National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 15

Day 15 is complete. A long first, full day in Serbia.

Early wakeup and breakfast at 8:30. Interesting selections. Some nice breads, scrambled eggs, mixed veggies (yep carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and bacon), lots of meat and cheese (many different very tasty cheeses), french toast (or as close as it could get) and hot dogs as expected LOL. But then I tried an absolute first for breakfast. Fish Sticks. I had to try one and it wasn't bad.

After breakfast we had a team meeting to review some video and the girls had to present some ideas from the film they watched. We had a little break afterward and then walked to our shooting practice for 12noon. The practice was OK but lacked a little bit of concentration. We reviewed some defensive stuff and tried to tidy up our offense.
Afterwards we walked back to the hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Belgrade. It started out with a very nice cool breeze and then that died out. It became nice and warm. Not too hot. Kind of a Goldilocks day - Just Right.
We came back to lunch and it was good. They serve you a number of courses here. The first one at lunch was a very nice creamy vegetable soup with beef. Very tasty and their bread is fantastic with it. The next course was a plate with rice, steak, green beans and boiled potatoes. Very tasty as well. So far so good. Lastly, and a perfect ending, was a beautiful "custardy" type of dessert with chocolate sauce and whip cream. Brought the meal to an end nicely.

After lunch we decided to go for a short walk down the street. There was a few stands set up with people selling all kinds of things and there were a few older women selling vegetables. Some beautiful looking green onions, beans and one women had beans pickled in a 500ml plastic coke bottle. Quite interesting. Would have been nice to sample a few things.

We decided to head to nice little grocery store next to the hotel. There is no way to tell that there is a grocery store there. It just looks like a little building. I went in and spent some time roaming around. Interesting stuff for sure. Lots of fresh produce and the butcher was working away behind the counter. The most interesting thing he had was probably the young pig that was in his display case - the head was off but it was there sitting beside it. I picked up a chocolate bar that I had when I was here before that you cannot get in Canada and a few other things.

Headed back to the hotel after that to take care of some emails and tried to relax. I had time to do some hand laundry as I have grown accustomed to on a trip like this. Amazing the amount of laundry you can do in a sink. LOL. I grabbed a quick shower and got ready to go to the first game. I headed up the street at 5:10pm for the 5:30 start. I watched Italy and Montenegro as we play Montenegro tomorrow. It was a very good game and EXTREMELY physical. Italy won down the stretch with some good shooting. I am a little familiar with Montenegro as we played them last year so I was able to note some of their tendencies from memory.

Our game was scheduled for an 8pm tip off and I think we showed up around 9:15. It may have been the absolute UGLIEST game I have ever seen. We were bad on offense and worse on defense. We committed 28 turnovers which is disgusting. Somehow we were alway within striking distance (probably because they didn't hit their wide open shots) and we started to play a little bit in the last 6-7 minutes. We edged up 59-57 and managed to hold on for the win. It was a relief to win but it felt bad to do it the way we did it. One of those games where you win and are thoroughly disappointed. We have time to get better though and tomorrow will give us that opportunity.

It was a nice cool walk on the way home and we headed right for our late dinner. First course was a beautiful tomato and cheese salad. Perfect start. Then it was a small pasta dish followed by chicken and french fries. An orange for dessert and we were on the way.

One final meeting with the staff to discuss game planning and review the game clips for Montenegro and that took us past midnight. Tomorrow we will have breakfast, practice and then a video session before the game vs Montenegro. Another full day.

So now it is almost 1AM. Sleep is calling.

Until tomorrow.......

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 15

Day 15 is over and we now have been in 3 different countries in the last 12 hours.

We got up this morning to a standard breakfast. Meats and cheese, scrambled eggs, cereal and very floppy bacon. Not so standard Rice was included.

After breakfast I did a little bit of last minute packing and headed to the lobby. We were schedule to head to the airport at 10:30. We got everything loaded on the bus and the manager wanted a pic with the coaches so we took one. He treated us great for the time we were there.

We headed to the airport and it took a bit of time checking in but we finally got through and were ready to go. Flight was scheduled for just after 1. We headed to the gate and had a few minutes to relax before we boarded. As we boarded the flight they gave each of us a nice German chocolate bar which was very good. The flight was just over an hour and we landed in Munich.

Our connection was about an hour so we passed through customs and hustled to the gate. We checked through the ticket counter and had to board a bus. While we were waiting one of the girls asked me to keep teaching her how to make a coin disappear. So I show a few things to her and a gentlemen behind her takes an interest. I told her that she needed maybe a smaller coin to work with and he reaches into his wallet and gives her a 2 Euro coin. I don't think it was smaller but he now wanted to see. So here we are sitting on a bus waiting to drive out to a plane in Munich Germany. As I have done before, break out the coins. I start making them disappear, reappear, change into other coins. Needless to say the girls were having fun but it was fun to watch this gentleman (who I learned was from Switzerland) and the others around us smiling and enjoying the reactions. Fun.

So the next flight was a little longer and not many bumps. Interesting though was when they handed out little cakes to people on the plane. There were 2 children directly behind me and the mom was diagonally behind me. She spoke perfect English and so did the boys. She asked the waitress if there were any nuts or tree nuts in the cake. The flight attendant (in broken English) said she was absolutely positive there were not. Of course there were no markings on the package but I took a look quickly and could see that the cake was filled with almonds and some other nuts inside and on top. I mentioned this to the woman right away. She took the cake away from the flight attendant (who was handing it to her son) and gave it to the person in front of her. I asked if her son was allergic to nuts in the air or was it contact or ingestion. She said only ingestion causes his severe reaction. Sometimes it pays to know these things in life.

