August 25th, 2008
A true sense of relief and accomplishment… After beating Korea in the quarterfinals we faced Russia the team that had beaten us in 2006 in the World Championship. Our tagline was “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” They also have an American, Becky Hammon, playing on their team. There have been two major story lines of women’s basketball at these games, one is the question of whether or not Becky should or shouldn’t play for Russia. Not to get into a political discussion, suffice it to say that one American playing for Russia to fulfill her Olympic dream was not going to stop the dreams of twelve Americans playing for the USA to earn a chance at GOLD! While the game was fairly close, we pulled ahead and finished them off to advance to the finals! The second story line was the running feud between Australia and our team. We are both are very talented and skilled. We are both very physical and competitive. They have one of the top players in the world in Lauren Jackson, and we have the most talented team in the world. Quite a few of their players play in the WNBA, so we are very familiar with one another’s personnel. There is a lot of trash talking between the teams. Honestly, there is no love lost on either side! The game everyone had anticipated the past 4 years was about to become a reality. Tip was late, 10:00 pm, so we had our typical game day routine. Our scout went well, the movie clips for the GOLD medal game came from Miracle. We seemed focused and ready. With all the hype surrounding the game, I was amazed at how loose we were. You could feel the confidence and single-minded purpose. The game was good for about 5 minutes and then our defense made a statement…they only shot 12% in the 1st quarter. We built a 17 point half time lead and throughout the remainder of the game we responded to mini-runs they made. While we never felt like we had the game in hand, we never felt seriously challenged either! One of our taglines for the game was “It’s how YOU show up at the Showdown that counts!” We not only showed up but we put on a show! It was a tremendous feeling watching what I would call a purpose driven victory! It was fun to see a group of players state their goals so clearly and make such a statement in achieving those goals! The medal ceremony was amazing. Russia won Bronze and were lined up to our left and Australia to our right. As each player’s name was announced an IOC member draped the medal over her head. Bronze, then silver, and last but not least GOLD! Finally over the PA comes this statement, “ladies and gentlemen, the anthem of the United States of America.” Even though we hear our anthem before each game this time it felt and sounded different; it seemed to have greater significance. We could hear family, friends, and fans singing the words. We watched as our flag hung between and slightly higher than the Russian and Australian flags as it was raised for all in the arena to see! I got chills!
 As it was well past 2 am when we returned to our home away from home, the InterContinental, it was time to celebrate! We met in the hotel bar & grill where players with their medals still around their necks, our staff, family and guest smiled, laughed, hugged and took lots of pictures! There was food, drinks, and a DJ to entertain, not that we needed entertaining.
One of our taglines going into the Gold Medal game was “Accept the challenge so you can feel the exhilaration of victory.” Seeing the smiles and tears of joy as well as sensing the sheer bliss of everyone invested in the experience made the 4 years of preparation and 4 weeks in China well worth the effort!
The night celebrating turned to morning coffee and conversation, and with people going to different destinations, there was not really time for good-byes. Having not pulled an all-nighter since college, we all agreed that by doing so it would help us adjust to the time difference at home. Home is where I am headed, proud of reaching our goal…Destination Gold!
 
August 20th, 2008
When I knew I could bring a quest with me to Beijing, I thought: 1) who would be fun to share the experience with; 2) who would appreciate the once in a lifetime opportunity; 3) who understands the routine; and 4) who would be a compatible roommate? The obvious choice, sorry mom, was Jenny Moshak. Jenny was my graduate school roommate at Tennessee and is a life long friend. If you are lucky enough to have a friend as true as Jenny, in the immortal words of Jake, “Life Is Good”. And her homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are a bonus! The “Worker Bee” has been hard at work, breaking down film, scouting opponents, putting together motivational tapes, player personnel reports and keeping the staff sane. Late nights and early mornings will pay off in the quest for Gold. Hopefully you have a good handle on my experience in China… Hey, hey wait a minute; I have a few things to say… Hi this is Jenny, the “Queen Bee”. I have heard of the term Queen Bee but I did not really understand the concept. I too am an innate Worker Bee so allow me to describe the difference between a Tennessee road trip and a China road trip: Worker Bee-Tennessee vs. China Queen Bee - Endless practices to prepare for the tournament vs. skipping pool play and arriving just in time for the medal round
- Making sure I am on the bus before coach vs. waving to the team as I head out to sight see
- Hotel room rehabs vs. getting a spa massage
- Checking and rechecking the pre-game meal process vs. asking “what time is lunch?”
