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Field Hockey Canada
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July 5:  Ronnie Jagday | July 8:  Rob Short | July 9:  Sean Campbell | ||
July 10:  Tom Green | July 11: Ronnie Jagday | July 14:  Rick Roberts | ||
| July 16: Ronnie Jagday | July 19:  Mike Lee | July 23:  Ravi Kahlon |
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Hello Gang! Just wanted to let you know, if I haven't told you already, that I leave today for Europe. I'll be going away with the National Team to compete in the World Cup Qualifier in Edinburgh, Scotland from July 17th till July 30th.
For those who don't know, the World Cup is the the biggest and most exciting event in international hockey. Only thing is, one, it only comes around every four years, and 2nd, you don't get a free ticket to go, but rather, you must duke it out with all the other nations to qualify. Not an easy task. So what we are going to do at the World Cup Qualifier in Scotland is, exactly as it sounds, try to qualify for the World Cup that is being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next February. With 9 teams that have already qualified for the World Cup ( Holland who were Olympic Gold Medallists, Malaysia who are hosts, Germany the European Cup Champions, Korea the Asian Champions, South Africa the Africa Champions, Australia the Oceania Champs, Cuba Pan Am Champs having beat us in the final last May in Havana Cuba plus Pakistan and Spain), that leaves all the rest of the top 16 hockey nations in the world to fight it out for the final 7 remaining spots.
In the tournament there will be four pools with four teams in each pool. The teams that are in our pool that we will compete against are: Poland, Russia, and the USA. Of particular interest to me is, we (Canada) will be playing against the USA, a team that is coached by my dad....father vs son!!!... or, as my dad likes to put it every time we have one on one battles on the tennis court, "youth versus experience"! So I'm definitely looking forward to that one (I wonder who my mom and sisters will be cheering for?).
Anyways, from my end, I will try my best to keep you posted on how things are going from Europe. From your end, if you get a chance, please send me some e-mails with updates on how things are going back here (always nice getting e-mails from friends when your away....gives you taste of home!).
For those of you who want to keep up with our team, there are a few web sites that will let you do this:
That's it for now. Take care and look forward to seeing you all very soon.
Brussels, Belgium - Finally our first game since last September has been played. For some it was their first for Canada. For all of us it was our first together on our road to the 2002 World Cup.
Team Introduction: the tour began with a few minor travel problems, but our new manager, "Shirkoff", passed with flying colors managing to get us on time together in Brussels. It was ironic to bump into former coach Shiaz Virjee entering the Air Canada lounge in London.
Not only do we have a new manager, but it would be appropriate to introduce the newest members to our team. "Kev" is our new physio. "Sac" our newest head coach. "Toon" is again on board with us coming from Holland.
We have a number of new players to add to the list as well. Michael Lee, Peter Short and Mike Oliver will all be playing their first matches for Canada on this trip. Ranjeev Deol, Rico Roberts, Wayne Fernandes, Casey Ferguson, Tom Green and John MacKinnon, are back playing with the team after playing in prior International matches.
Rob Short is our new captain, but the captain duties will be shared between the "four amigos" in Mahood, Campbell, Short and Pereira.
Traditions have been continued, some changed, and many new ones are being created daily. New players will be taking the duty of the "Birdy bus high-fives" for each game. Music is still to be played by "DJ Rav", although this year he seems to have provided the team with better tunes already. The warm-up has changed in a number of ways. The most notable change is the team demand for the "Rico Circle-Time". With Rico not arriving till a day later due to his Grandmother passing away, it was nice to have him back to pump up the boys with his circle. The team would like to offer our condolences to the Roberts family.
The Hockey: Our first day was a double training day that we were all pumped for. Again in typical Belgium fashion the team was left in awe while watching the powerful sprinklers that Belgium has been famous for in the past. We also were anxious to get out there and play on a nice new pitch. Both sessions went well but most were feeling the effects of the travel day the day prior.
Today we played Belgium. We were all anxious to see where we were in our preparation. Some of the guys were nervous and some were just excited to get back at it again. The game began with us taking it to the Belgians for the first ten minutes. We were awarded a penalty stroke in the fifteenth minute. This was missed by Rob Short and that seemed to change the tone of the game. Belgium came back with a goal five minutes later off a broken corner after another suspect call in favor of the Belgians. It was 1-0 Belgium at the half.
The second half we applied more pressure as the nerves seemed to have settled in. The story of the game of for us was turnovers. Bounced passes, bad traps and untimely dribbles caused most of them. We also gave up a number of unnecessary corners throughout the match. The game looked to be a 1-0 defeat until our new super-sub Mike Oliver entered the match. In his first cap it only took him four minutes to put away his first goal! It was a great move by Pereira in the midfield, which sent the ball across to Jagday on the transfer. Wettlaufer then made a nice deep run to the baseline and received the ball strong. The ball was hit across and 'Moe' tipped it in. It is obvious that our expectations of Oliver are now quite high. Well-done Mike Oliver! The game ended 1-1 and overall for our first match in nine months it was a good start.
 |  | both received their first International Cap in this match. Congratulations to the two of them! They both received their engraved mugs over dinner this evening. |
 | |
Today was the advent of the dreaded two-a-day training session. Many of the lads were still feeling the rigors of the pace of international and the demeanour was less than sunny (myself included). Jet lag is still rampant (some waking up at 04:00am and reading in the hall until breakfast at 08:00am). Some good came of last night's game, despite the tie. Pete now knows you don't have to ask the referee before entering the field of play and Mo has the highest production rate of any striker in Canadian history (1 goal in 3.5 minutes of play)! I am sure you have read from the pen of Shorty.
