter ended tied at one. The low scoring defensive game was exactly what we wanted. The teams traded goals early in the second quarter before we scored two unanswered goals to take a 4 - 2 lead into half time. In the third, we actually pulled in front 6 - 3 at one point and had them on the ropes. However, we all knew that it was far from over. Montenegro scored with less than a minute to go in the quarter to pull within two at 6 - 4. Just one minute into the fourth quarter they scored again to make it a one goal game. This is where the true test occurs. A one goal game - heading into the final five minutes of the game. How would we respond? We bounced right back and scored the next goal a minute later and pulled back ahead by two. Montenegro was not done and they would score again to make the score 7 - 6 with two minutes to go. OK - now I was feeling a bit stressed... but still confident. With 1:23 left on the clock I called a time out to make a few substitutions and get the guys settled down. Coming out of the time out, Tony Azevedo scored a huge goal that brought us back up by two. We seemed to have the game in hand - up by two with less than a minute to play. Montenegro would come right down and score 11 seconds later and make it a one goal game again with :46 seconds to play. With a 30 second shot clock we could not hold the ball for the entire time. We used most of the clock and but were unable to get a shot off and Montenegro would call time out with :17 seconds remaining. We played great defense and did not allow them to even get a shot off. Final score USA 8, Montenegro 7. A big win for Team USA. Obviously, a great way to begin the Olympic tournament. Peter Varellas led the team in scoring with 3 goals, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Layne Beaubien, Tim Hutton and Adam Wright each scored one. Adam had a front tooth dislocated in the first half, came back into the game in the second half and gave us a great spark with a nice goal. Merrill Moses had a great game in the goal to lead the defensive effort. It was a good team win. We can enjoy the win for a hour or so and then we must move on and begin to prepare for Romania on Tuesday. Each game is huge and now all focus is on Romania.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the other two wins. Win # 2 - for the first time since we moved into the village we (the coaches) had hot water today and I was able to take a hot shower. Those cold showers in the morning were getting old and they finally were able to fix our hot water heater. A hot shower never felt so good. Win # 3 - we also had fans for our rooms delivered today. There is no circulating air in the building, so on the days when the sun has ben shining our rooms have been getting very warm. Now we have some air moving! Oh yes - the simple things that we take for granted... Obviously, the win in the pool was the one that really matters, however the other two “wins” are much appreciated too.

See you at the pool.

Coach

Pride in yourself, Pride in your Country 7/28/12

2012-07-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

There is one moment that definitely stands out at every Olympic Games that I have been a part of. That moment is when Team USA enters the stadium at Opening Ceremonies. It is absolutely thrilling to march into a packed stadium and hear the roar of the crowd as your country is announced. I was so excited about this approaching moment that I had dreams about it for the past few months. Unfortunately, the decision was made to limit the number of coaches that were to march into the stadium with each team. Water polo was awarded one spot and that was given to the women’s team, meaning that I was not going to have a chance to participate in the Opening.

Over the past few days, as the ceremonies approached, I was a bit depressed with the realization that I would not be walking into the stadium with my team. I also felt very bad for my staff. These guys have worked hard to make it to this moment and I would like to briefly honor them here. My first assistant, Robert Lynn is participating in his third Olympic Games. He marched in at Sydney as an athlete and he was a big part of our success in Beijing. Robert is one of the best coaches in the world and I am lucky to have him on my team. Marco Palazzo, our second assistant is at his first Olympics. Marco is from Italy and he brings an international dimension to our staff. He played for the Italian national team but was never able to quite make the Olympic team. He has dreamed since he was a child of marching into the stadium and representing his country. Marco knows the international players better than anyone on our staff and provides great insight to all of our scouting report. Rick McKee, our team leader, was a part of staff in Beijing. He does so many little things behind the scenes and never gets much credit. We could not be here without him. Dr. Karen Bloch, our team trainer, has kept this team healthy for the entire year. She is a chiropractor and an athletic trainer and will do very well in the “real world” because she has a great healing touch. Alex Ash, our strength training coach, has helped to initiate a state of the art strength program called P3. This is a program that has been developed by Marcus Elliot MD, who works with the highest level athlete in all sports. I feel that P3 has given us the competitive edge and we are stronger than we have ever been before. Our video scout is Jack Kocur, who played for me at Pepperdine when we won a national championship. Jack will be spending some long days here filming and coding game film to help develop scout films on each team. Finally, we have a team doctor that works with both the men and the women. Dr. Marcia Whalen has worked with our team and volunteered countless hours to help any and all of the players and coaches that have needed medical attention. All of these people deserve recognition and I am sad that they will not experience the Opening Ceremonies in the stadium.

I certainly was not going to hang out in the Village and pout about not going to Opening. My family arrived in London on Thursday and I decided to spend the time watching the Opening Ceremonies with them. I listened to my Olympic music for much of the day while doing my work. I was fired up for the Opening when I met up with my girls - Lori, Leanna, Sheridan and Lori’s sister Robin. We headed into town to the P and G family house. This is a place where the Olympic families can go to meet up, relax, get a meal and watch the events on the big screen. Proctor and Gamble is the sponsor this year and they have done a fantastic job. The place decked out in red, white and blue. Free food, drinks and lots of fun activities for the families. There is a man cave where men can go and shoot pool, foosball or get pampered with a haircut or a shave. There is also a big section for the women. They can get free manicures, pedicures, hair cuts or have someone do their make up. All the families can make phone calls (for no charge) to anywhere in the world. The atmosphere is patriotic, fun and relaxed.

The water polo families (parents and friends) had all decided to meet here and enjoy the Opening Ceremonies together. Although, I was not with my team I felt that this was the next best thing. I was with our family which includes all of my players parents, wives and friends. As I settled in to watch the ceremonies next to Lori and my daughters, I was comforted by their presence. When the Ceremonies began, they dropped thousands of red, white and blue balloons from the ceiling. It was actually very cool. Usually as the coaches and the athletes line up for Opening Ceremonies they do not get to watch the actual “show”. Although, not in the stadium, I was able to take it all in with my family. After a few hours, the “moment” approached when Team USA was to march into the stadium. I could sense the excitement in the room. While it was definitely different than being on the field it was still pretty awesome. As our team marched into the stadium, I was able to find my team on television. I saw the joy and excitement on their faces. I felt like I was right their with them. Memories poured into my mind about past Opening Ceremonies. Marching into the LA Coliseum in 1984 had to be one of my favorites with the entire crowd chanting USA, USA, USA. It was powerful. I felt that same pride here. In the 1984 Games, the announcer simply said “Pride in yourself and Pride in your Country” as Team USA marched in. I heard that echo in my mind. A pride in yourself for making your dream come true and having a chance to play for the gold. A pride in your country. There is no doubt that this is bigger than any individual and having the opportunity to represent our great country is a huge honor. I would also like to add that there is a tremendous pride in your team. When you work together towards a common goal on a team you become so connected that you want to win for each other and you are very proud of your team mates.

Even though I was not able to march, I experienced another amazing Opening Ceremonies. It was actually very nice to be with my family and share that moment together. Now the real fun begins. We go back to work today and continue to prepare for our first game on Sunday vs. Montenegro. I am receiving so many emails wishing the team success. They are all much appreciated. Thank you. I am very excited for this team... I believe that something very special is going to happen in the next two weeks.

See you at the pool

Coach

Fight night and a busy Village 7/25/12

2012-07-25T09:07:00.002-07:00

Our last day in Croatia turned out to be very interesting. Once again, we won the scrimmage and then as things were wrapping up a skirmish broke out. Both benches cleared and there was a lot of pushing, shoving and yelling going on in the water. Many of the players were face to face and it was close to being a full on brawl. The center of the storm was the biggest guy in the water, a Croatian player that stands about 6’8” and weighs in at 260 lbs. He may be the biggest player in the Olympic Games this year. He was totally ticked off and wanted to fight Merrill (our goalie) Our players did a good job of shielding Merrill from him until he decided to jump out of the water and run around to the side of the pool. I had called Merrill to the side of the pool (to get him out of traffic and potential trouble) and the Croatian was coming up behind me ready to jump back in. I turned just as he was making his move and my reaction was “I don’t care how big you are - you are not getting at my goalie”. So I planted my feet and grabbed him to keep him from getting back in the water. Truth is if he really wanted to he probably could have just knocked me aside. Fortunately, I was able to get him to slow down and at least think about it. Shortly thereafter things calmed down and we would make our way to the locker room. It is always a bit interesting when two teams scrimmage right before the Olympic Games. There is a great deal of pent up energy, perhaps a competitive fire that is ready to burn and more often than not these types of situations break out - fight night in Croatia... When I was playing on our Olympic team in 1984 we had a huge bench clearing brawl with the Italian team in a “friendly” scrimmage just weeks before the Olympic Games. I guess that it is just a part of the preparation. No one wants to feel like they are getting beat so frustrations rise to the surface very quickly. The best news is that no players were injured and that we left Croatia with some very good training and perhaps a little more confidence.

The next stop on our journey was Budapest, Hungary. This was about a three hour bus ride from the small town in Croatia to Budapest. As a staff, we had decided to give the team the day off. The reality is that this will more than likely be our final day off over the next three weeks. The hotel where we would be in Budapest for the next couple of days is right next to the Hungarian National Training Center, a beautiful five pool complex. The building is loaded with water polo history. There are marble plaques on the walls recognizing the nine Hungarian Olympic Championship teams. Pretty impressive stuff. Amazingly, they have managed to win the past three Olympics games (2000, 2004 and 2008). This is a streak that needs to be stopped and we are ready to do that. However, this day was for rest and recovery. We all enjoyed a day of rest at the hotel where there are some natural mineral hot springs. Needless to say, we all spent a few hours soaking in the hot mineral baths knowing that in a few short days things will be very intense.