We landed in Serbia with no problems and had a bus and police escort waiting for us. The police escort was fun and the memories of being here in 2008 for the FISU Games came flooding back. I remembered all of the stuff from back then. We arrived at the hotel and the service was great. The hotel is a little older but nice. We had dinner scheduled for 6:20 so we headed up to the 18th floor restaurant. Started with an appetizer of pasta in cream sauce with sausage, then a cabbage and tomato salad (welcome back LOL) and then they brought grilled chicken and potatoes. Very very good and the servers were very friendly. During the meal a Massive rain shower and thunder and lightning arrived. Lasted for about 20 minutes. We had the gym booked for 7pm for a light bit of shooting and a pre-hab workout. We hopped on the bus to head to the "15 minute walk" gymnasium. We all laughed as the bus stopped about 3 stop lights away. As I walked up the hill it all came flooding back to me. Been here before. Same gym we were in in 2008.

After our workout we walked back to the hotel. Less than 10 minutes probably. A really nice evening and the rain had cooled down the hot humid weather from the afternoon. We headed to a meeting room and discussed a video project the girls had to work on. We also discussed the plan for the next few days. We play Serbia tomorrow at 8pm, then we play Italy and Montenegro on Saturday and Sunday. Fly to Paris on Monday. In and Out trip.

After this meeting I had another meeting with a player to watch film and help her see some things she can improve on. Finally our last meeting of the day. The coaches met to discuss some things to get ready for tomorrow. I will take the scouting duties for our second 2 opponents. We don't have much on Serbia but we will have much more on the other 2 teams. I love this part. Trying to beat 2 international coaches and trying to get into their heads. Fun stuff.

So now it is just after midnight in Serbia. Just after 7 at home. We have a 9am breakfast tomorrow and then a busy day. I must get off to bed now.

Until tomorrow night..........

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 14

Well Day 14 is finally over and so our time is coming to a close here in Prague

Woke up to an early breakfast with cereal, eggs, potatoes, bread, fruit, of course meats and cheeses and the leftover cheese and broccoli from last night. Tried a number of things before but never had cheese and broccoli for breakfast before. Kept my streak alive because I didn't think it looked too good.

Right after breakfast we headed to our morning shoot around. I don't think it could have been any worse. Flat, no energy, just horrible. We didn't have a good feeling after that one.

We headed home and had a short time to relax before our video session. We watched some of our stuff and then some of what Czech did to us last night. After that session I sat with 2 players and reviewed their clips from last night. We then headed to lunch.

Lunch was pasta, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, fish, a veggie type soup (not so good) and some pork stuffed with scrambled eggs and peppers. Can't say it looked intriguing at first but with the little bit of sauce it had it was actually not bad.

After lunch I had 2 more film sessions with the girls until about 2pm. Once I finished those I went with Shawnee on a walk down the street from our hotel. All kinds of neat little shops and at the end was a pedestrian only street lined with little booths. All kinds of unique things and different foods. The smells were awesome. We roamed around for a little while and I bough a few things. It started to rain just before I had to head back. It was neat to see all the different people and the different parts of Czech culture on the street this afternoon.

On the way I stopped to watch the police tow a car. Not like in Canada. Here the truck operator rotated a device over the car and put 4 straps around the wheels. He then proceeded to lift the car off the ground, spin it around and drop it on his flatbed. Quite impressive.

I got home around 3:30 with a departure time set for 4:30. Time for a nice hot shower except the cleaning ladies haven't been in here in 2 days so we have no clean towels. I went down to the front desk and was nice as I could be when I explained our predicament. The cleaning staff had gone home for the day so there was no access to the towels. Eventually they showed up with 2 hand towels. That was an adventure in itself after I finished the shower.

Dressed in time to hit the bus for 4:30 and off to the game. We got to the gym and learned that it was on National TV and there would be some presentations which was neat. We get to game time and we started the first few minutes OK then got a bit sloppy. We fought back after a bad first quarter but were still down at half. We were down as much as 17 at one point. We talked at half about our toughness and how we want to play and we came out playing harder in the 2nd half. Eventually we took the lead and then made a big 3 point shot with 4 seconds left to seal the victory for us. A nice way to end day 2 on the court. The girls showed lots of good signs but we still have a long way to go.

We hopped on the bus and headed for the hotel and our dinner. Pork Tenderloin and mashed potatoes. YUMMY. We had a quick dinner and then everybody scrambled. The bus driver told us that he would drive the team down to the main square in the city with a huge castle. It was a nice drive and the bus driver pointed out some sights along the way, When he dropped us off in the square I was in awe. Absolutely beautiful. Huge Castle, Wonderful architecture. Cobblestone streets, little cafe's and restaurants. Just an awesome environment. We walked around for about an hour exploring and then we went to a little restaurant to sit and relax. There were 7 of us there. A few had wine, the others had beer and I had fresh made cherry juice. YUMMY. Throw in an order of traditional Czech Cheese Dumplings and we could call it a night. We headed home to the hotel and now it is time to pack for our next phase. Tomorrow we fly to Munich, Germany and then on to Belgrade. Having been to Serbia with the university games team a number of years ago I am intrigued to go back and see what I remember and experience the country once again. Oh yeah, the basketball is fun too.

So what can I say about Prague. The people are very friendly. the basketball was good, the food was great and the city is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. So happy I made this journey to see another part of the world. It has been a great first phase and now the second one begins. I must head off to pack my bags. An early breakfast and departure to the airport await.

Until Serbia........

