DWNT 2012 Day 20

Day 20. Gone. Like a streak of lightning.

Started with a breakfast at 9:30 again. Standard breakfast like the last few days. Had a nice cup of "red berries" tea though and tried a jam I had never heard of before.

After breakfast I finished up the video for the afternoon and got ready for practice. We had a practice from 12-1:30. It was a good practice and we did more 5 on 5 competitive stuff than I would usually do but we need to work as much as possible. We felt pretty good afterwards.

We headed back to the hotel immediately after and went straight to lunch at 1:45. Lunch was a nice stir fry which tasted great. We also had the usual meats and cheeses and some great tiramisu for dessert.

After lunch I relaxed for a little in my room before our 4:15 video session. I used the session as a teaching tool and focused on some of the little details we needed to work on to try and get a win. It was a good session and the girls were able to see a lot of the little details.

Departure time was 6:30 for a 8pm start. The girls had a little snack at 5pm and then we hit the bus at 6:30. I felt good about our team during the warmup. We started the game very well and were controlling much of the action. We were up after 1 quarter and continued to play hard but had a few miscues in the 2nd half. We ended up leading by 6 at the break.
The break came at a bad time. We talked about a few adjustments but had a few lapses early and let them start on a 6-0 run to tie the score. We had to scrape and claw but we managed to be up after 3 and then worked hard to try and stay on top. We traded the lead back and forth and with under 30 seconds they have the ball. We would get it back with about 6 seconds if they scored and we were up by 2. 72-70. We played good defense and then one of their girls shoots a one footed 3 point shot from about 25 feet away with the shot clock expiring and she hits it. Down 73-72 with 6 seconds left. We call timeout and I draw up a play. We get the ball perfectly where we want it. Our guard passes and we miss the shot as the buzzer goes. We were disappointed but we had a shot to win it and that is what we wanted. Overall we played better in a lot of areas but we let their big players kick the crap out of us. They make great decisions and punished us. Now we have game 3 tomorrow to try and get it back. Hopefully we can make it happen. We have been so close and have been improving each game out. I want to see them have success. We will watch film and see what happens I guess.

When we left the gym it was after 10 and bright out. I stepped out of the bus at 10:22pm and I could read all the writing on my water bottle without the use of the streetlights. This is awesome but confusing at the same time. We get back to the hotel and it is supper time. Fish, potatoes and broccoli. I didn't feel like fish so I had potatoes and broccoli. Pretty quick meal.

I had talked to their assistant coach this afternoon and we arranged to chat after supper. Giddy up. I was in my glory here. I talked with him for at least an hour and then the head coach came. We spoke for about another hour and he blew my mind with some stuff. Bright and very sharing kind of guy. The two of them are awesome. The head coach left and went to bed and I spent the rest of the time with the assistant. About another hour and that is why I write this at 1:50 AM. It was an awesome chat though. I love sitting around talking hoops. Best part of my last few days LOL We will exchange info tomorrow and hopefully exchange some technical stuff through email. They seem very much into sharing ideas.

So the last full day of the trip is coming up tomorrow. 9AM breakfast, 12:30 lunch. 1:30 video. 2:30 departure (30 min drive tomorrow) and a 4:30 game. Lots left to be done. I will debrief the whole trip tomorrow.

Until then.........