The training was good with Hungary. We trained twice with them on Monday and once on Tuesday morning. They really did not want to scrimmage much so we played a good deal of 6 on 5 (more tactical and less stressful on the bodies). We had one four quarter scrimmage which ended up being a bit of a chess match - both teams kind of making calculated moves and feeling one another out. They won the first two quarters and we won the last two. In the end, I believe that the final score was a tie. With our flight out at 7 pm that same evening we all had a few hours of rest before leaving for the airport and heading back into London.

The flight was an easy two and a half hours and we landed in London with the sun setting on the Olympic City. We then boarded a bus that headed for the Olympic Village which will be our home now for the next three weeks. The bus ride was only an hour as all the Olympic lanes are now open. When we arrived at the Village it was a different scene than when we came in last week. The security was totally ramped up. It actually took us over 30 minutes just to get through security and upon entering the Village, we all felt a buzz. There was a totally different energy as it is no longer a ghost town. The Village will continue to fill up for the next week until it reaches its capacity of about 10,000 inhabitants. It will be a fun place with athletes from all over the world making new friends as they prepare for their chance to be the best in what they do. With just two days to go now until Opening Ceremonies we will continue to act as if the gold is ours as we settle into our Olympic home.

I have been trying to give the guys a small message every day. Something to think about that may make a difference in helping us win the gold. The message today comes from the movie Invictus. There was a great scene where Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby team was talking to President Nelson Mandela. The message was this - In sports or leadership we are rarely 100%, we always have to play a little “hurt”. To me this means that we have to perform at our best even when we don’t feel 100%. Through the course of this eight game Olympic tournament we are all not going to be feeling our best the entire time. Chances are that someone will feel a little hurt. The beauty is that on a team everyone can pick up a bit for each other. Maybe collectively we are at 95% with one or two players hurting a bit - the key is that our 95% level has to be better than our opponents.

See you at the pool

Coach

Preparing to Summit Mt. Everest 7/20/12

2012-07-20T16:44:00.002-07:00

Our journey to London was pretty smooth. Most of the team was upgraded to business class on the flight out which was great for them. Unfortunately, the coaches were still stuck back in economy, but the reality is that I am glad the players had that opportunity. Regardless, the nine and a half hours went by very fast. In fact, I think I slept the entire way - waking up with just forty-five minutes left before landing at Heathrow. After being processed and getting our credentials at the airport we loaded a bus for what was suppose to be an hour and a half ride to the Olympic Village. Apparently, there was some type of taxi strike and they formed a blockade downtown. Traffic did not move for quite a while and it took us just over three hours to get to the Village. On a positive note we had good views of Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace and the London eye (a giant ferris wheel) as we made our way through town. All the guys stayed in good spirits throughout. When we finally arrived at the Village it was beautiful - set in a park-like setting with lots of trees and green grass. Now if they can just get the weather to cooperate. London has had lots of rain and more is predicted. As we walked towards our new home in a cold light rain, one of the guys commented “is this the Winter Olympics?”

The apartments are very nice and Team USA is situated in a very strategic location which is close to the dining hall and the transportation center. We ate dinner in the dining hall (food was good) and then explored the Village for a bit. It is very nice but seems empty. We are here very early and the Village is probably at about 10% of its capacity. Finally, at about 8 pm we had the chance to go to one of the training pools (Eaton Manor) and get in the water. Nothing better than a good swim to clear your head and shake off some of the effects of jet lag. After swimming for about an hour and fifteen minutes I called our entire team together for a brief meeting. This included all players, coaches and staff. I wanted us all to be on the same page about one thing. That one thing was to win a gold medal. I simply told them that it is time to “act as if” we have already won the gold. I encouraged them for the next month to be calm and confident and to have a presence about them that says I am going to win the gold. I also told them that all of us will be blown away by the magnitude of the events that lie ahead - whether that is opening ceremonies, something in the Village or something else Olympic. I told them that these moments may feel overwhelming and I encouraged them to take a few deep breaths at these times and get back to our focus of winning that gold.

After a good nights sleep we took a bus over to Team USA’s processing center. There were six different stations set up to collect all of our Olympic gear. The first was Ralph Lauren which is donating all the clothing for Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The process took awhile considering that every piece of clothing was custom fit to each player. Some things fit well off the rack and others had to be tailored. The guys were excited as they loaded up on a whole new wardrobe. In the end they would get gobs of clothing from Ralph Lauren and Nike, five pairs of shoes, sunglasses, watches, rings and goodie bag full of toiletries and more. Each athlete left with five bags worth of stuff! It was amazing. The coaches made out too. It feels a little like Christmas. It is an interesting process that took us about five hours. It also is one of the aha moments where you realize that you have made the team. Each piece of clothing says somewhere on it “USA Olympic Team”. There is no escaping the fact that you are now representing your country.

After returning to the Village, we ate lunch and went back to work. We had gym time as well as pool time in the competition pool. It was exciting to walk onto the pool deck where we are gong to make history and imagine the place filled with fans. Our training was good but needless to say the guys were pretty exhausted from the day. Lots of energy spent on the emotions of processing. All in all a very good day. One that I am happy is done with early in the journey and now allows us to get back to work and focus on what we need to do to win that gold.

After a good nights rest we were up early Thursday morning and ready for the next portion of the adventure. This was a travel day. Off to Croatia - first a one and a half hour bus ride to the airport (much more reasonable) then a two and a half hour flight to Croatia and then another one hour bus ride to a small town called Varazdin. This is where the Croatians are spending their final few days training before they go into London. We arrived and had a late lunch and then two hours later were in the pool scrimmaging the Croatians. Surprisingly, we did very well and beat them pretty good. They left upset and I am sure had a long meeting last night with their coach, Radko Rudic. (Radko used to coach Team USA - between 2000 and 2005). He is well known to most of our guys who trained with him during that time. He is known as one of the best coaches in the game and his teams have reflected that over the years.

Training on Friday was definitely a bit different. The Croatians showed up in full battle mode and after a rough first period in which there were almost two fights, both teams settled down and played a hard fought scrimmage. The Croatians definitely got the best of us in the morning. Mental games... we had a meeting a came back and beat them good this evening. Take that Croatia... Anyway, obviously these games do not mean much at this time. There is just a sense that you want the upper hand going into the Games. We with train with them again tomorrow before we head off to Hungary for a few days of training. This entails a three hour bus ride to Budapest before we spend our last few days of training outside the Village. After that we will settle into the routine at the Village and continue to “Act as if” the gold medal is ours....

We are one week away from our first game. Mt. Everest is now in site and we are preparing to climb to the summit over the course of the next few weeks.

See you at the pool

Coach

Ready for Blast Off 7/14/12

2012-07-14T11:41:00.004-07:00

We just completed our final week of training at home. It was a good week and I am happy with where we are at as a team with two weeks to go before our first game. Throughout the year we have emphasized fundamentals like good body position in the water, strong legs and focused passing. These remain vital for our success; however another set of fundamentals - the “intangibles” may be even more critical. The three intangibles that I want to write about today are trust, responsibility and a positive belief system. I believe that this team is strong in all three areas. A lack of any of these three intangibles could literally sink our team. The heat of the battle is the true test for these intangibles. If we are as strong as I believe that we are than these intangibles will push us towards victory at the Olympic Games.

The first intangible is trust. Relationships are at the heart of any team. These relationships grow and thrive with trust. Everyone likes to talk about team chemistry and how important that is to any team’s success. The truth is that good team chemistry revolves around this trust factor. The players must first care and respect each other enough to want to build this trust. Then in an environment where they spend time together the experiences they share together will help to build this trust. Sometimes these life experiences are difficult (adversity) and other times they are fun and exciting. Most of all it means putting in the time together, sharing a common goal and being willing to be open to respect your team mates and their differences. All of the experiences that we share help to grow trust in each other. As the trust grows the team gets stronger. There is no doubt that we are becoming a better team. The relationships we share are built around trust, respect and love for one another.

The second intangible is responsibility. Each of us (players and coaches) must be able to accept responsibility for his actions. Taking responsibility will build trust and strengthen the chemistry. This is very difficult to master. Often, it is an easier path to blame others and shift the responsibility from ourselves. It is especially easy to blame officials in our subjective game. I struggled with this for years. Our 1984 Olympic team should have won the gold medal. We were ahead 5 – 2 late in the third period in the Olympic final. We were in control of the game, however we finished in a 5 – 5 tie allowing Yugoslavia to claim the gold based on goal differential. The result was difficult to swallow and for years it was easy to blame the officials. As I grew as a person, I came to realize that I had no one to blame but myself. We had our chances to win that game outright. We blew opportunities on our 6 on 5 and we played to protect a lead rather than to win that game. There is a mirror test that works pretty well. Here is the way that this test works. Look in the mirror and ask that person you see if they are doing everything that they can do to make the team better. Ask that person you see what they can do to become better. Everyday we are trying to build on this principle. As we all accept responsibility better we become stronger. Teams that accept responsibility as individuals and collectively as a whole will feel more in control of their own destiny and are more successful.

