DAY 1 After day one it is Canada's Juniors 3, others 0.
The Junior Men started the day playing our hosts from Finland. We had a total of five turn overs all game. Our offense could not be matched by the Finns defense. Handlers and cutters were all strong. Some defensive highlights: Teddy's layout d-blocks that led to at least three first half points. Eric, Yvan, Garrett and Dan all making at least one acrobatic defensive plays. Despite this our defense has definite room for improvement. Final score Canada 17, Finland 3.
Game two, six hours later against European Champs Sweden, began in a torrential downpour. This caused both teams to have a mild case of the drops. But, the Canadians managed to recover and took control of the game. Sweden really had no opportunity to catch up and Canada went on to win 17-4.
Once again our offense was strong, in fact it even improved in the second half, as we started to take advantage of our deep threat. With cutters all moving at the same time and handlers in constant motion, the Swedish defenders had no idea which way to go. Lay-out points by Josh and Raefel, along with several guys skying their defenders were highlights of the game. Handlers basically controlled the game.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the Junior Women's game. But, they didn't take long to walk over Great Britain, 17-0. When I asked about the players who stuck out, the answer was "everyone". Breat Britain just couldn't keep up.
Today's weather was quite interesting, as it has been since we arrived on Thursday. Sun, clouds, rain, cool, warm and some wind from time to time. The bus driver told me today that Finland has set record levels of rainfall this year. The fields are incredibly soft and green (actually mud now). Hopefully, they will last the week.
P.S. All of Canada's teams won all of their games today, the only country to do so. This includes the women beating USA 17-10 (an excellent game to watch).
Day 2Sorry for the delay. I wasn't able to get on the internet yesterday. In any case, another great day for Canada (despite our first loss).
The Junior Open team won both games quite convincingly. Game one was against Switzerland, a team of somewhat athletic inexperienced players. A score of 17-2 only took 58 minutes to play. All players shared the field time equally and all played well...no one really shone. It is great to have Richard playing regularly after being injured throughout the entire training camp. From the looks of it, he is at about 95%.
At the same time, the Junior Women were having it out with Team USA...a real battle! When I arrived Canada had just tied the game 10-10. Both teams played a stifling defense. At 12-11 for USA, the time cap went on. Despite the last two points taking 25 minutes, USA won, 14-11...not indicatve of Canada's great play. Expect these teams to meet in the finals on Friday.
The Junior women met Japan later in the day. With the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths, they weren't going to give Jaan a chance. Final scorre, Canada 17, Japan 7.
The Junior Open team played Russia in our second game of the day. Though we won 17-2, the boys probably had their weakest game so far (hopefully the only one)...Tomorrow it's USA.
All in all, a good day!
Day 3Each team has played one game so far. The Open team had an amazing game with USA. Right from the start, it was evident that it was going to be a hard fought battle. The jitters and a slippery disc caused a few too many unforced turn overs in the first half. USA took the half 9-5. Canada was not pleased! With eight points later, it was 11-11. The teams traded points...great throws, defense and total focus from both teams. The cap went on with Canada up 14-13, game to 16. A 35 minute battle followed, with Canada on the wrong side of the win unfortunately. Despite losing the game, spirits were high, knowing that we controlled the second half of the game. USA seems a little less cocky now...hmmm.
I haven't heard the results of the Junior Women's game yet.
All of the other Canadian teams continue to roll, beating all comers.
End of Day 3.The Junior men played Great Britain yesterday evening. Great Britain has several players that attended Worlds in Latvia two years ago. They were very excited about playing Canada again, considering they have been playing quite well this year. Unfortunately for the kids from GB, Team Canada wasn't prepared to let them get too excited. Despite four players on the sideline due to sickness or mild injuries (and one more part way through the game), we only took 65 minutes to win 17-3. Dave, Josh and Andrei (part of the Winnipeg Connection) played a lot and played well. Hopes are that some of our injuries will heal and the whole team will be ready to play on Friday, in preparation for the playoffs.
The Junior Women played Finland yesterday. They weren't very kind to the hosts, defeating them 17-5. Apparently, Finland gave the girls one of their toughest games of the week so far. The report was that all played well again.
