2009 MEN'S JUNIOR WORLD CUP PLAYER BLOG
Updated on June 18, 2009
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17
My 8th grade biology teacher once told me that “excuses are like armpits, we all have them and they stink.” One thing that this team has learned is there no excuse for a poor performance. We win as a team, and we lose as team. There have been highs as well as lows along this tournament, and it’s how we have coped with them that have given our end result.
Today was the normal day; normal breakfast, normal meeting times, heart rate spikes and the normal free time. The only thing abnormal today was the anxiety and anticipation that was built up in everyone, because, frankly, we just wanted to play. We were coming off of last night’s buzzer beating victory over Singapore and our Pan-American Rivals, Chile, awaited. What could be better then a chance to avenge the team that blanked us out 6-0 in the Junior Pan-American Championship semifinal last October?
All prepared with the tactics to succeed, we took the field in a must win or draw game. Don’t get me wrong, we were set to win, and we showed up wanting to win. On the field, the technical skill wasn’t up to par. Matters of fact, as scored by us in the post-game review, all areas were well under par. We allowed two goals, which were caused by mistakes at every level on the field. It wasn’t until we pushed in the final minutes of the game to get some goals, that we started to show a little glimpse of good hockey. Fellow roommate, Jon Ginolfi, had our only goal, scoring a backhand from the top of the circle. A few more good opportunities and then the game ended and we couldn’t believe we let this one slip. After we gained our composure, we left the field with our heads high and facing the reality that we bestowed upon ourselves. We set ourselves up to play Singapore, in Singapore, on Friday in a game we must win to hold our 19th ranking.
So we came here ranked 19th and by no means are we leaving here ranked lower. With our excuses left in Johor and our hearts buried deep in our chest, we will be making the trip to Singapore this Friday. We might not come home with a trophy for our final ranking, but I can reassure you that we will come away with our heads held high and a lifetime of experiences that will last the rest of our hockey careers. We will continue to fight for each other, our supporters here and at home, and for the three letters on our chest.
Malaysia Out,
Nick Szoke
TUESDAY, JUNE 16
Hey folks, thanks for checking in to our blog. Today was an exciting day.
The day started as usual with some morning sunshine and breakfast at the hotel in Malaysia. At the team meeting we polished up the details about the game plan for the match against Singapore that evening. Unfortunately our game was scheduled in Singapore today so after lunch and a brief break we packed up and headed on the 2 hour trip through two border checks to get to Singapore. We were fortunate to get to relax at the Singapore tournament hotel for a little bit before having a nice pasta dinner by the hotel.
Then game time came around and we packed up to head to the field. Everyone was really excited to have a run out with the talented Singapore team in front of their home crowd and had high hopes of executing a solid game plan and coming out with a W or a draw.
The game was energetic and heated and saw the home team with most of the ball control. Thanks to some excellent execution in the few chances we had the game was wrapping up in the last few minutes tied up 2-2 with Will and Nick knocking in some nice goals. When Singapore won a short corner the will of the boys seemed at about its breaking point, when Kevin proved why he is the best keeper in the pool and made a clutch stick save in the bottom corner which virtually was a slap in the face to Singapore as they had scored their only two goals of the game on corners.
With a new backbone from the back the USA pushed on to seal the deal before the home crowd put on the show the crowd was demanding. We didn’t know that a tie was basically as good as a win for us in the tournament scheme so the intensity kicked up in the last minute with the score still tied. With some great passing and trekking we found the ball in the front field where Derek laid a ball off a defender's foot in the circle at the 5 second mark which gracefully landed in the barrel of Will Holt's cannon, who then proceeded to fire the ball into the backboards giving USA the 3-2 lead with 3 seconds remaining.
Our small cheering section drowned out the frustrated sigh of the home crowd after the exciting finish. It was a great win but the team understands that we need to kick it up a few notches if we want to earn the win we need tomorrow night against one of our rivals, Chile.
The curry and chicken pies on the long ride home seemed like a nice reward for a battle hard won. After a great recovery in the pool it was time to hit the sack and start recharging for tomorrow's big game. That being said, the goalkeeper room is going to bed so goodnight and thanks for reading.
Peace out.
- Andrew Zayac
MONDAY, JUNE 15
We kicked off our first rest day after our win against Russia with a 15 minute pool workout that ended with some amusing swimming activities including one-armed swimming and chicken fights. We payed for our fun and games as we woke up the next morning complaining about our necks. As soon as we got back to our rooms I assume everyone spend their time watching the Lakers win their 15th NBA title. How I made this assumption? Well even I did and I’m not even from Los Angeles. Some of the other players indulged in a highly competitive series of monopoly.