- Drinking an extra cup of caffeine vs. pulling the covers over my eyes because Heidi has the light on working
- Constantly checking email and messages vs. Out of Town Reply
- Taping ankles vs. showing up for tip-off
- Sitting on the bench all serious vs. cheering like a crazy fan
I must say, a gal could get used to the Queen Bee life.
Korea Tip
Korea Half Time show
 Korea Score
I realize we have shared a lot about basketball and life in China, but have not really detailed “Game Day!” Since we breezed through Pool Play, we really have not had a typical game day routine where we were all business. We have a mature team and they have prepared well. Our team has watched film, gone over a written scouting report, had shooting practice as well as eaten pregame meal together, but with the appetizers (Czech, Mali and New Zealand) and salad (Spain and China) eaten, it is on to the main course which starts with South Korea and the quarterfinal game! Better known as “the game to get to the Medal Round!” Game Day started like all other days in China…an early morning workout. We have a staff that subtly puts pressure on each other to get up and get it done no matter how tired we may be. For example this morning Gail called me at 7:00 am! We call each other to ensure that no one will have to suffer on the machines alone. Then we ate and met as a staff and got organized for our team film session and shooting practice. Come to think about it, this routine is not exclusive to Game Day, but it is an every day event! Our team had film at 11:00 am. We started with our paper scouting report that detailed Korea’s personnel, offensive and defensive tendencies as well as our keys to victory…basically our game plan! Honestly, this part of our scouting report is always boring. Next on the agenda was our scout film. This is where we show actual game footage that illustrates the important points the paper scout. I already told you we were a group that needs stimulus, so we add movie clips to our scout tapes. We have included motivational clips from movies such as Miracle, Patton, Glory Road and Coach Carter. Today our feature presentation included Korea’s flare screens and back doors plus the scene from Men of Honor where Cuba Gooding Jr. had to walk 12 steps in full Navel gear to be reinstated as a Navy diver. Our players gave it two thumbs up! At noon we headed to BNU to walk through Korea’s offense and show our players how we planned to defend Korea’s style of offense. It is interesting how every region plays a unique brand of basketball. Plus it would not be called “shooting practice” if we didn’t shoot some! Players and coaches have their own routines for whatever free time they have on Game Day! Typically player’s nap between shoots around and pregame. We usually spend our time working or working out for a second time! Today we watched the other quarterfinal games. While we predicted Australia would beat Czech, it was fun to see China advance by beating Belarus! Pregame meal is normally 4 hours before tip-off, so today at 4:00 pm (1:00 am PST) we had our regular menu of chicken, broccoli, pasta, rice, fruit, and added Chinese flavor of dumplings! Tip-off was at 8:15 pm! We followed the game plan quite well as we beat Korea fairly easily. As it is scripted we will face Russia in the semifinals while the Aussies play China. It is hard to believe we are one win away from the Gold Medal game! Our sixth Game Day down on our journey…Destination Gold!
August 18th, 2008
I understand there are over 100,000 military, police and security guards working the Olympics. I feel half of them are ensuring we are safe here at the InterContinental!
When we landed in Beijing, we traveled by police escort and arrived at the InterContinental to find that was surrounded by a security gate with armed security guards posted along the perimeter. An “undercover” Uzi guards the front entrance.
Everyday our bus enters through a security tent and is checked from bumper to bumper by both man and machine. As we send our bags through a scanner, we go through a medal detector and are wand and pat down. With smiles on their faces they say, ”arms out…turn around” in their best-broken English, which is a lot better than my broken Chinese. It is a true experience!
Once inside the hotel there is security everywhere. For example, take a ride the elevator to any floor, when the door opens there is a smiling face there to greet you! Go to our film room and there are folks posted outside the door 24 hours a day. Usually they are watching television, the Olympics. While they do not make me feel any safer, they sure are good company during our late night film sessions!
When I asked my buddy Snow if it was safe to run outside he told me, “You are safer here than you are in your country.” To this point with the exception of one unfortunate incident, the focus has been on the games and athletes! As it should be!
We have not only been safe, but we are undefeated through Pool Play. As we head into the tournament phase of the Olympics, we are healthy, rested, and ready for the most intense 6 days of our GOAL…Destination Gold!