Finally, one of the most important fundamental intangibles is a positive belief system. Do the athletes believe in themselves? Do they have confidence and truly believe that they can win the gold? There are countless stories in sports about teams that never should have won the World Series, the Super Bowl or the Olympic gold but did because they believed that they could. Many of these teams could not have possibly matched the other team with talent but they still managed to find a way to win. Certainly, one of the biggest factors in building this belief system is to have small successes that build the confidence inside and tell us that our goals are really possible. Our wins last month over Croatia and Hungary certainly gave us a little taste of that success. Also, we have ten players that were a part of our amazing run to the silver medal in Beijing. This team already knows that we can beat anybody in the world. This is a beautiful thing and puts us in a good place to do just that. I certainly believe in this team. I know that we can win the Gold and become the best team ever in USA Water Polo history!

Our fundamentals are strong in and out of the water. It is an exciting time as we are now on the launch pad ready for blast off. We fly to London on Monday and will soon have the opportunity to live out our Olympic dream and win the gold.

See you at the pool.

Coach

Lessons from Dad 7/7/12

2012-07-07T09:42:00.005-07:00

This past week we all celebrated our great country’s 236^th birthday. The team took a day off and spent time with family and friends. Training has been good but long. I’ll give you a quick idea of what our days look like - Monday we arrived for training at 7:45 am. After 2 hours in the gym for weights, the guys had a light snack and then went for two more hours in the water. After refueling, resting and in many cases getting needed therapy they came back at 6 pm for a sport psyche meeting and then spent another 3 hours in the water before we had a team meal on the pool deck. Our 8 + hour day on Monday was followed by another 3 hour and 45 minute practice on Tuesday. Needless to say, we are grinding away and trying the best we can to get everything done before we leave for London on July 16^th.

The 4^th of July is always a very nostalgic day for me. It was a good family day filled with patriotic memories. Here are a few of my favorite “American” moments. First of all it is hard to beat Opening Ceremonies at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It was an incredible feeling to march into the L.A. Coliseum with over 100,000 spectators all cheering and chanting USA USA USA. I felt like I was floating off the ground as we walked around the track that day. I was so proud to be representing our great country. Another moment of great national pride for me has been the numerous occasions that the national anthem has been played for me as an athlete or a coach. I have experienced this at the World Cup, Pan Am Games and a few other international tournaments. However, my dream and this team’s dream is to stand atop the podium in London, with hand over hearts and hear our glorious anthem played for us. Finally, one of my favorite patriotic memories occurred during the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain in 1992. As our team was being introduced for one of our first games, I looked up into the stands and found my mom and dad. Dad was not hard to spot. He was wearing a USA flag shirt (with cut off sleeves) and a star spangled head band. He was so proud of his look that he wore this outfit to every game in Barcelona and eventually added a big American flag that he would wave proudly whenever our team did something well. It was awesome and this picture of my dad is still one of my greatest memories of a man that was an amazing inspiration to me.

Today, in honor of my father, I would like to share a couple of the most important lessons that I learned from my dad. These are lessons that have shaped my life.

Lesson # 1 – Do your best. As a talented young age group swimmer, I had my share of wins and loses. Even when I had suffered a miserable loss, Dad would be there to give me a hug and remind me “you did your best”. This was a powerful message that resonated deep within me. I learned that it was OK to lose as long as I had done my best. No one is going to win every time, we lose once in a while and often times we learn more from losing than we do from winning. The bottom line is that we are to use the gifts that God gave us and in all areas of our lives we should do the best that we possibly can. John Wooden shared this wisdom. He has been quoted as saying “A man can be no happier than when he knows he has done his best.” Even though “doing my best” was often translated in my mind to wanting to “be the best”, Dad would often remind me not to compare myself with others but to simply go out and become the best that I possibly can be.

Lesson # 2 – Dare to succeed. This concept goes hand in hand with lesson # 1. Dad would always inspire me to dream big dreams and reach for the stars. In fact, my Olympic dream began when I was 9 years old. I was watching the 1968 Olympic Games on television with my dad. I remember asking my Dad, “Do you think I could be in the Olympics one day?” He just looked me in the eyes and said “you can do anything you put your mind too.” Dad reminded me to stay focused on my dream and never get sidetracked by set backs (loses and failures) along the way. One of my favorite quotes is from Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena speech that he gave in 1910. In this speech, he says “the credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena…who spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” Basically, get in the arena or pool and go for it!

Lesson # 3 – Be grateful. This was big for my Dad. He taught us to be thankful for all we had. Dad would have us make a list of all the “things” we were thankful for. This has become a habit for me. It is amazing how much better your day goes when you wake up and your first thoughts are positive thoughts about all that you are thankful for. Too often we think about what we lack instead of what we have. Try making a list of what you are thankful for and look at that list on a daily basis. Say thank you more often. It will change your life. As I reflect, I am incredibly thankful for my family and the relationship I have with my wife and children. I am thankful for the friends I have. I am thankful for the freedoms that I have in this country and the men and women that fought for those freedoms. I am thankful for the opportunity I have with this team over the next month or so. And of course, I am thankful for my dad and the valuable lessons he left me with. That’s the short list…

We are down to our final week at home. Twenty days to go until Opening Ceremonies…

See you at the pool.

Coach

Honoring Team Mates (Part 3) 6/30/2012

2012-06-30T16:29:00.001-07:00

The painful process of making cuts is finally over. After spending the last few weeks evaluating and processing the positives and negatives of each player, we settled on making JW Krumpholz our 14^th man (the alternate) on our Olympic team. It was a very difficult decision and I think all of the coaches agonized and shed some tears over it. Every one of these guys is like a son and at this point they have all given up so much to be a part of the team. It is difficult to leave any one behind.

JW Krumpolz is one of the “best of the best” in our country. He is 24 years old, 6’3” and 205 lbs. JW was the last man to make the team in Beijing. He made a huge impact on that team that won the silver medal. He was heavily recruited out of Foothill High School, where he was a three time All-American. He went on to play at USC where he led the team to back to back championships in 2008 and 2009. He won the Cutino Award in 2009 and 2010. This award recognizes the best collegiate player of the year. He has been a part of the national team since 2005, when he made the World Championship team as a 17 year old. It was an extremely difficult decision to make JW our alternate. He is loved by all the guys. Just to let you know what a great team player he is – JW has decided to continue to train with the team and “do whatever he can to help the team”. It is good to have him around and as the alternate – he can replace an injured player if anything was to happen to one of the thirteen prior to the Games.

Now let me briefly introduce you to our 2012 Olympic water polo team. The two goalies are Merrill Moses and Chay Lapin. Merrill was selected the “Best Goalie” in the Beijing Olympics and we will be relying on him to keep the opponents scoring at a minimum so that we have a chance to win every game – even when the offense is sputtering a bit. Chay Lapin will back Merrill up and represent Team USA as a first time Olympian. Our two centers are Ryan Bailey and John Mann. John was one of the last players cut in 2008 and has come back to earn a spot on this team. Ryan is our oldest player. At 36, he is still a “machine” in the water. He is one of our strongest players and certainly one of the best in the world at his position. To have a successful offense, we will need Ryan and John to be strong in the middle for us. We have selected three defenders to the team. They are Jesse Smith, Tim Hutton and Peter Hudnut. This will be Jesse’s third Olympic Games and second for Peter and Tim. I feel like we have three of the best and toughest defenders in the world. All three of these guys are also good shooters and can “post up” an opposing player. I do know this - No center is going to enjoy playing against us. Our attackers include four time Olympian Tony Azevedo (our captain), three time Olympians Adam Wright and Layne Beaubien, two time Olympian Peter Varellas and newcomer Shea Buckner. Tony is considered by many one of the best players in the world. He has been called the Michael Jordan of our sport because he such a dynamic scorer. He is also a great leader in the water. Adam Wright is one of smartest players in the water. He coaches at UCLA and is essentially a coach in the water. He is a great passer and we will look to him to be leading the team in assists. Layne Beaubien is a sharp shooter who should provide some good offensive fire, while Perter Varellas is the only left hander on the team. Peter actually led our team in scoring at the World League Super Final in Kazakhstan with 10 goals. He has improved greatly over this past year and his role as a passer and a shooter on the right side of the pool is critical to our success. Shea Buckner “soldier” is going to do whatever it takes to win. Finally, rounding out the 13 is Jeff Powers. He is in a class all by himself, because he is so versatile. He can play center, center defender or attacker. We will count on Jeff to do a little of everything for us. I feel like this is a team that CAN make history and CAN bring home the gold in London.

It is difficult to understand what an Olympian gives up to be a part of the team. Making the Olympic team and winning a gold medal become the number one priority in their lives. Yes -perhaps it is a bit unbalanced and perhaps we all put too much time and emphasis on winning the gold. But I would argue that it is a worthy goal. There is a small window in all of our lives when we can actually represent our country as an Olympian. The Olympic Games bring out the best in each of us. As we push towards our goal – we challenge ourselves and our team mates to grow and get better. Then in the end, we test ourselves against the rest of the world to see just how good we have become. Only one team will bring home the gold and be crowned the best team in the world. It is truly an incredible journey of self discovery. For me, the absolute best part is to share this experience with a group of guys that you love and respect. As you can imagine, along this journey to the Games, you share many ups and downs. Through the adversity and the fun times you become closer. I believe that we have a special group – it is very close family. Just this week, one of the media made a comment to me about our team. He said, “I have been exposed to teams all over the world – both professional and Olympic and the vibe that I get with your team is the best I have ever felt”. That was a great compliment and one that I certainly agree with. I love these guys like family and I am excited about what will occur in the next few weeks. Team USA’s Olympic motto in 2008 was “Amazing Awaits”. As we approach London, I am convinced more than ever that amazing is right around the corner for this team.

It seems like the word is out. Every day this week, we have had media at practice. We have had NBC, BBC, Universal Sports, a new cooking show and of course the Star at practice. There has also been more and more “fans” showing up to watch practice and support the team. The positive momentum is growing. I am enjoying each day and each moment as our team comes together. We are climbing towards the top. .