At 4.45 we departed to the johor hockey stadium to watch two top quality games, Argentina vs. The Netherlands and Spain vs Germany. Once we arrived at the pitch during the first game our very special ex-escort policemen Omar Yousman took time to say hello to each and one of us and invited our team to some soda and ice cream. Back at the Hotel we went straight to dinner. I'm sure you're tired of it too but once again we had rice and pasta.
- Alexander v. Bieberstein
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
Buzz, buzzzzzz, buzzzzzzz! 5:40 wake ups are rough, especially when you know you will be up and spiking your heart rate in less than 10 minutes. A light breakfast was eaten and then we were off to game one against Russia. We had an excellent game plan and were anxious to play again after our 2 day rest. Everyone was a little lethargic due to the early start but that disappeared fairly quickly. By half time we were at a 3-1 lead. Tired legs and unwise decisions let the Russians put 2 more goals in by the end of the game but luckily Viren scored a great tap in goal to give us the win.
After a nice pool recovery and lunch we were sent off to our own rooms for a mandatory and much appreciated nap. A couple hours later we were on our way to Singapore to watch our next two opponents play. Singapore ended up falling to Chile 5-3. It was good to get a trip across the border under our belts so we know what to expect when we must repeat the trip to play Singapore on Tuesday evening. After returning to the hotel we had a quick bite then were sent our own ways until tomorrow.
- Jed Cunningham & Viren Padhiar
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
Our “away from the group” day ended up being a shopping reunion with many of the players and their families at the local mall. We had a good day away from the hockey environment; movies were watched, food was eaten, and beauty naps were cherished.
Later on that night we were able to refocus our minds on hockey by attending the tournament dinner. We didn’t stay long however due to our 8am game time the next day against Russia. We all slyly slipped out of the banquet hall and munched on the lovely hotel food before hitting the sack.
- Jed Cunningham & Viren Padhiar
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
Rest day! We took a team trip to the “worlds largest mall”, in South East Asia. Food, shopping, & fun were had by all. The stores and prices were almost a mirror of your everyday mall in the states, however the milkshakes were out of this world!
Upon return from the mall, we had dinner where we pleased & filed into a bus headed for the pitch. We watched a very energetic game between Spain’s 11 and Malaysia’s 6000. The crowd was a major factor in the emotion of the game and was a great experience for us athletes to watch from a spectator’s perspective. We then counted some sheep and got some zzz’s.
- Manny Martinez & Jed Cunningham
MONDAY, JUNE 8
We woke up somewhat earlier today than we did on Saturday. After another team walk and stretch we all headed off to breakfast. We had our debrief of the Korean game which we then put behind us after learning our lessons well. Our early morning heart rate spikes seemed a little bit more challenging today than they had the day before.
We left for our five o’clock game at three fifteen. We were going to be playing in significantly more heat than the day before. Once again the game began well for us, we outletted the ball well and defended well enough for the first 20 minutes, but then when the quick Spanish side scored one goal, their experience and skill allowed them to score another two goals in quick succession before the half time break.
It was another extremely disappointing result for the team. We all know that we are not playing to our full potential, and we decided to make changes after this game and we hope to improve a significant amount from now on. We still have a lot of hope going forward in our pool games.
- Liam Walsh
SUNDAY, JUNE 7
Most of us slept in until around 9:30 on Sunday Morning. And following the same exact meal of rice and pasta we began preparations for the game with a quick walk outside the hotel followed by a stretch, just to wake up our muscles. Because we were playing a late night game, we had all day to prepare for the upcoming game. After a series of meetings, heart rate spikes and food intake we departed for the game at 5:15. As usual we received sideways glances from many players and spectators alike when we donned our ice vests.
Our game began at 7:00 under the bright spotlights on pitch number two. Although our venue was not quite as exciting as the 5000 Malaysian spectators screaming on the home crowd on the pitch next to ours, we were all really excited to begin our first world cup match. After the anthems were sung, we began the game at a great tempo, matching the Koreans step for step over the first period of the game. Unfortunately we went in at half time down by four goals after the Koreans scored 3 drag flicks from penalty corners.
After the disappointing game we watched the closing minutes of the Malaysia England game before heading back to the hotel for a brief pool recovery session, after which we had dinner and then thankfully went to sleep.
