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 3rd 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………………
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