See you at the pool.

Coach

The Adventure continues...6/21/12

2012-06-22T09:14:00.001-07:00

We finished up World League with a bit of a disappointment. For the second time in the tournament we played Italy and lost. Italy jumped out early on us and took a 4 - 1 lead. We fought back and tied the score at 4 before Italy rallied and went back up by two. In the fourth quarter, we had all the momentum. We scored to bring the score to within one but then struggled to find the back of the net. We had some great chances, especially on the power play where we went just 3/10. Down by one with 30 seconds left in the game, we called a time out and set up a play for Ryan Bailey. It worked beautifully and Ryan rifled a back hand shot that hit the top bar and settled on the goal line (no goal). The end result was a 7 - 6 loss and a fourth place finish in World League. Merrill led the way on defense with a strong showing in the goal notching 11 saves, while Peter Varellas led the team in scoring with three goals. Peter was actually Team USA’s high scorer for the tournament with ten goals.

Immediately after the game we went to our hotel and had a few hours to pack up and prepare for another long travel day. Our journey to Montenegro began with a five and a half hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Leaving at 10 pm we arrived at 1:30 am (with the time change) and then had a five hour layover in the Istanbul airport. There is not too much to do in the middle of the night in Istanbul. A few guys were able to get into the Star Alliance lounge at the airport because they have a gold card (they have racked up enough miles with United Airline partners). So they rested pretty well and were even able to shower. The majority of us cruised the airport in “zombie mode”. After the layover, we then had another two and a half hour flight from Istanbul to Dubrovnik, Croatia. After picking up our luggage we loaded a bus for another two and a half hours from Dubrovnik to Budva, Montenegro. Exhausted, we finally arrived at our hotel at about 10 am, with our body clocks all messed up. Everyone slept for about three hours and then after lunch, we decided to have a little team bonding (since there was no scheduled training that day) and do something fun together.

We rented a boat and toured the Montenegro/Croatia coast line. Tony Azevedo had spent his last two seasons playing professionally over here in Montenegro so he had some good connections. The boat left from Tivat, Montenegro and eventually ended up in Kotor, Montenegro. We enjoyed time in the Adriatic Sea together - exploring caves and just hanging out as a team. It was a great day, full of sunshine, laughter and relaxation. There were some great conversations centered around our dream to win the gold in London. We finished the day with a nice dinner in Kotor as we watched the sun set over the sea and then headed back to rest and prepare for five good days of training with Montenegro.

Our training schedule is excellent over here. We do weights (P3) in the morning followed by two hours of water time on our own. We have been focusing on our leg work and pushing the guys pretty hard. In the evenings, we play against Montenegro. They have twenty players still in their camp - so we feel like we are playing against a small army. Training has been great. The first night was a bit of a wake up call. With two Montenegro officials, the game was a bit one sided. Montenegro came out with much more energy and pressed us out to the walls. We struggled a bit with the physicality of the play because it was so different then what we had just experienced in Kazakhstan at World League. We have adjusted well and it is actually perfect for training. In an all out press you really have to work your legs much harder. Each player is being grabbed and held all the time and they are learning to rely more on their legs. Since the first night the scrimmages have been much closer. Montenegro won again on Wednesday night in a close game and last night was a tie. We will play them one more time on Friday before leaving for Croatia and preparing for our fight home on Saturday morning.

Weighing heavily on my mind is the final cut which must be made this weekend. It will be another difficult decision. I have been spending a good amount of time talking with Robert and Marco (my two assistants) and also a few of the older (veteran players) about this final cut. Obviously, it is an important decision for our team and our success in London, however, I also know that it is a decision that will impact all of these guys for the rest of their lives.

Once we get home, we will take a few days off before we resume training on Tuesday evening in Thousand Oaks. We will basically have three full weeks of training with our final thirteen before we leave for London on the 16th of July. Our final preparation, will consist of more tactics and fine tuning as we prepare to make history in London.

The team appreciates all of the support that we get. We feel we are in a good place. Even with the fourth place finish at World League, I am more confident then ever. Most of the time losing will teach you more about yourself then winning. So a few loses at World League do not scare me. In fact, I feel that we have grown a great deal on this trip and we are closer now to being the team we need to be to win the gold!

See you at the pool.

Coach

Our Adventure in Kazakhstan 6/16/12

2012-06-17T06:49:00.002-07:00

Our journey began with a flight out of Orange County - John Wayne Airport at 8:00 am. This meant that we had to jump in a shuttle at 4:45 am in Thousand Oaks to make the flight. Wow - talk about making a long day even longer. Our flight path took us to Houston with a two hour layover and then to London with another two hour layover and finally into Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was a super long day to say the least. All in all, it was about 22 hours in the air - sitting in coach seats. To make matters worse, many of our guys had middle seats for a least one leg. Needless to say, we all felt pretty beat up when we arrived. After arriving around 10:30 pm, we had a late dinner and went right to bed. The hotel was out in the middle of nowhere and it was eerie quiet. We woke up to a beautiful setting. The hotel is very isolated - lots of trees around and some pretty good snow capped mountains off in the distance. What was a bit strange to me is that even in the morning it was quiet. As I opened my window and stared outside, I was perplexed by the absence of birds. All these trees but no birds? Something seemed amiss. Actually, I did not see any birds for the first two days we were here and since I have seen only a few. Weird to say the least... Water polo wise - we had two days of training before the tournament began. On Tuesday (we arrived late Saturday night) we played the host country in the final game of the night. I good crowd showed up to cheer on the home crowd. On our first possession of the game we had two of our players kicked out and then when Kazakhstan did not score on their power play they were awarded a penalty throw on the rebound. It was obvious from the beginning that the officials were going to make it difficult on us. After struggling to a tie in the first quarter (4-4) we began to pull away. We were up 8 - 5 at the half and 10 -5 at the end of three quarters. Kazakhstan made a bit of a run and the game finished with us on top 11 - 8. No time to rest or celebrate in this tournament as we will play a game a day for six days straight. Next up was China. This was more of a battle then it needed to be. The Chinese were tough and played a solid game on defense but our shooting was definitely off. We were up 3 - 1 at the half and went on to win 6 - 4. The match featured our team captain, Tony Azevedo playing against his father, Ricardo who is now the head coach for the Chinese national team. Tony had one goal in the game. In the final preliminary game, we faced off with Italy, who is currently ranked # 1 in the world. This was an interesting game in which each team took turns going on surges. We took an early lead and at the end of the first period we were up 3-1. Then it was Italy’s turn as they scored four straight to lead 5 - 3 at the half. The third quarter was all USA as we battled back and tied the score 5 - 5 at the end of three. Unfortunately, it was Italy that had the final push and they ended up winning 7 - 5. We gave up four “soft” goals in this game. We beat them in every aspect of the game except for the scoreboard. John Mann led the scoring for us with two goals. After the loss to Italy we crossed over in the quarter-final game against Australia the following day. We played with passion for three quarters taking a commanding 5 - 1 lead and dominating them. We seemed to tire a bit at the end and let them back into the game but won a one sided 7 - 5 game. Peter Varellas scored three nice goals for us to lead our attack. Every aspect of our game was good except for our 6 on 5 which was mediocre. The win put us in the semi-finals against Croatia. Once again, we started strong and then faltered a bit and let Croatia back into the game. By the beginning of the second half, the game was being played in a thunder and lighting storm. Rain was coming down hard throughout the second half which made things interesting and really wet for the coaches. Croatia ended up on the winning side of an 11 - 10 game. Once again, we did a lot of things very well but made too many small mistakes that cost us a few key goals. Croatia ended up getting three penalty shots which is a bit unheard of in a single game. Anyway, we definitely had our chances to win the game. We have no one to blame but ourselves. We can’t give up that many goals against anyone. Our game is defense and we need to clamp down if we are to come out of here tomorrow with a win. We will play Italy (they lost to Spain today) in the third/fourth place game tomorrow. Ok - back to the interesting facts about this place. There have been impressive storms almost every day in the afternoon. In fact, as I write this we are being bombarded with rain, thunder and lightening. Other than that it is a bit too quiet here. As one of our players said, I almost expect to see Jack Nicholson walk out of my closet at night? The food has been OK at best. Lots of mystery meats... Just as an example - tonight Ryan Bailey ate french fries for dinner (he could not do the meat). As for the lack of birds - I am not sure what to say. There are not many small animals either... regardless, it has been quiet and I have definitely been sleeping well. We will work hard for a win tomorrow and then it is on to Montenegro for five days of training before heading back for our final preparation. See you at the pool. Coach