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 14

Day 14 is almost over

Had an 8:30 breakfast which was a struggle for me. My phone started ringing at 2:30AM. One of my CBU Players who didn’t realize I was in Europe. It woke me up out of a dead sleep. I couldn’t fall back to sleep until 5AM then a 7:30 breakfast wake up. I was a bit tired.

Breakfast was, yep you guessed it, meats and cheese. Actually the food here has been fantastic. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, boiled potatoes, fruit and veggies, pickled fish, breads, and lots of nice granola type cereals. It was quite good and all chased down with an ultra strong cup of coffee.

Right after breakfast we headed to our shoot around practice. The gym is very nice and the girls had a very spirited practice. High energy and things seemed to be clicking. Would that be a good sign for later? We hoped. After the practice they did a 30 minute conditioning session or prehab session as these are called. They are designed specifically to reduce the risk of injury.

We drove home from practice and went right to lunch. More boiled potatoes, grilled chicken breast, veggies and fruit, carrots, a vegetable soup and pasta with a plain, almost broth like, seafood sauce which was loaded with mussels. Very tasty.

Right after lunch we headed up to the meeting room to some video of the Czech republic as a team. We talked about some of the things they liked to do and how we would defend them. After the session I stayed behind with 2 of the girls to watch some film of our last scrimmage vs the boys before we left. We set some goals after each session and then I came up  to my room. This was about 2:45. Some people were going out for a walk to some local shops but I went straight to bed. Not sure if I remember my head hitting the pillow. Out cold for about 1 hour. Felt great. We were leaving at 4:20 so I scrambled to get ready for the game and headed downstairs.

A really nice touch when I got there. The restaurant manager who has looked after us fantastically had beautiful colored roses for all of the girls and the female coaches. A really nice gesture. We then hopped on the bus and headed to the gym. One thing I have learned at this level is that the players don’t like to be at the gym too early. They want to be there at 5 for a 6pm game so 4:30 was really early for them.

The coaches, our manager and video coordinator decided to take a little walk in a park next to the gym. What an awesome place. Lots of families doing stuff together, lots of dogs around and lots of sports stuff going on. It was a nice little break away from the gym. We got back exactly at 5pm and then went in as the girls got ready to start shooting and warming up. At 5:30 we went to the locker room and had our pregame discussion.

As the game tipped off, we started playing with good energy and our offense was clicking fairly well. We were sloppy in some parts but managed to hold on to a slim halftime lead. In the 3^rd quarter we struggled  a bit and Czech eventually took a small lead. We shared it back and forth for a bit until we grabbed it in the last 3 minutes. From there we held on and eventually won by 6 points I believe. A nice feeling to get the win.

After the game we came back and headed right for supper. Tonight was pasta with broccoli and cheese, fish, fruits and veggies, soup and the best mashed potatoes ever. Not sure what they do with them here but they are phenomenal. So now the often tiring but one of my favorite parts of the job arrives. Watching the game film and scouting the opponent. It will be a long night but that is what I am here for so off to the film.

Until tomorrow………………

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 12

Day 12 is over. A long day, somewhat full first day in Prague. Started out cold and rainy but changed to wamer and sunny by days end.

Woke up to an 8:30 breakfast. Welcome to Europe. Meat and cheese for breakfast. Actually there was a lot more. The food has been very very good. Breakfast was a nice homemade hash brown potato mix, fried eggs, different breads, different cereals, fresh fruit, small sausages that tasted like pepperoni but looked more like a hot do. They also had chocolate and cinammon yogurt. Tried chocolate today. Maybe Cinammon tomorrow. Also tried the coffee. Quite nice.

After breakfast we started individual meetings with players. This lasted from 9:15 until 11:55. Yep killed the morning then on to lunch. Another nice spread. Fresh fruits and veggies (tomaotes and cucumbers were awesome), fish, mashed potatoes (phenomenal), broccoli soup (pureed broccoli with some cream and something else - not bad), pasta and a chicken sauce with veggies and spinach that can only be compared to Mom's stewed chicken she used to make. This stuff was phenomenal but not quite as good as what Mom could make. They had these tiny cakes for dessert which were phenomenal tasting and had a nice chocolate icing on top. Great ending.

After lunch the girls went for a quick walk and when they returned we met with the girls to review some team things and introduce some things about our team identity. We met until about 2pm and then we headed off to practice. The practice gym was not far away but it was nice to see some of Prague in a more alert state than yesterday. The architecture is impressive and there are a lot of cobblestone streets. A very pretty city and we haven't seen most of it yet.

The practice gym was nice but a little cool. The girls warmed up and then we took them through some new things and worked on our offense. After this we worked on our defensive stuff and competed a little bit. Nice to get back in the gym and work on some things. When the girls were finished with the practice we headed over to the competition gym and the girls had a weightroom session. While they were doing this Lisa and I went to the gym and watched a junior game featuring the Czech boys vs. Australia. Apparently the world championships are being played here soon so I am assuming this is a tuneup. The game was high paced and Australia looking very good. Up 15 when we left at half time.

We headed back toward our hotel afterward and it was a nice drive through the streets. We got back at about 7:20 and headed straight to dinner. This meal had green beans (very yummy), chicken, rice, a sauce with chicken and cabbage for the rice which was outstanding (all that cabbage, my poor roommate), breads and a nice little cake for dessert. After supper we had another meeting for the day to review some of the stuff we worked on earlier and the girls came up with a GREAT slogan for our team. A great process they went through to get to it.

