04 September 2012

Preliminary games.

September 1st
Today we played against Canada. It was such a great game to play. We are able to match up really well against them and on court both teams played really well. Unfortunately we lost by 7. A few of our roll arounds rolled out and a few of Canada's roll arounds rolled in.


Our first loss at the Paralympics didn't sadden the Gliders, we still had smiles on our faces after the game. Losing that game didn't lessen our chances of playing for a gold medal. We still have a few games up our sleeve before anything like that can happen. But it's not going to!


September 2nd
Today was a very long day for us!! Firstly, we had a mid-morning shoot around at the training venue in Hackney and for the second time we missed Adam Hills going into the Athlete Village! We missed him in Beijing as well but he left us a handwritten note. This time round he gave us some serious kudos in the following APC media video:


Secondly, my afternoon nap was interrupted by water coming through a downlight due to a burst pipe in an upper level, therefore several Mr Fix It's were coming in and out of my room and it felt weird being in my bed while they put holes in the roof to drain the water out. I was really pleased by how efficient the APC and the maintenance men worked in order of getting this fixed.

Lastly, our game against the Netherlands didn't start until 9.15pm! Prior to the game I was telling people it is going to be a very tough game. We haven't beat this team in about 4 years but the Glider's never go into a game thinking they are going to lose. If you think that before a game then you have already lost and the outcome will more than likely be the same. We knew who the threats were and what defence we had to run to try stop them from scoring. We also had a few tricks up our sleeve in order to get not only a good shot but the best shot.

 

We frickin' won!! We had a great shooting percentage and we did exactly what we were told to do by our offensive and defensive coaching staff. The Gliders were so happy after that game. Not just because we have given us a better chance of finishing on top of the ladder, but because we finally beat a team that we have had trouble beating for the past few years!


I say better chance of finishing on top of the ladder because despite the fact that we have finished all our games, there is still one more day of preliminaries that the other countries in our pool have to play. It isn't until tomorrow night until we know for sure where we are on the ladder in our pool and who we will cross over with the next day.

I loved the big round of applause the Gliders got as we wandered out into the common area outside the stadium. All our supporters in the one area so we get some valuable family time after the game.


September 3rd
Today we had off. No training! No games! A much needed rest for the Gliders. Today we watched some of the womens games on tv and at the stadium (what a come back by the US!). I then watched the aussie boys play and then had a decent amount of time with family which included a yummy dinner at the Westfield's TGI Fridays (how good are the ribs!).

Tonight we were officially told that we have finished on top of our pool ladder! And that we will be playing Mexico at 1pm tomorrow in the cross overs. GO GLIDERS!!

Thoughts and hugs to the Tesch family. The Gliders are with you! xx

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