Honoring Team Mates (Part 2) 6/8/12

2012-06-08T07:50:00.002-07:00

The team just completed a short week of training, prior to jumping on a plane and flying half way around the world for the World League Super Final in Kazakhstan. It was one of my most difficult weeks as the coach of this team. I had to once again sit with two players and tell them that they did not make the final team. It is such a painful process. The deeper that we go into the year – the closer we get to the Olympic Games – for me to be the “dream taker” is terrible. My heart is too involved. I guess that this is a part of who I am - I love and appreciate the relationship that I have with each one of these guys. They are each special. In a way it is like I have sixteen sons. You can imagine what it is like to have to tell one of your children that they did not make the team. The players that are cut shed some tears and I usually cry along with them. I have felt emotionally drained for the past three days. This process takes so much out of me. I have been told by friends and family that the fact that I care so much is what makes me good at what I do. It is a special group and I am honored just to be a part of it. We all know going in that only 13 players make the final Olympic Team. There is a tremendous amount of risk involved in devoting so much of your life to making the dream come true. However, these players that have been cut need to know that I am proud of them and that their friends and families are very proud of them too. They are the best of the best in our sport and their efforts in training every day have made our team better. They are absolutely a part of every success that we achieve in London. These two gave it their all – they did their best and they deserve to be recognized for their efforts. Let me introduce you to these two team mates. Brian Alexander is 29 years old. He is 6’3 and 220 lbs. He was born in Santa Ana, California and attended UCSB where he graduated with a degree in psychology. He was a two time All-American while at UCSB and he has played professionally in Greece, Spain and Australia. He and his wife Erica live in San Diego. Brian played in the 2003 Junior World Championships and led the team in scoring. He has been a member of Team USA since 2005. He has represented our team in four World Championships, three World League Super Finals and recently helped us win the gold at the Pan American Games in 2011. He has played attacker and defender with the team and is one of the best pure shooters that we have. Along the journey is has scored some huge goals for the team. In 2008, he was one of the last players cut also. Brian is a man of high integrity and character. He has played a vital role on the team since I have been the head coach. As you can see by his credentials and accomplishments this was a very difficult decision. I hope that he will hold his head high knowing that he gave his best. I am very proud of Brian. Andy Stevens is one of the younger players on the team. He is 24 years old, 6’3 and 205 lbs. He is a graduate of LMU where he was named the best college goalie from 2008 – 2010. He is a four time All-American and was voted to the first team All-Tournament at the NCAA’s in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He joined the national team while still in college and has been one of our top goalies since. He has played in the World Championships, World Cup and World League Super Final over the past couple of years. He also traveled to Europe where he played for a few months with one of the best club teams in the world (Pro Recco). While in Europe he faced many of the best shooters around the world. He continues to work hard and improve each year. In my opinion, Andy will be one of our countries Olympians four years from now. It was also an extremely difficult decision to let Andy go. He has given much to our team and to the sport to pursue his dream. My heart is heavy as we leave for World League. I miss having these guys around and yet at the same time I know it is a part of the process. Our journey continues. By the time you read this we will have traveled half way around the world to Kazakhstan where we will be competing in the World League Super Final. We will play Kazakhstan, China and Italy in bracket play before crossing over to the quarter finals. The other bracket has Croatia, Spain and Australia. The tournament is another great test for us. It will be good to experience the international game and be able to measure ourselves outside of Southern California. This is our final tournament prior to the Olympic Games. It is also the final chance to evaluate the team. After World League, we will travel to Montenegro for 5 days of training with their national team. We still have 14 players on our roster and we still have to trim this to the final 13 when we return. Unfortunately, there will be a Honoring team mates (part 3). When we return we will be training for three weeks in Thousand Oaks for our final preparation. Less than 50 days to go now… See you at the pool. Coach

Changing Tides 6/2/12

2012-06-02T10:14:00.002-07:00

We just finished our series with Croatia and Hungary here in the USA. It was an exciting week for the water polo fans here. This was an opportunity to see three of the best teams in the world battle in preparation for London. Here is a recap of one of the best weeks of water polo for Team USA in many years. Last Saturday, we opened play against Croatia at Newport Harbor High School. Croatia is currently ranked 3rd in the world. On the defensive end we played well – allowing just seven goals. However, offensively we were tentative. As is often the case in these “big games” the power play is where the game is either won or lost. Unfortunately, we were very weak on our 6 on 5 (power play). In fact, we went just 2 for 13 on our 6 on 5. We had many great opportunities to come away with a victory but just could not find the back of the net. In the end, we would lose 8 – 7. Merrill Moses played very well in the cage making 12 blocks to keep us in the game. Tony Azevedo and Adam Wright led the team in scoring with two goals a piece. Ryan Bailey, Jesse Smith and Layne Beaubien scored to complete our scoring. We played well enough to win the game in every area except for the 6 on 5. Our post game meeting was spent talking about being more aggressive and confident on our 6 on 5. All I can say is that the team responded. The following day (Sunday May 27th) was historic. Another capacity crowd of 1,500 fans welcomed Hungary and the USA. The game was televised on NBC Sports. We jumped on the Hungarians from the get go to take an early 5 – 2 first quarter lead. The power play was working just fine as we scored on our first three attempts. We expanded our lead to 7 – 2 at the half as our defense totally controlled the game. Hungary closed the gap on a few occasions, however we responded each time. In the end we would come away with a 12 – 9 victory. Merrill Moses once again dominated play in the goal recording 12 saves for the day. Tony Azevedo had a huge game offensively scoring 6 goals. Jeff Powers and Peter Varellas each added two goals and Layne Beaubien and Tim Hutton scored a goal to round out the scoring. This was the first time in ten years we had beaten the Hungarians! Four days later we would meet the Hungarians again at UCLA. Knowing the Hungarians were going to come out with more energy we talked about preparing to match that intensity and begin the game strong. We jumped on them again early in the game and played very strong defensively. Merrill recorded 10 saves and we limited the Hungarians to 5 goals. This is huge considering that the Hungarians are one of the most dangerous teams in the world offensively. In the Beijing Olympic final we gave up 14 goals against them. Tonight was a different night though and once again the power play was the difference in the game. We scored on 5/8 of our attempts on the 6 on 5 while the Hungarians managed to score on just 2/8 man up situations. Once again, Tony Azevedo led the team in scoring with 3 goals, John Mann had two and Brain Alexander, Peter Varellas, JW Krumpholz and Peter Hudnut all had one goal. JW played in his first game since suffering a concussion three weeks prior. Friday night was a rematch with Croatia at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. There was standing room only at this game as the fans packed the pool deck to watch two of the medal contenders’ battle in the last game in America prior to the Olympic Games. Once again Team USA came out strong opening up an early 4 – 1 lead. However, Croatia would fight back to even the game at 4. Once again, we responded and pulled away with some solid defensive play. In the end, we would end up on the winning side of another 9 – 5 game. Our power play was strong at 6/13 while we limited Croatia to 3/10. Merrill did the job for us once again in the cage notching 9 saves including a big save on a penalty shot when Croatia had changed the momentum in the game. Tony scored twice, while Brain Alexander, Layne Beaubien, Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutton, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz and John Mann rounded out the scoring with one goal each. This game marked the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games that we had beaten Croatia! Obviously, it was a very successful week for Team USA. We “changed the tide” and broke some long running losing streaks against two of the best teams in the world. It had been ten years since we beat the Hungarians and four years since we beat the Croatians. Hungary has to be considered one of the favorites in London as they have won the gold at the last three Olympics and Croatia has been consistently among the top three teams in the world. It feels good to beat these teams and break these streaks. Perhaps the most important thing that we all come away with is a growing confidence that we CAN win a gold medal in London. There should be no doubt at this point. The reality is that these games are just “training” games and that all the teams will be at a whole new level at the Olympic Games, however for our team this has been an important test and we come away with a little more of that powerful belief in ourselves. In my opinion, that “belief” is one of the intangibles that is critical to our success. We must continue to work hard and grow together, for there is much to improve on. However, on this day I like the way that the tide is going. See you at the pool. Coach

Twelve Sundays 05/26/12

2012-05-27T18:54:00.001-07:00

Through the years, I have learned the importance of beginning with the end in mind. Stephen Covey wrote about this principle in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In order for our team to be successful, we have to have a crystal clear vision of what it is we want. Then with the end in mind we can create a good plan to make it happen. This truly applies to all areas of life. Whether you are creating a business plan, planning a wedding or training for the Olympic Games you have to have a clear vision and path to your desired result. Counting today, we have just twelve Sundays left before we reach our goal. That is right, only twelve short weeks to go until we have a chance to stand atop the medal podium in London and become the best team ever in the history of USA Water Polo. In today’s article, I will give you a glimpse of what the next twelve Sundays look like for our team. I have laid it out for you week by week to let you know where we will be and what will be happening on that particular Sunday. As I said, I will begin with the end. Twelve Sundays from today is August 12th, 2012. This is the day we make history and become the best team ever in the USA. On this day we will be playing for the gold medal! I can see our team standing atop the medal podium with our national anthem playing loudly. I have goose bumps as I sit and write this. The only question I have is who will we play? Will it be a rematch of Beijing? August 5th, 2012 – today we will have a light training and spend time reviewing video and going over our game plan for Hungary (we will play them on the 6th) We are coming off a big win against Serbia (Aug. 4th) and this will be a good test run with huge back to back games. The coaches work harder than the players on these “off days”. While the players are recovering our time is spent reviewing video, going over scouting reports and preparing for the next game. July 29th, 2012 – this will be the day of our first game of the Olympic tournament. We will play Montenegro and in order for us to have a good outcome we will have to get over the first game jitters. We are prepared and we should be confident. This is will be a very important and tough game. The top four teams from the preliminary round will play in the quarterfinals later in the tournament and we will want to finish as high as we possibly can in order to secure a good match up in the quarters. For the next two weeks we will be playing a big game every other day so whatever the outcome is we need to go home reflect, learn and prepare for the next game. July 22nd, 2012 – today is the day we will move into the Olympic Village. We will have just spent three days training in Croatia and will be looking forward to moving in and getting settled for the remainder of our Olympic journey. This will be our home. It takes a few days to get used to the new surroundings and excitement. There is almost a buzz in the village all the time. You can feel it. My job is to keep the team focused and calm. July 15th, 2012 – A day of rest. We will spend the day with our families before preparing for the final short week of training at home. These workouts will still be strong and sharp. We can not really taper or rest for the Olympic Games. It is a two week long tournament where we have to play at our best throughout. We depart on July 18th and will spend three days training with Croatia before going into London. July 8th, 2012 - this will be a full week of training at home. We will be doing a great deal of work on the 6 on 5 and 5 on 6. This is a part of the game that will determine who wins the medals. We will still be lifting weights (P3) and swimming although both of these will consist of more velocity and explosiveness. The Games are but a few weeks away and we are all feeling a sense of urgency. July 1st, 2012 – Another good solid week of training at home. We will take off on July 4th to celebrate America. It is a great time to remind the guys about the honor of representing USA and being a part of something that is much bigger than them. June 24th, 2012 – We will have returned home from our trip to Kazakhstan and Montenegro the day before. We will take a couple of days off to be with our families and prepare our minds and bodies for our final three weeks of training at home June 17th, 2012 – This is “Gold Medal Sunday” at the World League Super Final in Kazakhstan. This represents another good test for the Olympics. June 10th, 2012 - On this day we arrive in Kazakhstan after flying half way around the world. I understand that it is 22 hours of actual flying time. We will no doubt be exhausted and have to acclimate a few days before we are ready to begin play. World League is a six day tournament with one game every day. Italy, China and Kazakhstan are in our bracket. Croatia, Spain, Australia and Brazil are in the other bracket. June 3rd, 2012 – this is a day to reflect and rest. We will have just completed a week of training with Hungary and Croatia. We will have played each of these teams two times. It is a big decision week also. We have our Olympic Team naming on June 5th. Making the final cuts means little or no sleep for me… May 27th, 2012 – Today we play Hungary at Newport Harbor High School at noon. If you are up early reading this, then jump in your car and drive to Newport to watch the game. It will be a rematch of the 2008 Olympic Games final. We will also have games later in the week. On Thursday, May 31st we play Hungary again at UCLA at 7:00 pm and then on Friday, June 1st, we will play Croatia at 6:30 pm at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena. Please come out and support Team USA. It is a great opportunity to watch some Olympic level water polo right here in our backyard. I hope that this has given you a little perspective about what is going through my mind as I look at our calendar and prepare for this final twelve weeks. Happy Sunday! See you at the pool. Coach