August 14th, 2008
AN APPRECIATION FOR DIFFERENCES
1. Nachos with sharp cheddar cheese that is not melted…microwave?
2. Squat toilets at venues…Charming!
3. Rock hard beds…sleep number!
4. Cost of beer at venues is $1…think about that at pro parks.
5. Expensive laundry…cheap taxis.
6. No 4th floor, unlucky. There is 13th floor!
7. No ice in drinks…warm milk.
8. No NBC…only CCTV and International CNN. My Chinese is getting better!
9. More KFC than McDonalds or Starbucks…there is a Starbucks by our hotel, to bad I don’t drink coffee!
10. No Pepsi…only Coke and Coke Lite…ugh!
With such a late game last night and a tough game tomorrow versus Spain we had a short practice today. We will need all our energy to battle Spain. They are very talented and play with a lot of emotion. We need our depth to be a factor.
I went to my first non-basketball event. I watched swimming and Michael Phelps qualify for the 100 butterfly! It was an electric atmosphere. They say the pool is fast, whatever that means. We did see several Olympic records set. Michael conserved energy and finished second in his heat. It was very fun to experience another sport, especially when I know Michael is such a huge story back home. Unfortunately because of #8 above we do not get the same television feeds, commentating, or human-interest stories you get at home.
It is getting to that point in the trip where people are getting a bit tired and it seems we have been here forever. It also feels as though we have a long way till the Gold Medal game, Closing Ceremonies, and the flight back to LA. Time to “rally” and get our second wind.
Time to take that next step…Destination Gold
August 13th, 2008
I travel enough to know how to pack efficiently. When you have to pack for a month there is no real way of avoiding “it.” On these trips you need every thing including travel clothes, practice gear, workout stuff, hang out jeans, and game outfits. For me “it” means having to do laundry on the road…
I love to do laundry, more specifically my own laundry. I have a hard time with anyone else washing my clothes. Maybe that is because my mom turned all my whites pink while I was growing up!
When we were in Haining I had the hotel do my laundry. They came back very quickly and folded very nicely. My socks were matched and there was a little strap that bound them together. One problem, they turned my white t-shirts and socks pink!
The saying in China is everything is negotiable. You can get very nice set of pearls for $100 (appraised in the US for $240), leather jacket $140, or silk sheets for $50…all great quality. Haggling may be the way to work it at the famous Silk and Pearl markets, that is not true when I wanted to have my laundry done. It cost me over $100 US to do what would equal about two loads at home. Although they did not turn my whites pink this time, it would not have received a passing grade in my house! Talk about monopoly.
We played Mali tonight. They are not very good and we are really good. It was close through warm-ups than we put the hammer down. We won by about 50+! We are getting better every day. We practice tomorrow before we play a very tough Spain team on Friday.
We did not come here for pink…Destination Gold!
August 10th, 2008
Ok, so I am sure you are wondering what we do on our “off days.” Every night our team leader slips a daily itinerary under our door. The meal room is open every day for breakfast 7-10 am, lunch 11 am till 2 pm, for dinner 4 pm to 7 pm, and post game from 10 pm till 2 am…basically every waking hour. Our only mandatory team meal is pregame.
I have to admit I am a very picky eater. When we traveled to China in April for the test event and even this month before we arrived at the InterContinental, dining was truly an experience. I cannot remember eating so much rice or noodles and I think the last time I had French fries for breakfast I was in college! They were also on the morning menu as was goulash. USA Basketball brought our own chef, but because of some law he cannot touch the food only supervise. He does a great job! I mean, omelets and pancakes for breakfast, for lunch and dinner soups, pasta, meat you can recognize, vegetables, breads, and of course dessert. My favorite has become the peach cobbler!
I thought before I came on this trip I would return to Oxy having won a GOLD Medal and lost weight. The food is so good…because of that fact I am now solely focused on the GOLD!
Enough about how good the food is and on to the daily schedule…
Basically we play every other day, so it is either “game day” or “off day” on our schedule.
6:30 wake up/work out…very nice workout room in hotel
10:00 staff meeting in our team meeting room
11:15 film…we reviewed Czech today, mostly good stuff
12:00 leave for practice
12:30 practice…prep work for our next opponent and add a new quick hit
3:00 back to hotel
As you can see the term “off” needs to be redefined!