So after that meeting still another meeting. I met with Ruth, our first year 6'6" post player, to show her some film and help her get ready for tomorrow's game. That lasted about 15-20 minutes and then I met with Lisa, Shawnee, Dipesh and Sarah and we headed to Starbucks for coffee. Across the street was a bakery so the temptation pulled us in. We did not regret the decision. Very yummy.

So now I am back at the hotel. 9:50 pm as I type. Still work to do. Some scouting work for tomorrow and a few emails left on the plate.

Tomorrow we have an early shoot around and then we play the Czech Republic at 6pm. This is what it is all about. "REPPIN" your country and matching wits with the best coaches in the world. Someone asked me before I left what I liked most about working with the national team. There are so many things but one of them is trying to figure out the other coaches. At this level they are considered the best of the best in the world. That is exciting. We are so young and inexperienced at this level, I am unsure of how we will come out but I think this group will be very good down the road. We don't have to be good until September so lots of time.

But now I must go. I will try and post some pics when I can but the internet is very very slow at times. Hopefully I can get some soon

Until tomorrow...............

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 11

Greetings from Prague. It has been a long day of travel and I am exhausted. On Saturday we had a light shooting practice at McMaster and then went to our last lunch of the camp. Following lunch we all started packing bags going to Walmart for last minute snacks and supplies. 

The bus arrived at 4:30 to pick us up to go to the airport. when we got there the check in was smooth and everything else was rolling. We get through security and find out our flight is delayed by nn hour but it just meant we wouldn't spend another hour waiting in Paris.

We got on the plane and 6 hours later we were in Paris. I tried sleeping on the place but only managed about an hour total. Not enough. We landed with no problem, had a small delay with bags and then cleared customs. After customs we had to walk for 15 minutes, take a train and then walk another 5 minutes to get to our terminal. We were very early so we couldn't check in . We sat around and a lot of people slept. I watched film clips with one of the girls to help her get ready for the trip. 

Once we cleared security after check-in we tried to get something to eat but that didn't work out so the three coaches sat together and actually went to sleep for about 20 minutes. 

We took off from Paris and I slept most of the way to Prague. It was freezing, see your breath cold when we arrived. It also started to rain. We had about a 20 minutes drive to the hotel and it was pretty but not nearly as pretty as it is around our hotel. We decided to have supper immediately which consisted of 2 types of chicken which were great, veggies, breads and maybe the best mashed potatoes ever :)

After supper we went out for a 25-30 min walk in the cold rain to ge the legs moving after a long day of travel. I took a lot of pictures and I will try and post some when I get a better connection and I get a time when I am not literally falling asleep at the computer. I am really looking forward to exploring the city and to our exhibition games. It should be a lot of fun. 

Lots more to say but for now I really have to go. I am done

Until tomorrow..............

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 10

Well Day 10 is done. A long day and our last full day here in Canada. 

Started with an early breakfast and then off to the gym at 10:30 for a shootaround. Put in a few new out of bounds plays and went through some things then headed off to lunch around 12:30. I haven't talked about the food much but today we had polenta with roasted vegetables. I discovered polenta 5 years ago in Serbia and I really enjoy it. This was very good.

After lunch we had a pile of time off until game time at 6pm. I came back here and did some laundry and sent emails out to recruits then did some reading. I also sent out an email to my staff for the development team in phase 2. I showered up before the game and headed to the gym. We were playing the boys from a local club team today. We started the game out well and then they really turned up the pressure for the rest of the game. We didn't play solid against it and turned the ball over a lot. We battled all game and ended up losing by 5 or 6. A really crappy performance for the most part and there was no energy at all. We decided we would discuss the game after supper so I had a chance to spend some time with Sam and Rasheeka, current and soon to be CAPERS, who had come to the game to watch. It was really nice to catch up with them. 

We headed to supper after this and it was decent but the 3 coaches were still stewing from the effort in the game. We tried to discuss some things and put the game behind us but we will all watch the film and then meet again. After dinner we came out of the meal hall and there were 3 deer standing there eating their supper. A short walk up the path and there were 3 raccoons enjoying theirs. A regular wildlife park. 

We had a quick meeting when we returned to discuss the game and then the girls got some new gear for travelling. They are always excited when they get gear and hey so are the coaches. 

I was going to watch the game film from 2 nights ago with a few players and break down tonight's game but none of that happened. I met with one girl and watched the film from the other night. That turned into an hour and a half discussion about basketball and life in general. That ended at 11:50 and here it is 12:20 as I type this. 

Tomorrow we have an early breakfast and then an optional shooting practice at 10:30. Departure for airport is 4:30 and the flight leaves at 8:40pm for Paris. We arrive at 9:45AM in Paris on Sunday morning. We then sit for 5 hours and depart for Prague at 3pm. We arrive at  4:45pm in Prague. For nobody else but mom because she might be the only one interested, here is where we are staying.

Downtownhotelprague.com

We practice monday in Prague and then play the Czech Republic on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we fly to Munich, Germany and then on to Serbia for a tourney. We play Italy, Serbia and Montenegro on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday we fly to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Paris.

We have 3 days to recoup and practice in Paris before we play in a tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday vs. France, Spain and Turkey - 3 of the best in the world. Monday June 10 we leave Paris at 1pm and I arrive in Sydney just before Midnight. Whirlwind tour number 1 will be over. 

Lots to be covered between now and then with emails and packing to be done. 

So am I excited? A little bit. The long flights are never fun but once again the little round ball has given me the opportunity to see more of the world. I am so grateful for what it has done for me. Not sure where I would be without it. 

From Sterling Road to the streets of Prague, Serbia, Cuba, France, Russia, Brazil, China, Japan, Spain and all points in between.......who woulda thunk it :)

My next post will come after a day of travel when we arrive in Prague

until then.................