Friendly Fire and a Hyperbaric Chamber 5/19/12

2012-05-20T08:26:00.003-07:00

The World League Prelims turned out to be a bit of a disaster. Not only was the competition poor – we outscored our opponents 56 – 11 over the four games – but we lost two players to injuries. Two-time Olympian, Layne Beaubien made a shot block in the Friday night game against Canada and felt something “pop” in his left shoulder. This is never a good sign for any athlete. He woke up Saturday in more pain and was out of action for the rest of the weekend. An MRI on Monday showed a tear in his left supraspinatus (part of the rotator cuff). We were all a bit scared as this is potentially a season ending injury. Further diagnostic testing this week showed that the tear was an “old injury” and the source of his pain may be from a less serious minor tear of a different muscle. His prognosis is good but he is day to day as far as how hard he can push it. To make matters worse, 2008 Olympian JW Krumpholz was injured during warm ups for the Saturday night game. He was passing balls out during warm up shooting and one of our own players accidently drilled him in the head (friendly fire) with a 55 MPH fast ball. JW was dazed and immediately came out of the water. He was confused, dizzy and spitting up blood. He was diagnosed with a concussion by our team doctor. This is certainly a scary injury at anytime but with a few weeks to go before we have to name the team it is potentially a big problem. He has been out of the water all week and we are monitoring his progress daily. The team had Monday off and when we resumed training on Tuesday we had eleven players (out of 16) in the water. That is right only eleven players! Merrill Moses and Tony Azevedo were at a USA Olympic media conference in Dallas, Ryan Bailey was still nursing his knee injury and JW and Layne were out. To say that I am concerned is a huge understatement. We have less than 70 days to go until the Games begin in London and our team is looking like a MASH unit. We actually have brought a hyperbaric chamber into my chiropractic office to help aid in our athlete’s healing. The hyperbaric chamber increases the oxygen transport capacity of the blood - theoretically allowing the body to function at a higher level and heal faster. The tissues are basically super oxygenated. Athletes are also using hyperbaric treatment for recovery. Olympian Michael Phelps is sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber every night to help him recovery from his training. I have read that one hour in the hyperbaric equals eight hours of restful sleep. I have already been in the chamber a few times myself. After all, who could not use a few more hours of restful sleep... By weeks end things were looking better, Bailey was back practicing at close to full strength and his knee has held up well. Beaubien was swimming laps with only slight pain in his shoulder and Krumpholz was also in the water swimming, although he is still waking up with a headache. Moses and Azevedo returned from their media event and are back with the team at full power. This weekend, the guys all travel to San Diego where they will play with their respective club teams in the Fischer Cup. This tournament is a twelve team tournament with boasts the best club teams in the USA. Each team will play four games over the weekend and there should be some decent competition as many of our players play for different clubs. All I am hoping for is that everyone returns healthy… This next week is our final week of preparation before Croatia and Hungary come into town. Both teams arrive on May 25th and stay for a week. We will have the opportunity to play each team twice in official games and then have some common training all week long with both teams. This will be the last opportunity at home to see Team USA play a foreign opponent before we leave for London. Both Hungary and Croatia are among the top ranked teams in the world so this should be an excellent test for us. I am excited to see where we are. If you are interested in watching some Olympic level water polo close to home it won’t get any better than this. We will play two games down at Newport Harbor High School over Memorial Day weekend and then on May 31st we are at UCLA against Hungary and on June 1st we will play Croatia at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. Please come out and support the team. Also, if you are interested this Tuesday (May 22nd) at 7:00 pm at Buena High School, I am speaking about our team’s journey to Olympic Gold in London. A few of the team members will also be present (Jesse Smith and Merrill Moses) to share their stories. In is a nice opportunity to learn more about our team and the Olympic Games. There will also be some auction items with proceeds used to buy team lunches and dinners. Hope to see you there. See you at the pool. Coach

Flirting with disaster 5/12/12

2012-05-12T19:15:00.002-07:00

This weekend we are playing the World League Prelims at Foothill High School in Tustin. It is a three team tournament that includes Brazil and Canada. Neither of these teams has qualified for the Olympic Games so they are both “reloading” so to speak. They have brought young teams that may be the core of their teams in 2016 when the Olympic Games will be in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, this equates to a lower level of competition for us. We blew out Brazil on Thursday night with a 14 – 1 win and last night we beat up Canada by the score of 11 – 2. Our team trained hard in the morning on both days and played fairly well at night. We certainly have not rested for these games. Despite the lopsided scores, we have enjoyed some nice crowds down in Orange County. The challenge for us is keeping the intensity and focus up where it should be for any game we play. We are trying to work specifically on our defense which will eventually be what wins us a gold medal in London. Although, the scores look great on the defensive end we still have a long way to go to get to where we need to be. It is a work in progress. The week began with some bad news. Over the short break when we returned home from Italy, Ryan Bailey (our starting center) was training down in Irvine and he heard a “loud pop” in his knee. The “Machine” (as we call him because of his strength) immediately got out of the pool and went to one of our medical personnel down in Orange County. He was told that he may have torn his meniscus. However, further testing and an MRI revealed that it was not a torn meniscus. Instead, he was diagnosed with a knee sprain and a bone contusion. As a result he has been advised to refrain from doing any leg work (eggbeater) this entire week. Ryan has been swimming with the team every day, however he is very frustrated that he has not been able to do any water polo or play in the games this weekend. While the news was bad it certainly could have been much worse. A meniscus tear could have possibly sidelined him for the Olympic Games. On Monday, we had another close call with disaster. On a simple counter attack drill, Merrill Moses (our all-world goalie) was poked in the eye accidently. When he got out of the water it did not look so good. His eye had involuntarily closed shut and it was difficult for him to even open it at all. Upon examination it did not look so good. His eye was cut on the cornea. Karen Bloch (our trainer who just became a chiropractor) set him up to see an ophthalmologist first thing Tuesday morning. After examination, the doctor told Merrill that if the cut on the cornea had been 1 millimeter deeper, it would have been bad he would have been out of action for awhile. I am not sure what “awhile” meant in this case and I am glad that I do not have to know. As it turns out, Merrill has been able to train this week but we have held him out for the games this weekend as a precautionary measure. Without Merrill and Ryan playing this weekend, we have been able to play Andy Stevens and Chay Lapin (our two younger goalies) and give more playing time to JW Krumpholz and John Mann (the two other centers vying for a spot on the team). In that regard, it has been valuable for evaluation; however I will be very happy when Merrill and Ryan are back in the water at full strength. We have set the date to name our Olympic team! It will be June 5th at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. We have three weeks to go with 16 players and then we will have to cut it down to the final 13, plus one alternate for London. There will be no easy choices. We (the coaching staff) have been evaluating and talking about what the right combinations might be. At this point, there are many players that are on “the bubble” so to speak. We will have some tough choices to make. Each of these players has given so much and the thought of cutting any of them is stressing me out already. I will certainly rely heavily on my assistant coaches and even a few of the veteran players to help me make the final selections. The final decision will more than likely come down to who will fill a certain role that is needed on the team. For example, who might be able to go in and play for a few minutes as a defensive stopper, provide a little speed on the counter attack or be a sharp shooter who might provide an offensive spark? It will also come down to who is going to help the team chemistry the most. This is a huge consideration - in the most critical moments we all have to be able to count on each other. When we head into London, we will be like a family. In order to succeed we need each other. No one can do this alone. As a reminder, for those of you that want to come out and watch the team play – on Wednesday evenings at 7:45 pm we will normally have an intra squad scrimmage. These are held at Oaks Christian High School and are free to the public. See you at the pool. Coach