Let's just say the worst part of international competition is the warm-up and cool down (despite the introduction of Rico's (Rick Roberts) "circle of love" warm-up)… Sorry Derek but it's team building. For those of you not up to date with the team, Rob Short is the new captain of the team. As the new leader of the herd, other young bucks attempt to flex their muscle, testing in the hopes of overthrowing the alpha male and winning dominance of the herd. Today's challenger was Shaggernaut (Ronnie). Like previous memorable confrontations (Short vs. Milkovich, Antwerp 2000; Short vs. Griffiths, Sydney 2000) there was a lot of smoke but little fire… the coaching staff saw to that. The rest of the day was a let down in comparison, except for the start of the summer camp season here at the Waffle Center. Lunch was enjoyed in the shadow of the great gymnasium where we were entertained by the rugrat version of dryland ringette. Once our cheers started, one of the youngsters spent the whole time playing to the crowd for positive reinforcement… maybe he should have practiced more. I don't understand French all that well but I am sure the camp instructors were not entirely pleased with our disruptions (I gave all the kids cans of coke and packs of red licorice as well… I saw three of them up one of the light standards later).
After the morning mélée (the combatants kissed and made up), the staff decided we would work on individual skills. That would have been relaxing normally except I was one of the 5 people designated to practice strokes. With all the morning's tensions, I decided to lighten the mood by hitting the post on 7 of 10 strokes (a lot of people won rounds of soda betting on whether I could continue humiliating myself on each successive round… as long as my pain brings joy to others… by the way I hit the post on a corner today as well… ask Toon how he feels about that).
Dinner was the highlight of the day, consisting entirely of every type of meat in Belgium… even Tandoori chicken in unlimited quantities. This was followed by the much-heralded arrival of the shipment of TK gear for the lads… the 2001 and European models. Again I wished I paid more attention in French class as I had a primarily sign language with both the TK rep Phillip and Vaso our host (I don't sign either). This was topped with the first full night's rest for room 431 known as Jagr cubed.
Keep tuned to www.planetfieldhockey.com for interactive game chat rooms and details about our results.
The day got off to a great start with Ravi guiding us on a lovely walk through the forest. The B.C. boys thoroughly enjoyed the "nature walk" but I suspect that many of the Toronto crew were uncomfortable away from the cement, traffic and pollution that they love so much. A few of us had a nice afternoon in town at an Internet café while those unfortunate enough to be on the corner unit headed off to practice (I always knew it was a bad idea to get involved with that crowd). I think the session went well for them but the lack of food during the day was sure to became a factor as the practice drew on.
At 6:30pm we set off for our 8pm game vs Belgium. As with the 1st game, the intention of this game was to try out some new combinations and tactics but lets face it, the boys wanted a win, and a win we got. Corner goals by Wettlaufer and Ken and a penalty stroke by Rob saw us to a 3-2 win. Belgium scored twice from corners in the second half. The game was a fairly good one that saw us absorbing a lot of pressure in the last 20min. Some highlights from the game included Sean making a brilliant breakaway run before choosing to draw a penalty stroke rather than pass the ball to Robin (left back) who was streaking off Sean's left shoulder. As a defender I am highly critical of Sean's decision. Any chance to get a back on the scoreboard should be encouraged, but in Sean's favour, Robin was probably so excited about his chance at a goal that he likely would have missed.
|  | Congratulations to Mike Lee who played his first senior international when he stepped on for the last 20min at right back. He played a very solid game adjusting to the pace of international games with ease. He will make Coach Sacre's job choosing lineups that much more difficult. |
A sunny beautiful day here in Brussels, Belgium. I'm sitting in a building that is colored entirely orange and that has a sign on top of it that reads "Easy Everything". This place is huge! It is an Internet cafe that has over 500 computers in it for web surfers like me. This place is packed. As I sneak a glance at the computers beside me, I see almost everyone is using hotmail or some form of instant messaging. Ah yes, the global village, where technology connects you to practically everyone in the world with just the push of a button! I'm downtown right now. As I ask the person on the computer beside me the name of the area I am in, he tells me in his thick french accent "De Brokeur". As my eyes open wide, I ask him "what the heck is that?!" He then chuckles and tells me it is the name of this area. Fair enough.