- Liam Walsh
SATURDAY, JUNE 6
We started off Saturday morning with an early pool workout in an attempt to loosen out our muscles from the two practice games we played against Japan and Belgium. The pool workout came as a relief to the players as a 45 minute aerobic run was printed for the planned activity on the agenda sheet. During the early afternoon the players explored the new game review programs that we were able to utilize on the coaches computers. These computer programs were pretty handy because we could all review precise aspects of the previous games we played.
At 2:45 we headed off to the field for our final training session before the tournament began and things really got going. We spent our training time fine tuning our set pieces and making sure our skills were honed for the hard games that lay before us. To break the monotony of the somewhat boring hotel food the coaches decided to bring us out to a great Indian restaurant just a few miles away from the hotel. To be honest anything would have tasted unbelievable after 12 meals of rice and pasta for breakfast lunch and dinner every day. But fortunately the food was more than appetizing. Although the fish head curry was a touch too exotic for many of our teammates, a few brave souls sampled it and found it to be pretty delicious, KB went so far as to eat a part of the fish that we determined could only be a fish eye. We all went to bed happy that night after a good meal and slept through to the next morning.
- Liam Walsh
FRIDAY, JUNE 5
Today we had an early pool recovery which got pushed back because of some unruly English blokes in our pool. Then another Asian style lunch filled with white rice and beef.
Then after another quick meeting we had the day’s main event jeopabee spellardy, a loose combination of the game show Jeopardy with a Spelling Bee twist. To do this we had to occupy the entire lobby of our hotel floor in a very loud way. After answering some useless trivia and some difficult questions from the team Foreign Legion, Team 805 Uncensored would have came out winning if not for a technicality that gave the Dirty Penguin's the victory.
After the activity most of the team relaxed while some others prepared to go to the opening ceremonies. Some of the team went to opening ceremonies while others were left behind to indulge in team camaraderie. Two of the Opening Ceremony crew, unsuspecting teammates that they are, left their door foolishly open. This sparked some creative imagination through the team. We spent the time pranking the room in various ways which should prove for a good laugh in the morning.
- Ryan Sundeen, Tyler Sundeen and Colin Scally
THURSDAY, JUNE 4
The day begun with the team having some personal time, by being allowed to choose our own breakfast time. Breakfast was pretty mediocre as usual. Promptly following breakfast was a brisk walk stretch which we spent exploring our new environment. After a quick team meeting we proceeded to another buffet style lunch. Then for a couple hours we relaxed and had some free time. When the time came we got ice packs for our ice vests in T.R.’s room and prepared for the game. After a wild bus drive to the field we got ready to play Belgium. This match was steep a learning curve and very intense. After the game, which we lost 6-0, we came back to the hotel cleaned up real quick ate some dinner and crashed.
- Ryan Sundeen, Tyler Sundeen and Colin Scally
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3
The flight half way around the world is short and sweet when you’re surrounded by seventeen buddies. Team USA cheerfully filled the back five rows of a plane headed for Tokyo, minus head coach Nick Conway who suspiciously secured a seat towards the front of the air craft with twice the leg room. Adorable Japanese flight attendants served warm wet towellets and sushi while the boys napped or watched a small selection of Japanese subtitled films. We touched down in Japan, and before we are allowed to exit the plane, quarantine officers that look ready to explore a radioactive martian planet climb aboard to examine the passengers for disease. Conveniently, the sushi from earlier decides to disagree with poor Alex who, attempting to look as disease free as possible, reaches for a paper bag and begins expelling the uncooked fish.
An hour layover in the Tokyo airport was more than enough to make some friends. Most interesting was a Texan who would be joining us on our flight to Singapore for oil business. The man has been traveling to Malaysia and Singapore for over 25 years so he had plenty of local knowledge to share with the team. The flight was nearly empty, so upon takeoff the team spread out until everyone had their own row of seats to sprawl out on. Forts were constructed, food was monopolized, and wars broke out, before everyone finally fell asleep.
We arrive in Singapore in the middle of the night to more flu tests. Cleared, the team boards a bus bound for a long and tedious crossing of the Malaysian border. After a total of 24 hours of travel, an upscale hotel bed feels like heaven.
The magnitude of the tournament really hadn’t set in for me until we pulled up to the newly constructed stadium we’d be competing in. Its unlike anything any of us have played in and we’re all super excited to be able to play for a crowd of that size. The heat and humidity is everything we were warned it would be, but you really have to experience it to know. We’ve had several training sessions and a friendly match with Japan (we lost 2-1), so the boys are becoming more acclimated to the climate. Thankfully most of our games will be at night under the lights.
-Kevin Barber