A seat at the table 5/5/12

2012-05-05T21:10:00.002-07:00

After nine days of training in Serbia and Italy we returned home on Wednesday evening. The long flight home is always a great time to sit, think and reflect a bit about the trip. Not much else to do for twelve hours on a plane… After spending the first three days training in Belgrade we moved to Genoa, Italy and trained with the best professional club team in the world – a team called Pro Recco. This team is loaded with water polo superstars and for us it was a perfect situation. The training was intense and physical. We scrimmaged twice a day and had one official match last Saturday. In the official match, the teams were tied up after three quarters and then Recco pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 11 – 7. We certainly did not get much help from the two Italian referees in the fourth quarter but we had our chances and did not convert. In fact, we missed two penalty shots in the fourth quarter that would have kept the game within one goal. After the game, I watched the fourth quarter on video and these are the thoughts that came to mind for our team. First of all, we can have no excuses. In the fourth quarter, we were looking to blame the officials for making it tough on us. We can not be victims. We are going to get our opportunities in every game and we must be ready to make the best out of each one of those chances. Second, we each have to take responsibility. This obviously goes right along with the first point. Each one of us must do his part to help this team win. No one can hide or blame others. We all our going to make mistakes and when we do we own up to it and move on. We must always first look in the mirror and ask ourselves what I could have done better? Third, we must demand excellence from ourselves and from one another. We are not going to win unless we play at our best. Each game is an opportunity to grow and to give your best to the team. We must also challenge our team mates in every practice and in every game to be their best. Finally, we must expect success! If we don’t expect to win we will never win. We have a great team and as we go into this final stage of preparation, this will be a constant thought and message that I will give to the team. We must expect to be successful and reach our goal. One aspect of coaching that I love is connecting life lessons to sport. There are always so many wonderful life lessons that come up in the course of a season or even a game. It is my job to look for these lessons and help to “teach” the team what can be learned. The message from Recco - No excuses, take responsibility, demand excellence and expect success – certainly not a bad lesson or formula for success in any area of life – from sport to the workplace to family. On the final evening in Italy, our staff (Robert, Marco, Rick and I) was asked to go to a nice dinner with the Pro Recco coaches. Representing Recco at the table was Eraldo Pizzo, a gold medalist on the 1960 Italian Olympic team and Guiseppe Porzio, a gold medalist on the 1992 Italian Olympic team. The conversation was light and fun for the most part, however at one point we were talking about my career and how my Olympic teams in 1984 and 1988 finished with silver medals. Guiseppe paused and simply said “what a shame, you must be so disappointed –you came so close”. It was painful to say the least. As I left that evening I vowed to myself to do everything possible to help this team win the gold in London and earn a seat at the “gold medal” table. Please don’t get me wrong. I am extremely proud of my silver medals, however my Olympic dream has always been about reaching the top of the mountain and winning the gold. We have a great deal of work to do before London and I am thankful for this small piece of inspiration that I took with me from Italy. By the way, the meal was excellent too. With the Olympic draw taking place this weekend, we now know our path to the gold! It is an exciting time. We have only 80 days to go and each and every day is critical to our preparation. See you at the pool. Coach

An Adventure in Europe 4/28/12

2012-04-29T19:09:00.002-07:00

After a long journey overseas, which unfortunately included many of our guys stuck in middle seats (in economy class) we arrived tired, stiff and a bit cranky in Serbia. We expected to spend 8 days there training with a professional club called Partizan. This is one of the biggest and best water polo clubs in the world. Basically it is a water polo factory. All day long, the pool is filled with young (7 - 18 year old) kids training to become the next Serbian superstar. It is pretty amazing to watch. There are ten year olds doing some of the drills that we do with our national team. The first few days of training were excellent. However the original schedule for the week was suddenly changed drastically - eliminating almost half of our trainings with the club for the rest of the week. One of the factors was that the head coach’s wife had passed away shortly before our arrival. She had been ill for quite a while with cancer but the last few months had been really rough. The coach, Igor Malnovic, is one of the most celebrated water polo players in Serbia. He was the center for Yugoslavia in the 80’s when they won two Olympic gold medals and we won two silvers. I know Igor very well and had a chance to spend an hour or so with him while we were in Belgrade. He was a broken man. He and his wife have two beautiful daughters (5 and 8 years old) and he is trying to figure out what life looks like without his wife. He appeared to have aged ten years since I saw him last, just two years ago. My heart hurt for him. It was a hard reminder of how fragile life is and how we must focus on the relationships in our lives. Also, a good slap in the face to keep what we are doing with the team in perspective. We shared a tearful hug when we departed. Anyway, we were forced to make a decision to leave Serbia and find another team to train with during our time here in Europe. Fortunately for us there was a good match. A club in Italy, called Pro Recco was interested in hosting us and training with us for a week. It was a bit of a struggle but we were able to find flights to mobilize our team of 24 athletes, coaches and staff and get everyone to Italy. We also had to work within our budget to make this happen. Pro Recco offered to help on that end. They actually agreed to host us (room and board) and pay an additional $ 3,500 for transportation to help us get there. This was very helpful and made the decision to head to Italy easy. After an afternoon of flying we arrived in Recco on Wednesday night. Recco is a town just east of Genoa that sits right on the sea. It is a small and quiet town. However, their water polo team is just the opposite. This is truly a world all-star team. There team consists of three Serbians, three Hungarians, two Croatians, two Montenegrins, two Spanish, two Italians and a few other select players. All of these players are the best players on their respective teams. They are loaded with talent. We have been training twice per day with this team. We warm up and then we scrimmage for an hour. It has been fantastic. A good opportunity for us to play against the best. This is a team that is as good as any national team in the world. Another upgrade has been the food. It is not that the food was bad in Serbia. They took care of us very well but since moving to Italy we have eating like kings. Lots of pasta and carbs. A little rough on the guys that are eating a gluten free diet but the Italians have been very accommodating and have been serving those guys the gluten free pasta. It is difficult as a coach who stands on the deck, talks to his players, waves his arms around a bit and occasionally raises his voice to make a point with a referee to keep up with how much the players are eating. Obviously, they are burning the calories. We (the coaches) have had to ask for half portions to make sure that we don’t come home with ten extra pounds. Tonight (Saturday), we have an official game with Pro Recco. They are expecting a couple of thousand rowdy fans. It is great preparation for us to play a game like this against a powerful opponent with a hostile crowd. All of the scrimmages have been close so far. They have won a few by one or two goals and we have done the same. Hopefully, we will show up tonight and take it to them. The trip has also provided us with an opportunity to bond as a team. I have been able to meet individually with each player and the team has had a few dinners together. Tomorrow we will have a light day of training and then enjoy some time away from the pool together. We are trying to arrange a boat ride out to one of the local islands. Monday we will get back to good training before heading for home on Wednesday. Less than three months to go to London now... See you at the pool. Coach

A Milestone and a Lesson 4/21/12

2012-04-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday (April 18th) we celebrated 100 days till the Opening Ceremonies in London. Wow! It is really hard to believe how quickly the Olympic Games will be here. How did we celebrate this milestone? Two of our players, Tony Azevedo and Merrill Moses flew to New York for a big media day. They left right after practice on Tuesday morning and arrived in New York around midnight. Their media stops included early appearances at the NY Stock Exchange and the Today show and then later in the day stops at various other NBC affiliates. After a day in the “spotlight” so to speak they boarded a plane and headed back to Los Angeles. Both arrived home in the early hours of Thursday (1:30 am) and after a few hours of sleep were on time for our morning training at 8:45. Those that stayed home also had a long day. We had a very tough workout in the morning that consisted of some difficult swims and leg work. Immediately following training, six players – Ryan Bailey, Adam Wright, Jesse Smith, Jeff Powers, Peter Varellas and Layne Beaubien had an all day photo shoot with Men’s Journal magazine. This was big deal! Men’s Journal brought a staff of 18 to do make up, hair, catering, interviews and of course photography. The shoot lasted from 11 am to 6 pm and it was a hot summer-like day. Needless to say, the guys were sunburned and a pretty exhausted when they jumped in the pool for our competition night. Although the scrimmage started out a bit slow the competitive juices began to flow and it ended up being a good practice. Physically drained and a bit emotional the team showed up for practice on Thursday morning in a sour mood. As training began, it was obvious that the team looked lethargic. Robert (assistant coach) took them through a couple of warm up sets and then it was time for the main set. It was not necessarily a hard set but on this particular day it seemed like a big mountain to climb. Here is the set – start out with a 200 swim medium speed (this means under a 2:12), next swim 2 X 100 above medium (under 1:05), and finally swim 8 X 50 with everyone under 30 seconds on each one. If everyone does not make it then we do the entire set again. Let me make this clear – for all of our athletes swimming a 50 under 30 seconds should not be difficult at all. In fact, most of them swim a 50 in under 23 seconds. However, on this particular day a few of our older athletes were struggling with exhaustion and “broke down” after the first couple of 50’s. So we repeated the set, not once but three times with the guys becoming more and more agitated after each failure. Watching and waiting for the right moment to speak, I stopped them and addressed them before they were to swim the 8 X 50 (the fourth time). I simply said this “I know that we all had a super long day yesterday and that we are all exhausted, however, when we get to the Olympic Games not one of our opponents is going to give a damn about how we feel. We have to be able to be strong in these moments and push through it. Only when we can do this in practice consistently will we be able to do it at the Games”. The team responded and everyone made the 50’s and we were able to finish the rest of the practice on a positive note. We can not afford to waste a day of training. Each and every day counts. I believe that all the players went home with that message and hopefully learned a valuable lesson about being able to stay together in those tough moments and push their bodies and minds to another level when they feel like they can’t. In fact, we have to take the word “can’t” out of our vocabulary if we want to win. We are now off to Serbia for 9 days. We will be in Belgrade where we will train with a club called Partizan. This club team’s roster is primarily made up of the Serbian national team. It should be good intense training. We will travel with all 16 of our team and once again we will have a chance to evaluate individuals and see how different combinations of players work in the water together. When we return, we will have less then three months left in our preparation for London. Thank you for all of your support! The team appreciates it. See you at the pool. Coach