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 9

Day 9 Arrivaderci


Started with an early breakfast and then a video session at 10. I took the girls through some stuff and and then we headed to practice. Not overly physical but we did have to go through some stuff. Coach Skinn was up here recruiting and he dropped in to watch so it was nice to see him there. We were able to get some offensive stuff polished up and also get through some defensive stuff. After practice we got to meet the Nike Canada rep who was here to watch practice. He and 2 other canada basketball staff members came to practice.

We headed off to lunch after practice and following lunch the girls met with the staff members to discuss the social media policy. You have to be very careful about twitter and facebook and what people say. I went to my room and worked on some video to show specific girls. I also took 30 min. for a small siesta. I think I needed it.

This evening the staff went out to dinner at Boston Pizza and had a nice discussion. When I came back I made some recruiting calls and sent a few emails. I then met with 3 athletes individually to show them video from the game yesterday. That took a while and here we are after 11pm trying to wind up the day. Still some things to take care of.

I was asked today if I was excited for my trip to Russia. I had to explain that people should listen a little better as I am not going to Russia til phase 2. Just goes to show how much attention people pay to what I say :)
I am actually not that excited yet. We have a practice tomorrow and then a game at 6pm. Then another practice on Saturday morning before we leave. I try to focus on how we can improve so I probably won't get to amped up about the trip til we are actually there. I am really looking forward to it though.
The exciting part for me though is watching Dipesh get excited. He is our young video coordinator who is a great guy with a bright future. He is like a kid at Christmas getting ready for this trip. It is his first big international trip and he absolutely loves being part of Canada Basketball. Really fun to see him that excited. So I guess we will have some energy and enthusiasm on the trip.

But now I must get back to some emails and get a few other things ready for tomorrow. I am sure the blog will get a lot more exciting in a few days.

Until tomorrow.....

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 8

Well here we are 8 days in. where did the time go. We have a practice tomorrow, a scrimmage on friday, a light practice friday morning and then we head on the way to Europe. Time is flying.

Today we had breakfast and then a quick video session from last nights practice. Lots of good things but still a long way to go. We then headed to practice to work on some breakdown drills and tune up the offense. It is always so hard to find the right balance in a short training camp between teaching offense and defense. We are having to spend so much time on offense right now so our defense is suffering.

After practice we had a quick lunch and then back for a quick meeting. Afterwards I worked on some information to get out to the girls and also some video clips. More recruiting emails and other administrative stuff and it is almost time to go over for our scrimmage. I grabbed a quick shower and then headed over to the gym. We were scrimmaging against a boys club team that had one university player on the team who was quite good. We started very ugly and then turned up the intensity a bit. It looked a bit sloppy but we battled through it. After 1 quarter we were up 21-18. The second quarter featured much better defense and some OK offense. We were up 44-31 at half. Perhaps the brightest spot on the whole floor for us was 17 year old, grade 11 Kia Nurse. Her name will be heard in this country for many years. The third quarter was a great start but we slid a little at the break leading 59-49. The 4th quarter was chaos at best. We were bad on defense and even worse on offense. We were tied and they got the ball back with a few seconds left. The university guy drains a deep 3 pt shot with 1.8 seconds left to put them up 70-67. We were playing 5 quarters (just another 5 minutes actually) so we were scrambling all over the place and ended up losing 81-76. Best thing about the game was that we now get to watch the film which I will have ready for tomorrow morning.

After practice we headed off to a nice salmon dinner. On the walk home from dinner there was a deer just outside the meal hall and a short distance up the path there was a raccoon. This place is overrun with animals LOL

We came back to residence and had a meeting with players to discuss the game and then the coaches met for about an hour to discuss practice and decide on the roster for phase 1 and 2 to europe and china.
Following that I came back here to tidy up some video which I still have to complete.

Tomorrow we have a practice in the AM after the film session and then we are off for the rest of the day. We have a shootaround friday and another scrimmage. It will be interesting to see how much we get better between now and then.

We got a few details today on the flight path for Saturday. We will fly from toronto to paris and then from paris to either munich or frankfurt and then on to Prague. So I guess I can cross off another country I will be in even if we are only in Germany for a few hours.

But now I must head off to more video and then some sleep. Wakeup comes early at national team camp.

Until tomorrow.....

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 7

So another long and winding road of a day is over.

We had an early morning film session to review some stuff before practice and then on to practice at 10:30 until 1. We used all of that today and then some. FInished probably closer to 1:15.
Girls got warmed up right away and then coach Phil had them for his last session. Another high energy, good fundamental session. We then went at it pretty hard today with a lot of competition. You could see the fatigue in the girls a bit and they battled hard. There was some hard battles and the girls were playing a little chippy and sniping at each other. Lisa stopped practice to address it and it slowed down. These girls just love to compete hard and WIN.

Practice ended and we said goodbye to Coach Handy and headed to lunch. Soup and sandwiches. Nothing special there. After we returned the coaches had a meeting then we met with 2 athletes. One was released and one will continue. We then met for about another 30 min. Life at national team camp. Meetings and Practice. practice and meetings with the odd film session thrown in.

After the meeting we came back to get ready to go to supper. Went to a little hole in the wall place with gourmet food. I started with the 1LB of Mussels in a curried cream sauce. PHENOMENAL. Followed it up with a phenomenal hot hamburger sandwich and sweet potato fries. Hot hamburg didnt seem to fit on the menu but once it came and I tasted it I knew why it was on the menu. SLAM DUNK.