Day 4 (Wednesday) The day started early with a game with Japan. The guys were very excited about playing them, as they have very "cool jerseys". Once again, a few players sat out (Teddy, Alex R., Andy, and Dan). The team played well after getting the sleep out their eyes. Japan is a very athletic hard working team. With more develoed skills, they will be a very strong team. The game ended Canada 17, Japan 3.
The Junior Women played Australia this morning, winning 17-3. This afternoon, they beat Sweden 17-4. It seems that they are destined to meet USA in the finals on Friday. The report from Marie, one of the coaches is that the girls are getting stronger and stronger each day...a very good sign! I'm sorry i don't have much detail on these games, as we are often playing at sites that are 40 minutes apart by bus.
The Junior Men's last game of the day was against Germany, one of two undefeated teams in the tournament (until they met us). Canada was quick to let the Germans know that they did not belong ahead of us in the standings. An impressive game pl ayed to 17-4. As a young team, the Germans will be very strong in a year or two. Garrett played well, dmonstrating a perfect Atlanta offense. All played well.
Injuries are starting to mend. Alex was able to play today. Teddy got in for a few points. Andy thinks that he will be ready by Thursday to play a couple of points. Dan is now on anti-biotics for an infected throat.
Hopefully, we will be ready to pick our game up to the next level tomorrow, in preparation for the playoffs on Friday.
Day 5Hey there, All is well in the land of Canadian Junior Ultimate. Both teams are playing in the finals today. Last night, the women played Japan in the semi-finals, winning quite convincingly, 17-8. The girls arrived at the team dinner very excited, yet confident in their accomplishments. The dinner was hosted by the Hislop family, at a local hotel...what an amazing spread (salmon, chicken, reindeer, two salads, several types of bread, huge amounts of ice cream, fresh fruit and chocolate sauce that would make my dad drool). The finals take place at 1:00 p.m. today(just an hour away).
Yesterday, the boys took on Australia (17-2) and South Africa (17-5). Both were fun games, but the team was getting rather antsy wanting to get to the playoffs. We didn't play our best Ultimate. The South African team is quite a neat team. It is comprised of several kids from the townships near Johannesburg. They are incredibly athletic and they sure have fun playing Ultimate. They've entertained people all week with dancing and singing on the buses to and from games, as well as on the sidelines. I was happy to trade one of my Canada jerseys with the team's assistant coach.
This morning, Team Canada played Germany in the semi-finals. It was a real battle. Germany's offense was very difficult to stop. They were most definitely pumped up for the game. Our defense did manage a few timely turn-overs. We led throughout the game, and held on to a 17-10 win. It was a great warm-up game for this evening's final game with (you guessed it) USA. From the sounds of the talk around Disc Central, most people will be cheering for Canada. The guys are really excited, yet staying calm and getting mentally ready for the biggest game of their lives. This coach is trying to keep a calm look, despite the butterflies eating up his insides.
FinalsCongratulations go out to the Canadian Junior Women's team, World Champions. They met USA this afternoon with a strong game plan, and they never waivered from it. Defense was the name of their game! Everyone played strong, but a couple of players really stood out in my mind. Kaitlyn was unbelievable on defense, with no less than 10 lay-out or run-through d's. Kira played well beyond her height on defense. On offense, all cylinders were firing and everything ran as planned. The Canadians were able to walk through the American zone defense (which seemed to frustrate Canada in their round-robin game). Person-to-person couldn't stop the Canadian's either. Team Canada built up an early lead and just kept running. In the end the score was World Champs 17, USA 8.
The Junior Men's team didn't have the same type of success. The game was played in the main stadium in front of a large crowd. The guys started the first point flat, not even getting a sniff on defense. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the theme for the entire game. Defense was often a step behind and offense was not clicking today. Having said that, the U.S. team played as perfect a game as I have ever seen. I am sure that they had no more than five mistakes in the game. The offense was picture perfect and the defense was relentless. The Americans definitely deserved to win today. The final score was 17-9.
As coach, I am very proud of our team. Since training camp began two weeks ago, they have come together as a phenomenally strong junior team. They are close friends and good teammates now! Despite looking forward to a rest, I will miss being with these kids when we separate on Sunday.
All of the 37 athletes have performed admirably and have done our country proud! There is no doubt that they are proud to be Canadian. If you see any of them in the near future, please be sure to congratulate them and thank them for representing us so well.
This is my last report...thanks for reading my ramblings.
Deano
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Video of MOFO posing for the cameras.
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