Started off with a 6:15 wake up on my alarm clock. Got a quick shower and headed over to breakfast. Total change up thrown at me this morning. The eggs didn't look good and the bacon didn't either. Had a meat "thing" that was called a "cutlet for gourmet" ( a spicy meatballish thing), a small piece of turkey schnitzel, potatoes, pork and cheese pancakes (last chance tomorrow for these tiny bits of culinary heaven). Sounds like lunch but that is what was on the menu today. Breakfast is getting a tad "old" in the village.
Afterwards I came back to the dorm to get ready for the game and I had a good feeling about the game. We got to the gym and the girls seemed to feel good and we came out flying. We built a double digit lead but struggled to keep it and only led by a little at half. The second half we just couldn't score and stopped guarding hard. It was a back and forth affair the rest of the way. In the last minute the game was tied and they had the ball. They called timeout. I told the girls what I thought they would run and I put our best defender on their best scorer. Told the girls exactly how to defend the action. They came out and were running exactly what I told the team. Their best player started cutting off two screens and our girl didn't move at first and then got caught up in the screens. Wide open 3 point shot. Of course it goes in and they are up 3. We called time out and got a very good look at a shot that missed and had to foul. They hit the shots and won by 5. I was downright PISSED. Angry, frustrated. Crushed would be the better word. I discussed it a bit with the girls in the locker room and then had to cut it short and get them out of the locker room. I was too angry to even chat really. I tried to put on the "good face" but it was a struggle. The tournament ended and we were 1-5. In my eyes, an absolute failure.
I learned a ton from the coaching experience. A lot of things I would do differently and a lot that were out of my control. Some of the things out of my control brought me GREAT frustration and made the experience more of a negative than a positive. I was not able to enjoy the game environments the way I should have been able to. Not sure if I will have a say any time in the future nor do I know if I will be involved in the future. That is yet to be determined.
Needless to say I was somewhat angry still when we returned. I tried to send some emails and surf the web but nothing could take away what was in my head. I tried going for a little walk and that seemed to work a bit. I then decided to have some mid afternoon lunch. Not Great. The pasta was good with carbonara sauce. Had a few meatballs with it and then grabbed a McDonald's burger. I haven't had any since I have been here and wanted to try one to see what it was like. I went with the Royal with Cheese and laughed as I ordered it. One of my all time favorite movies is Pulp Fiction and there is a great scene where Samuel L. Jackson discussed McDonald's in Amsterdam. He says because they have the metric system, the quarter pounder with cheese is called a Royal with Cheese. Funny.
After lunch I went back and had a decision to make. Do I stay pissed off and stay home or go and watch the men's game vs. Russia. I opted to go to the men's game and was glad I did. Even though our men struggled form opening tip to final buzzer it was fun to watch and the Russian team was VERY GOOD. Lots of neat things they did in the game.
After the game the girls waited outside for the bus back to the village. The coaches and our physiotherapist decided to walk down the street to check out a steakhouse. When we got there we decided it was too early to eat yet so we headed to the pedestrian mall which leads towards the Kazan Kremlin.
The temperature was warm but not unbearable. Just the slightest of breezes, almost a whisper of wind. Such an incredible evening to be walking. There were people EVERYWHERE and there are hundreds of little shops, cafes and restaurants along this outdoor mall. We stopped to listen to different music, poked our head in a few stores and had some fun just people watching. We decided to find a restaurant and we asked a volunteer who was walking along the street. She didn't know. We turned around and found four volunteers walking towards us. 3 girls and a happy looking chap. He was a little heftier so I told Coach Speedy that if anyone knows a good restaurant, he would. I know this from experience. He mentioned a name and the girls all shook their head and agreed then said "Let's go".
They walked us back up the street to this restaurant that we walked right past without even seeing it. They said is was highly recommended so we went in. The atmosphere was PHENOMENAL in there. Lots of people relaxing and the decor was perfect. Lots of dark wood with dark tables and high back chairs. Looked like a great place to relax. We checked the menu and it looked great.
We got seated and thanked the young people that brought us there.
The level of service in this Russian restaurant was nothing in comparison to Canada. They gave us menus and then it took about 20 minutes to take a drink order. They certainly weren't in a rush to get it done. Then it took even longer to order the food and then longer to get it. It didn't matter to us as it was a great chance to chat and enjoy some stories. We ordered an appetizer for a few of us. I chose a bowl of goulash. All I can say is it was a UFC Fight of flavours. Unbelievable. The meat was tender. The veggies were awesome and the broth was as close to perfect as possible. Great start to the meal. We also ordered fries for the table. Two small plates arrived and if they didn't go across the street to McDonald's to get them then I am shocked. They tasted and looked exactly the same. For my main course I chose a "pork BBQ". It said BBQ pork with veggies and herbs. The plate was relatively small and I wouldn't call it the biggest portions but for what it lacked in size it made up for 1000 times in flavour. The tomatoes and cucumber were phenomenal. There was a neat little loaf of bread that came with it which was great. There as also a small mound of pickled sliced onions. WOW they were good and then the next WOW came when I tried the pork. 5 small portions of pork but PACKED with flavour and very tender. Yum yum. Just when I thought it wouldn't get any better, Patrice got us crepes with fruit inside and ice cream. The crepe had banana, kiwi and apple inside with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle and caramel sauce drizzled over it. Grand Slam. Over the fence. Clear the bases. Game winning meal. Then the bill came and we were in shock. 5 of us had regular drinks, appetizers, entrees, dessert then a bottle of wine and 2 shots of vodka. Taxes included - $115 Canadian. Thank you Canada Basketball. We could never have eaten that meal in Canada for that low of a price.
After our meal we walked along the street again toward the Kazan Kremlin. We were told we must see it at night with the lights on. When we came around the corner I was wowed. It is impressive to say the least. It was the perfect ending to what I call a magical night. We walked just down from the Kremlin and got on good old city bus #47 and took the 20 minute ride back to the village.
Here it is 12:30AM and we have less than 24 hours here. Tomorrow we have breakfast and then we are taking the team to the Kremlin and shopping for a few hours. After that we have wrap up meetings and then get ready to go. We leave the village tomorrow at midnight for a 3:45AM flight to Istanbul. We get there around 6:30AM and then we have about a 5 or 6 hour wait and fly to Toronto. From there I have another long wait and fly to Cape Breton with a landing scheduled for about 1:35M I believe. A long long day of traveling.
So what can I say to wrap up the games. On the basketball side I have learned a lot and hopefully can make adjustments in the future. Off the court, the experience has been pretty good. The city is very nice. The people of Kazan are beyond friendly, the food has been good enough and the women in Russia are beautiful. :)
I am amazed at how 20,000 volunteers can seamlessly work together to make an event like this work. It is my second time at the FISU games and I was impressed each time. To the people of Kazan and all the people involved in organizing the event I would say Spaseebah.
To those who followed along, once again, hope it helped you sleep. To my biggest fan, we have conquered another country Mom. I will have lots of pics and stories to tell. I will see you on Wednesday/early Thursday morning.
Until the next phase..............
1 comment:
Thanks again for taking us along!
A.C.
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