We met some more at the meal regarding team selection as some things have to be decided tomorrow. We have a morning film session followed by a shooting practice and then a scrimmage vs a boys club team tomorrow night. It should be an interesting first run. We will select our team for the European tour tomorrow and get ready to go.

The time is fast approaching and there is still lots to do here. Also, I can't forget about our own team back home so the constant emails, phone calls and texts are flying to try and make sure we have the pieces we need for next year. I still think I have a few tricks up my sleeve but we will see what happens.

So now I am off to watch some film to prep for tomorrow.

Until Then.........

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 6

A long and winding day 6 has come to an end. A full and very interesting day.

Started with a 9AM breakfast and then a short shooting practice from 10:30-11:30. Coach Handy was back with the girls for a session today and it was a great skill session. He does some awesome things. When we were finished the session, the girls had to do a spinning cycle session for 30 minutes so when everybody cleared the gym Coach Handy sat down with us and discussed the Princeton Offense that the Lakers ran this year and gave me lots of good stuff to put into our system. He is a wealth of knowledge on all the little things you need to make it work. We asked about some other things they do and how they train, etc. It was very interesting and needless to say I was right in the middle of it and loving it.
Of course I wasn't finished with him so I went out on the court and asked him a ton of questions about how they do things. He then came to lunch with us and shared some more. A great great guy.

We had some down time in the afternoon but not a ton as we met as a coaching staff to review tonight's practice. During the time I did have, I organized the notes from Coach Handy.

We practice tonight from 5-7 with Coach Handy doing another session for the first 25 minutes. A very good shooting session. We then put in some new offensive stuff and competed a little bit. It was interesting to watch as we had reduced the roster a bit so some players stood out more today in a good way and some in a not so good way. They competed hard but were extremely sloppy. Really really sloppy. Good thing is we have some more time to get better before we depart. Coach Handy came on court the whole night tonight which was good. Normally he did his session then watched everything else we did. Tonight he helped us fix some things in the offense. Of course after practice I picked his brain even more and he is so open to helping. So open in fact, he is taking a new position with another NBA team and he has invited me down to send some time with him and the other coaches to see how they do things. Can you say eye twitch?????? I am definitely taking him up on the offer.

After practice came supper which shocked me. Steak and baked potatoes with all kinds of other stuff. It was impressive. On the walk back to residence we were talking about how the campus is apparently full of gangs of raccoons. Well as we were walking, a younger raccoon scurried in the leaves beside us and jumped up on an old log. Our young video guy, Dipesh, was scared of it and I just laughed at him. Probably not nice but he has grown up in Toronto and never been around animals like that.

When we got back to residence I did some work on some video and then met with the coaches to discuss players and tomorrows practice. A nasty thunder and lightning storm with heavy rain began when we were meeting and it is still going on. Hopefully it cools it off a bit as it was warm and humid today.

Tomorrow we have one practice in the morning and then we are off. Coach Handy is here until lunchtime and then he flies out. It was great having him with us. I learned A TON and hopefully can stay connected with him. I will spend some time tomorrow evening recruiting and maybe getting a little relax time in. We will see how that goes. But the clock has passed midnight. My spacious single bed awaits LOL

Until tomorrow

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 5

Day 5 in the books.

Started with an 8 AM breakfast and a 9:30 practice. We had Coach Handy back in today so the first part of practice was broken up with one group working with him while we worked with the others. That encompassed the first 40 minutes of the practice. After this was done we got into more of our stuff. We taught some more offense and then competed a lot. The level of intensity was high. Still sloppy in our execution but the competition level was very good. We finished off our practice and 5 of the girls wanted some extra time with Coach Handy so I stayed and watched/filmed the workout. Lots of good stuff. He is a very good teacher of the fundamentals.

After lunch we had meetings with 4 of the junior aged players who will be leaving tomorrow. There will be 6 or 7 less bodies tomorrow as we pare down the roster somewhat. More cutting to be done later in the week before we depart for Europe.

After the meetings we had about 3 hours off before the coaches would go out for supper. I laid down with my ipad and laptop to do some work. Next thing I knew I was waking up with my glasses twisted and technology all around me. It felt like someone beat the shit out of me. I guess I was tired :)

We met up just after 6 to head for supper. Went to a place nearby called the bean bank. About a zillion choices on the menu but I settled for a bowl of french onion soup and a sandwich simply titled "To die for". We had a few appetizers for the table. Sweet potato fries and Mediterranean Bruschetta. The fries were specially seasoned with something that I couldn't figure out - Best ever. Mediterranean Bruschetta - Incredible. A sign of things to come. My french onion soup was different but very very tasty. The sandwich was GIGANTIC and it was....how shall I put it....To Die For. A different, lightly toasted egg bread with extremely tender beef short rib meat (just mounds of it) with cheddar cheese and caramelized onions with a beautiful juice for dipping or au jus as some people like to call it....or think they can make (inside joke lol)  Perhaps the best sandwich I have ever had or at least top 5.

They had the most impressive dessert array with no less than a dozen different cheesecakes and other assorted cakes and pies. I opted out but they looked good. We had a great chat but I was itching to get out of there. Coach Phil said he would meet us to talk some hoops. In the end we got out of the restaurant too late and we had to rearrange our schedule to meet with him tomorrow. I was very disappointed but tomorrow I am meeting with him no matter what :)

We have a 10:30 light workout tomorrow and then a full practice at 5pm.

That is about all for today. Not overly eventful. So no more boring stories.

Until tomorrow.....

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 4

Day 4. A long, tiring but productive day

Started with an early morning breakfast. Oatmeal, Omelets, Pancakes, great coffee.