Growing Awareness 4/14/12

2012-04-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

It was a good hard week of training for Team USA. The level of intensity in the pool was high all week. The guys are competing against each other and making each other work. In my opinion, this is what will make us better than anyone else. Our practices must be as intense as the games themselves. The intensity and stress level must be high in the water at all times, and then when we actually get to London, we will be used to playing at this high level. Unfortunately, one of the risks of training at this level is injury. We had two players get hurt this week. Peter Hudnut took an accidental head butt to the face and lost his two front teeth. It was a violent collision (totally accidental) that occurred in our Wednesday night scrimmage. Peter missed a couple of days of training but will be back in the water on Monday morning sporting a couple of new teeth. Thursday morning, John Mann took an accidental elbow above the eye. He was a bit bloody but after a few stitches he was ready to go again. Both of these players - in fact all of our guys are very tough. Even though it was a bit of a bloody battlefield this week at practice – it was a very solid week of training. I feel we accomplished what we had planned. One week closer to London – one week closer to being ready.

As we get closer to the Olympics, we are seeing a big increase in the popularity of our team. We had ESPN (radio, magazine and TV) out doing interviews with the players and coaches the week before last. This week, Tony Azevedo shot a commercial for 24 hour fitness. He was one of two Olympians that were chosen for this spot. The other was beach volleyball superstar Kerri Walsh (pretty good company). We had Reuters out with cameras on Thursday. They shot practice and then interviewed a number of the guys. Men’s Health was out in between trainings on Friday shooting photos of 5-6 of our athletes for an upcoming issue. This weekend the athletes of both our Men’s and Women’s team will be making appearances at Simon Malls around Southern California. Next week, we will be having interviews with AP on Tuesday and then a big photo shoot in between trainings on Wednesday with Men’s Journal.

Obviously, all of this exposure is great for our team and great for the sport. The last few weeks we have seen this awareness and demand for our team grow tremendously. However, we have to make sure that it does not become a distraction. I believe that the team has handled it well to date. I will definitely keep my eye on this process and make certain that the time demand does not interfere with our goal. We have to stay on track and maintain our focus. Each and everyday counts and we can not afford to waste one day of our preparation.

I am proud of the guys. They certainly deserve the recognition they are now getting. We are building more awareness and hopefully as we get closer to London there will be many more water polo fans cheering Team USA on to the Gold!

See you at the pool.

Coach

Honoring Team Mates 04/06/12

2012-04-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Team USA completed a short training week on Wednesday night. Coaches, players and staff have all been working extremely hard and a long weekend off is needed. At this point, we are close to half way through are full time training. We started the year in Australia and are now just short of 3 ½ months into it. We have just over 100 days to go until Opening Ceremonies. There is sense of urgency that is growing with each week – really with each day that passes. We all know that with each day we are a little closer to making our dreams come true – representing the USA at the Olympic Games and having a chance at winning a gold medal. Perhaps this seems a contradiction to talk about urgency but take some time off? Truth is that this journey is a balancing act. On one side there is the risk of just pushing through and getting to the Olympic Games and being fatigued and burned out. On the other hand, we need to make sure that we are the most prepared team there… I believe that we are on a good path. We are putting the time in and “grinding out” some very difficult workouts. We need to balance that out with some rest and perhaps a bit of fun with family and friends. That is what this weekend is all about. We have four days off to be with family and relax, reconnect and rejuvenate. It is well deserved and in my opinion, a very important part of this process and ultimately our success.
This was a difficult week as I had to sit with two players and tell them that they were done. It is a terrible job. Honestly, it is the worst part of what I do. I feel for these guys. Each has sacrificed so much to try to make this a reality and they are all very gifted athletes. When you think about it - they are one of the top 18 water polo athletes in our country. What I thought I would do is tell you a bit about the two athletes that we cut this past week. My intention is this – to honor them as a part of our team. They have made our team better. In practice, they pushed the others to a higher level. They gave it all they had but unfortunately came up a bit short. These guys have nothing to be ashamed of – they did there best and that is what life and sport is all about. Let me introduce you to these two team mates (family members).
Jeff Tyrell is 26 years old. He is 6”5’ and 215 lbs. He was born in Mountain View, California and attended UC Berkeley where is graduated in 2007. While at CAL he was a part of the national championship teams in 2006 and 2007. He was an All-American in both of these years also. After graduating as an Academic All – American he began playing club water polo for the New York Athletic Club. He has played professionally in Italy as well. Jeff joined the senior national team in 2006 and has travelled with us on numerous trips. He was a part of our team that placed fourth in the 2010 World Cup. He is one of the fastest players on the team. He also shoots the ball as hard as anyone on the team. Jeff is very strong in the water and plays the role of a center defender.
Janson Wigo is 6”3’, 195 lbs and left handed. He was born in New York but grew up in Fort Lauderdale. He attended Stanford University with his twin brother Drac. Both graduated in 2010. After graduation he has played for the New York Athletic Club and professionally for one season in Croatia. He was a member of our Junior National Team and played for the 2011 World University Games Team last year. He has been training with the national team for the past year. Water Polo is definitely in his blood. His brother, Wolf, is a three time Olympian and his father, Bruce, is the past Executive Director of USA Water Polo. At 24, Janson is the youngest member of our national team.
My hat is off to these two players. I appreciate what they gave –their time, their effort and their passion. I am confident that both will be future Olympians and I wish them the best on their journey.
The team goes back to work on Monday morning. Have a Happy Easter!
See you at the pool.
Coach

Passing another test 3/31/12

2012-03-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

Over the past ten days we have hosted the water polo teams from Italy, Germany and Montenegro. We kicked off the training with the four nation tournament at CLU last weekend. The results were good for Team USA. We opened up the tournament with a 9 – 8 win against Italy, the top ranked team in the world. In our next game, we held off a late surge by the German national team and won 12 – 10. On the final day of the tournament, we tied Montenegro 8 – 8 with a goal in the last minute of the game. With two wins and a tie, we come away as the champions of the four nation tournament. With this result we have now won the last three international tournaments that we have played in – the Pan American Games last October, the Pan Pacific tournament a few months ago in Australia and now our own four nation tournament.

Throughout the week, we had some very good days of training with the three teams that were here. It was valuable. On Thursday night we traveled up to Santa Barbara for the final exhibition match against the Italians. This was another exciting match. Entering the final period of the game, Team USA was down 7 – 4. With an enthusiastic crowd behind us we cut away at the lead and with 37 seconds left in the game we scored a goal to go ahead 9 – 8. Unfortunately, we could not hold off the Italians who came right back and scored a goal with only 4 seconds remaining on the clock to tie the game. We finish the week off undefeated, two wins and two ties. Winning tournaments is definitely a good habit for us to build on. We are on a good path and while I am pleased, we still have a great deal of work to do. We can not let ourselves rest or get complacent at all with this success. Volleyball legend and a good friend, Karch Kiraly was once asked “how did you prepare for the gold medal? Karch simply answered, “I never prepared for the gold medal, I prepared for the next play”. I love this quote and it is very appropriate for us. We must stay in the moment! This is a powerful lesson that applies to all areas of life. I know for myself, I try to show up each day and give my best. Whether it is on the pool deck, in my chiropractic office or at home – my duty is to give my best. Each individual that I am with deserves no less. We must as a team, train hard everyday, learn something new and challenge each other to get better. There are now less then 120 days to go before the Opening Ceremonies. It is a bit overwhelming to think about how quickly that is going to go and how much work we have to do before that day. However, as we take it day by day and as Karch said “play by play” we will be well served.

There is no doubt that the Olympic Games will be one of the most competitive water polo tournaments ever. There are eight teams that are all within a goal of each other. Every game will be a battle. One of the most positive stats from this past week of training was that in each of the four games that we played we scored a goal to win or tie in the last minute. In three of the four games, our final goal came as a result of a man up (power play) situation. This is a great statistic for us – we must be able to score in these situations to win the big games. These are the pressure situations and we did a great job of finishing in these critical moments. We are on a good path – doing many things well. This was another “test” for us and while we passed this test – we also learned that there are areas of the game that we must improve on. There is no time to cruise. Tomorrow is another chance to get better!
On a separate note, next week will be a tough week for me and the team as we have to cut two players from our roster. Making cuts is by far the most difficult job that I have as the head coach. I am not looking forward to this at all. Each and every one of these players becomes family and it is not fun to tell someone close that their dream is over. All I can say is that I do not take this lightly. I know what each player is giving up to be a part of this team – and I know what being an Olympian means. I spend hours contemplating and praying about the cuts. Each one of our guys knows that there are no guarantees in this process. Everyone must earn their spot on the team and in the end only 13 players will the Olympic team. We have 18 on the roster now and at the end of next week it will be 16.
I would like to thank everyone that helped to put on a great tournament at CLU. Thanks to you and the many fans that showed up to support our team the four nations tournament was a huge success.
See you at the pool.

Coach