So what do we do with our free time? Usually our staff works ahead on our next opponent, players sleep or go to the Nike Suite to relax and share time together. Families and friends go shopping at the famous silk and pearl market. Being fitted for custom clothing is a big deal, especially when you are as big as both our men and women’s teams are! There are also tours to Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, and the Forbidden City. Lots to do in such a short period of time!
Oh yea, we are here for the Olympics and there is more than basketball (at least we would like to think so). There is a limited supply of tickets to other events. Our men’s team cane to our game last night and we are going to theirs tonight. It is against China and they believe over a billion people will see it. If you are watching look for me…I will be wearing a red shirt!
It is time to head to dinner and our men’s game that starts at 10:00 pm (7:00 am PST). Here’s to WIN for our guys and another step forward towards our goal…Destination Gold!
Tip-off of Czech game
August 9th, 2008
Trivia answer: Obviously the Chinese did not use the traditional method of organizing countries alphabetically. Instead they counted the number of brush strokes in the first character of the symbol the Chinese used to identify a particular country. In our case there are 8 brush strokes. I am amazed how intricate the Chinese characters are. I was told the Chinese alphabet consists of more than 80,000 such symbols…heck how would you like to learn the “Chinese alphabet song?”
As I mentioned earlier, we opted out of our shooting practice and rested our legs. We pushed back film to 3:00 pm, so we had a little extra time to prepare. One would think having worked on these teams for the past 3 years we would have things under control, but coaches add new wrinkles every game, and since we get a film of every game our Olympic opponents play we literally have an edit library on each team. Every game is broken down and picked apart . With our group it seems as though every play is played and rewound…again and again. It is a never-ending process.
Honestly, knowing how important routines are to success while also understanding that these players are easily bored presents a unique challenge for us. We work hard to balance structure and creativity. An example of this would be our scout tape we show our team every game day. It is typically a 12-minute synopsis of our opponent and our game plan. Because we are in China the introduction to our film is always the same…
“Confucius Say” followed by a tagline which can be a thought provoking tidbit, a quote, or a bit of humor. For example, when we played Cuba in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament our tagline was “SMOKE CUBA”
Here is today’s food for thought…
Confucius Say…A Journey of a 1000-Miles Begins with a Single Step!
Our short-term goal tonight was simple…WIN! After spotting Czech 8 points off the tip we settled down and ended up blasting them 97-57.
We always end our edits stating our long term goal…Destination Gold!
August 8th, 2008
The anticipation of the start of the games culminated with Opening Ceremonies, a three hour spectacular designed to illustrate Chinese traditions. Similar to Chinese culture, it was precisely choreographed with tremendous attention to detail. As a coach it is hard to get 5 players on the court to get on the same page, much less orchestrate 15,000 people as they entertain the world! I watch and marvel at the discipline, commitment, and hard work necessary to put this show together. A great example of poise under pressure! I realize it is tape delayed at home, but it is well worth the wait to watch this breathtaking performance.
All right, enough about the “show,” and on to the real reason we are half way around the world…time to tip it up for GOLD! With that goal in mind, we spent our last practice day of preparation focusing on cleaning up our offense and defense as well as adding a few quick hits for the end of game situations! Most importantly, with 8 games in 16 days our health will be the key to our success. At this point in time we need to rest our bodies and work our brains!
With a long day and late night behind us, we decided to fine-tune our game plan for Czech by watching film only (we would usually go a gym and go over our opponent’s offenses on the floor as well as watch them on film). I will give you a sneak preview on Czech. They are very skilled, have good size, and are very versatile. They move well without the ball, and like most European teams they shoot the ball very well…we better get out and guard the 3-point line! You can catch our game on USA Network! Set your TIVO for 5:00 a.m. and cheer for the USA!
Before I leave you, I have a trivia question for you. There are 205 countries marching in Opening Ceremonies and we are positioned in the 139th slot. How did they determine which order countries march into the Stadium in?
Time to get back to the film room! Hope all is well back at Oxy! While the Olympic theme is “One World, One Dream,” our motto remains DESTINATION GOLD!
August 6th, 2008
Heidi VanDerveer, Occidental women's basketball coach, is in Beijing as an assistant for Team USA. She'll be posting about the experience throughout the Olympics.
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