Here is the strange "wander off" observation of the day. As I walked to practice today it was a little cool but not bad. I took a walk through a different path and came upon some lilac trees. Perhaps my favourite smell. There were regular lilacs like we see all the time at home, white ones and dark purple ones. I took the time to reflect for a moment and made sure to smell the lilacs. Once again, blessed to have the game I love give back so much. I literally took the time to "stop and smell the roses...or lilacs". Not a bad thing to do. Take a moment and enjoy it. Enjoy THAT moment.

Anyway, head to the gym for a 9:30 start. It actually became 10 AM because we had the girls do a short presentation on their video watching assignments. They went well and the girls had some good observations. They actually saw a lot of the stuff we were working on in practice or at least why we were working on it.

 We had Coach Handy with us on the floor today so I was excited to see what he was going to do. We had the team broken into 2 groups. Coach Handy and and Coach Harle worked out the smaller players while we worked out the "bigs" and then after 20 min we switched it up. Coach Handy was doing some good things but nothing earth shattering at first. Getting the girls through a good workout. We worked on some offensive and defensive concepts throughout the practice and then competed a little bit. It was interesting to watch as the players start to compete. At this level the best players are ULTRA competitive. Everything matters and winning rules the gym. I love that. We wrapped up around 12 and headed over for lunch. Pasta and chicken. Standard and not bad.

After lunch the girls all came back to meet with our physiologist to go over some test results and talk about what it will take to get them to the podium in 2016. While that meeting was going on I met with 2 coaches from the National U-17 team. We discussed what points of emphasis we were trying to do overall this summer and then how we would use our new video software to "tag" all of these things.

Following the meeting we had some time off to relax and get ready for practice 2. Start time was 5pm. First up was coach Handy with the group for 25 minutes. GREAT SESSION. Awesome workout, great teaching points and incredible lessons in footwork and balance. Really really good. We then did some breakdown work on offense and defense. We looked at a little bit of new offensive stuff and then played a lot of competitive 5 on 5 full court. Lots of goods and bads but it showed signs of improvement. The video will really help us teach now. As camp progresses we will get better and better. It is also interesting to watch some players rise and others fall. Interesting how confidence can change in 2 days but also how quickly lack of skills in certain areas gets exposed.

Following practice we headed to supper for a nice salmon meal. Solid. We then headed back to residence for a meeting which actually was a set up for an ice cream cake for one of the girls for their birthday. Following this meeting the coaches met for about 2 hours to discuss tomorrow's plan and to discuss players and who we may let go and who we may keep. Always some good discussions around this and for many players it is small things that make the difference. That makes it hard to cut them. After tomorrow morning we will meet with some of them and let them know their fate.

I was also able to get some more information on our tour to Europe. We leave on Saturday and head to Prague for 2 games vs the Czech National Team. Following this we fly to Belgrade, Serbia for a tourney vs. Serbia, Italy and Montenegro. Following this we travel to Paris, France. Not sure if we are staying there to play or not but we have 3 days off to rest and train and then we play a tourney with France, Spain and Turkey. Awesome basketball jammed into the trip but what a way to challenge ourselves. Some of the best teams in the world.

Tomorrow is an early start with 9:30 practice after an 8am breakfast. Coach Handy is back on the court with the players for a bit then we get going with them. The rest of the day will be off. THe girls will have a mandatory weightlifting session but the coaches will be off. We will do some video and meet with some players. In the evening Coach Harle and I are talking about taking Coach Handy out to chat about hoops. I get a twitch when I think about sitting down with an NBA assistant coach to talk hoops. For those who know me well, they will understand.

I will update you tomorrow

Until then.....

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 3

Day 3 in the books.

Started off with an 8AM breakfast and then headed to the gym for 9:30. We hit the court ready to roll with lots of new faces and lots of nervous looking ones too.
Our practice was scheduled for 2.5 hours and we used all of it. We put in some new offensive system stuff and taught some new skills which had everybody on their toes. We did some defensive work, some offensive decision making and played a little bit of 5 on 5 to see where we were. Not anywhere special is how I would describe it. Chaotic at best but that is expected on Day 1.

We finished up practice and headed to lunch. Standard mix, nothing special.

We came back to our residence and had a short coaches meeting to work on practice #2. Once completed we had about an hour to be back at the gym for a 4:15 meeting with our representative from Own the Podium which is our major funding sponsor. It was an interesting meeting and the girls, especially the vets, asked a few questions. What I loved was after they finished getting their answers, Bev Smith spoke up about how it was back in the old days and how we now have a great system in place and how we can get to the podium. It was awesome. She brings so much credibility and respect to the position. When you have a regular joe shmoe telling you about basketball or one of the all time greats you recognize the difference. Bev is an olympian as a player and a coach. She is a member of the Canadian Basketball and World Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. When she speaks, people listen, and I love listening to her stories and knowledge.

After this meeting we had practice number 2.  Signs of improvement already and we played more defense and played 5 on 5 full court. It will get better and better but not bad for a first day. After practice we headed back for supper and it was quite good. The best part was mango chicken and I enjoy a good mango LOL.

But save the best part of the entire day for last. We got back to residence and we had to meet with Phil Handy. Phil spent the past year as the player development coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. He trained Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, etc. He is working with us for the next 4 days and he is all ours as they say. He will talk all we want and share things. For a guy who has been obsessed with learning about this game his whole life, this is where I get goose bumps and my eye starts to twitch. I already have a list of questions I will be asking. I cannot wait to see him work on the court with our girls and I also can't wait to pick his brain. As Kramer used to say on Seinfeld...GIDDDYYUPPP

We had a coaches meeting for over an hour after that meeting to finalize tomorrows plan. So now it is late as I type away. An early morning tomorrow. 8am breakfast. 9am video presentation and a 9:45 practice. Another one in the evening. The basketball never stops.

