This weekend marked the end of our regular season in the Quebec League, and since we failed to qualify for the playoffs, it was our last trip to Canada.
I must say that looking back over the last two and a half years, the trips to Quebec have been some of the real high points of my time with the National Team. Stuck in a van for 5+ hours each direction, the trips themselves were a time for bonding with teammates, having discussions (sometimes funny, sometimes poignent, and a few times even heated), and taking time to reflect. As uncomfortable as the physical van ride could be, I always looked forward to these weekend trips. They were a time to "get away" from everyday life in Cortland, as well as a time to put practice into action. There is nothing better than having the opportunity to play games to see how you improve.
This weekend I completed my third season in the Quebec League, and am proud to be one of the few people who has been there to see, and be a part of, the recent evolution of this team. I recognize the faces of most of the girls we play against, can visualize each gym we play in, and know how to find my way around the neighborhoods where we usually stay. I have my favorite restaurants and favorite radio stations, and while the three seasons of games sometimes blend together, my favorite moments on and off the court do not.
Driving back this Sunday, I felt a hint of sadness as I realized this chapter of my life was closing. The van was quiet, and as the familiar landscape passed by outside my window, the sight of the snow melting and the spring emerging was itself a reminder that when one thing ends, something new begins.
As we drove out of Montreal for the last time, I took a few moments to reflect on the last two and a half years. I thought about some of my favorite memories- going to Brazil, beating Champlain and Canada, eating with the team at Pacinis, visiting a sugar shack for the first time, and nearly dying in the old handball van and living to laugh about it. These are the memories I enjoy revelling in with my old teammates and telling stories about to my new ones.
I wish that my last season in the Quebec League could have ended on a different note- maybe with a Championship trophy and a chance to say we beat the league. I am disappointed that our individual and team improvements did not reveal themselves in our recent scores. But I hope that the experience we gained this weekend, along with the lessons we learned from the countless weekends that came before, will come together when it really matters.
In less than two days we head to Mexico, the first of the major international events we have coming up in the next few months. This is what we've all worked and practiced for over the last several years. These games matter more than anything else we've done since I've been on this team, and now it is time to lay everything on the line. It's time to bring it.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
1-1 in Canada. Sigh.
Seriously, what is going on! We spent the week at practice working on our motion offense, and for the most part things looked really good. We were moving the ball better and had some nice looking fast-breaks in the practice.
So, coming into this weekend, I figured we would do pretty well. And we did, kind of.
First of all, it was kind of a hectic weekend because we only had two games instead of three. Both of them were on Sunday, so we decided to save money and do the whole trip in one day so we didn't have to stay in a hotel.
We left around 6:30am on Sunday morning and headed straight for Montreal. The weather was awful in Cortland, but thankfully it cleared-up as we went north. We arrived at the gym in Laval right before noon, so we were able to do a full warm-up before our first game at 1pm.
We played Sherbrooke first, and we won by a lot: 34-16. We could have done a lot better, the turnovers were high and the defense broke down at times. Still, we did a lot of things well and it was nice to win a game by so many points.
When the game ended, we had thirty minutes to rest and snack before we played our second game of the day against Laval, a team that has several players on the Canadian National team and has come in second in the league for the last several years.
It was amazing, we started the game off with a bang and kept a solid 3-4 point lead through the whole first half. Laval called a time-out right before the end of the half, and managed to go on a three-goal scoring run to end the half with 13-12, with the US up by one.
The second half started off well for us, and we regained the lead and kept it between 1-3 points throughout. Finally, at the very end of the game, with seven minutes left, our lead diminished slowly, and by three minutes left they were ahead. While we missed our scoring opportunities, they capitalized on fast break and we lost the game 28-24. It was awful!
There is nothing worse than losing a game that you could have won- that you were winning for 55 out of 60 minutes! I was extremely bummed at the end of the game because we worked and played hard for most of the match and just couldn't finish.
We still have two games left in the Quebec League next weekend, and if we win both of those, and some other teams lose, we still have a chance at playoffs. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.
Monday is a day-off and then we're back to work, getting ready for Quebec League games next weekend and then Mexico in one week!!
So, coming into this weekend, I figured we would do pretty well. And we did, kind of.
First of all, it was kind of a hectic weekend because we only had two games instead of three. Both of them were on Sunday, so we decided to save money and do the whole trip in one day so we didn't have to stay in a hotel.
We left around 6:30am on Sunday morning and headed straight for Montreal. The weather was awful in Cortland, but thankfully it cleared-up as we went north. We arrived at the gym in Laval right before noon, so we were able to do a full warm-up before our first game at 1pm.
We played Sherbrooke first, and we won by a lot: 34-16. We could have done a lot better, the turnovers were high and the defense broke down at times. Still, we did a lot of things well and it was nice to win a game by so many points.
When the game ended, we had thirty minutes to rest and snack before we played our second game of the day against Laval, a team that has several players on the Canadian National team and has come in second in the league for the last several years.
It was amazing, we started the game off with a bang and kept a solid 3-4 point lead through the whole first half. Laval called a time-out right before the end of the half, and managed to go on a three-goal scoring run to end the half with 13-12, with the US up by one.
The second half started off well for us, and we regained the lead and kept it between 1-3 points throughout. Finally, at the very end of the game, with seven minutes left, our lead diminished slowly, and by three minutes left they were ahead. While we missed our scoring opportunities, they capitalized on fast break and we lost the game 28-24. It was awful!
There is nothing worse than losing a game that you could have won- that you were winning for 55 out of 60 minutes! I was extremely bummed at the end of the game because we worked and played hard for most of the match and just couldn't finish.
We still have two games left in the Quebec League next weekend, and if we win both of those, and some other teams lose, we still have a chance at playoffs. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.
Monday is a day-off and then we're back to work, getting ready for Quebec League games next weekend and then Mexico in one week!!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Out to dinner
Love this pic! Edina (my roommate) and I came home from a long practice on Friday night and realized that we didn't have a lot of food in our fridge! Seeing as it was the end of the week, and we were exhausted from five days of work and practice (including a three-hour practice that night), we couldn't find the energy to go out and find food.
So- I drank a boost (one of those high calorie drinks for old people) that I found in my fridge leftover December, and Edina opened a can of beets. And voila, dinner for two ;)
Don't worry, we both went shopping the next day and finally made some real meals for ourselves. But we thought this was a funny picture to sum-up what life is like in Cortland, sometimes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