Until tomorrow.....

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 2

Well Day 2 - Complete.

Not a basketball court day but a long one just the same.

Started with an early morning breakfast and then off to the gym for physical testing. The testing began at about 10:30 and ran until about 2:30-2:45. Lots of different tests and it wasn't a fun day for the athletes but necessary for us to track their progress and set new standards for the players now and in the future. There were a number of people there from the Canadian Sport Centre doing the testing so I helped put down some international court markings on all 3 courts. The new lines aren't painted at McMaster so we had to use floor tape to make the markings. Kept me busy.

After the testing we had a quick lunch and then headed back to the residence for a coaches meeting. We discussed a number of things about practice and what we will be doing for the next few days. We had about an hour off between 5:30-6:30 so I came back to my room. Made some recruiting calls and sent some emails. It never seems to stop.

At 7 pm we had a meeting with all of the players to discuss the future of the program and have formal introductions for everyone. We gave the players a video assignment that they have to complete in groups. They must watch certain games and report back certain statistics to the group. It will be interesting to see what they see compared to what we see.

Following this meeting the coaching staff all went down to a really nice restaurant near campus. A neat little hole in the wall type of place. Last night they took me to a tiny little place that had awesome sweet potato bisque and a phenomenal smoked meat sandwich. I thought that was great until tonight. An incredible cream of tomato and basil soup followed by my favourite. Pork Tenderloin done in an orange ginger sauce with a hint of maple. WOW. All I can say.

It was great to sit around and not talk about the technical side of the game, the X's and O's. I basically just listened as a lot of great coaches told a lot of great stories about what it meant to compete for the country and what it means to be involved, what it was like in the "old days" etc. Bev Smith is here with us at camp and she is a legend in this country. One of the all time greats, maybe the best ever in Canada and at one time was considered one of the top 3 players in the world. She has incredible stories and amazing insights on the game. Getting to be involved with people like this is what makes my involvement with the national team so special. You get to meet so many passionate people who love the game and this country. When Bev spoke to the team tonight I was blown away and so were the girls. She is going to bring a lot to the table as they say.

So on to tomorrow. Day 3 of the phase but day 1 on the court. 2 practices and we really get to get after it as they say. Looking forward to it. This level of athlete is impressive.

Our young performance analyst / video wizard Dipesh asked me today about some coaching things and I told him that everyone here has their strengths and weaknesses as coaches yet we all bring things to the table and mesh them together. He asked what my weakness was and I said I had LOTS lol. The biggest thing I told him is that often I will catch myself wondering what the hell I am doing here. Standing beside these legendary players/coaches. Again, what an amazing honour to be here.

But I have sang that song before and will again no doubt.

Until tomorrow.......

PS - Did I mention that I LOVE CANADA!!!!!

National Team 2013 - Phase 1 - Day 1

Hello, Konnichiwa, Ni Hao, Zdravo, Bonjour, Dobar Dan, Hola

How many ways have I learned to say hello over the years...

Well here we are back again. It seems like yesterday I started with the national program but it has been 6 years. An awesome journey that, like the energizer bunny, keeps on going and going. I remember setting up this blog as a way to have my mom "join" me on my travels. Well here we go again Mom. Another summer of sights, sounds and experiences. For the rest of you, if you get bored (and you will with some of this!) try to hang in there. I promise you there will be some interesting stuff and maybe even a few more pics this year. So as "Uncle Danny" used to sing on TV every Saturday, come with me we're going to the Treehouse, everybody's welcome come along with me!!!

This year will be my busiest yet. I will have 3 assignments and will literally travel all over the world. I will be with the senior team for Phase 1 (May 15-June 10) with 7 or 8 days of training and then on to the Czech Republic, Serbia and France. I will be a "guest coach" this year with them but basically will be an assistant coach in practice and games.
Phase 2 of my travels will have me with the Development team as Head Coach for the University Games in Kazan, Russia - June 18-July 17.
Phase 3 will have me join the senior group again from August 6-19. We will train for about 5 days and then head to Brazil for a tournament.

A hectic schedule to say the least but it will be fun and an experience filled with learning. Once again I sit back and think of how amazing it is to be given the opportunity to represent your country, meet great people and see the world all because of a small round ball.

So on to the beginning of Phase 1

Left Sydney this morning at 9AM or so and connected through to Toronto on a pretty uneventful flight. Landed at 1pm Toronto time and was able to get my bags and meet up with the van from Canada Basketball around 1:30. I met up with Kim Smith and Katherine Plouffe who were waiting as well and we jumped in the van for the ride to Hamilton. We are doing this phase of training camp at McMaster University in Hamilton.

After I got settled in my room I relaxed for about 45 minutes and then headed to our first coaches meeting with Lisa and Shawnee. I am really excited to be working with both of them again. They are both fantastic and I will learn a ton. In fact, I took some notes during the meeting to save for later. The learning never stops. We chatted about the camp, how we will do things, some player stuff, etc. Basic coaches meeting. The girls are arriving here throughout today and part of tomorrow so we have no formal practice scheduled until Friday. There will be testing and meetings done tomorrow and then we hit the ground running.

We are taking about a 1.5 hour break now and then the coaches are going out to dinner. We will talk some more about planning there and then come back to campus.

So a short post for today. I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to once again be part of the program. It is an exciting time.

Until tomorrow........