Today is our much needed day off after 5 hard days of practicing and playing matches. Looking to seize the opportunity, I along with few other of my teammates have decided to venture downtown to the "Grand Plazè"... or, to me, just the "Grand Plaza"... a beautiful city square and tourist hotspot here in downtown Brussels. You should see the architecture of the buildings around me! I have tried to take pictures to catch the breathtaking surroundings, but I I don't think pictures would do any justice in communicating how beautiful the scene is , nor will any words... so I won't even try to describe it!
It has been a tiring first few days. After arriving in Belgium about a week ago, we have been training twice a day. Up until this morning, we have been staying in the Belgium National Sport Centre. As our team bus pulled up to the Center about a week ago, I remember looking over to my teammate Bindi and saying "Oh no; not this dammed place again!!!" This is my fourth time to Belgium with the National Team, and every time we are here, I think I'm never coming back, and sure enough we always end up back here! We always stay at the Belgium National Sport Centre. Don't get me wrong, it' not that bad, it's just that, anytime you stay in a place that has crowded rooms, with bunk-beds, washrooms that are at the end of the hall that are shared with everyone else on the floor, no TV and your only real entertainment being watching the local athletes play indoor soccer or tennis, how good can the place possibly be?!
As usual with our team, no matter where we are, we always find a way to make it fun. Time away from the hockey pitch has been spent relaxing in our rooms, playing ping-pong (where the same rivalry's from year after year always heat up), eating, joking around, getting physiotherapy from my new best friend Kevin (our new team physio) and for me... studying. Yes, unfortunately for me, when I return back to Canada, and back to reality, I will be writing 2 semester final examinations... Ah yes, lots of fun!!! Because of this, any chance I get or shall I say, any time I muster up enough energy, I got my face in the books... well, as my dad always says, "Ronnie my love, remember, short term pains, long term gains"!
We have played two matches so far in our preparation for the World Cup Qualifier that starts next week in Scotland. Both were against Belgium. Our first match was a tight fought 1-1 draw. Our second match which was last night, we won 3-2. To be honest, coming into our trip to Europe, I was concerned, along with many others on the team. Because of the less than ideal training conditions and for what ever other reasons, I did not feel our team was in top form. A big part of that was that our team had not played an international match since the Olympics, which was over 9 months ago! Well, after our first two matches against Belgium, my concern has turned into relief and realization that we are a good team.
We are all optimistic about our chances in Scotland. Although it would have been nice to have 2 wins, we can accept a draw and a win considering how long it had been since we have played matches. We have shown flashes of brilliance, and at other times, things that have to be worked on. But everything seems to be coming together.
Well, it's time to go enjoy De Brokeur. I think I'll head over to the famous statue of the "peeing boy"... a Belgium treasure! Tomorrow our journey continues... we will be boarding a plane to go to Scotland.
First off, I'd better start by wishing my Mom Happy Birthday!!! Maybe someone would let her know I've passed on my best to her. A few days late, but...
I am typing on Sean's computer and there's some beautiful Boccelli opera coming through the speakers as I tap away. Looking out his window, the edge of Arthur's Seat is visible (it is a startling crag of rock that juts up immediately behind the dorms we are in) as well as some far-off rolling hills of farmland. Edinburgh is certainly a beautiful town. There's only one down point I've noticed thus far... Can anyone guess? The weather here is absolute crap. It is no wonder Scottish people have blue skin... I mean, there's not enough sunshine for them to even achieve a pale white, let alone anything resembling a tan.
This morning we went to the Peffermill Fields to watch Poland play India. It was comparable to watching a game in Vancouver in February. Rain, cold wind, mist, the works... It was just plain ugly. Poland continues to play an erratic style that makes little sense to the observer, yet provides plenty of entertainment for on-lookers. They will be a challenge for us, no doubt.
As per usual, we met for breakfast at 8:30 am. The cafeteria is heavily staffed with what seem to be union employees who do everything by the book, speaking a language that sometimes resembles what we know as English. I haven't noticed any fried toast yet, and this is a good thing, because there's no telling what someone like Campbell might be able to do with such a thing in combination with the sausages and ham he's pounding away to keep up his calorie consumption. The porridge they served this morning was thick enough to be used as exterior house crack filler. Definitely something to line the gut with during this kind of weather. Shorty is enjoying the UK tea, and after a quick get together with Fats in Brussels, seems to be in good spirits, ready to lead us into battle William Wallace style.
This afternoon we played against Chile, our final warm-up game before the tournament starts. They weren't pretty, but they were tenacious in their compact defence and we had some difficulties in penetrating their tight field play. We did manage to squeeze a couple by them. A sublimely worked set piece saw Casey in the right place at the far post, slotting in an absolute smoker of a forehand shot, inch perfect, into the mesh from a yard off the goal line. Of note was Shorty's absolute "Bombe backhand", which needed video fast forward to bandage his ego during the playback, and Kenny's air sweep, which ended on the shins of an unlucky Chilean. Needless to say he was hauled after that display. Mike Oliver is working hard to develop his play outside the circle, but continually asks John to devise some sort of play that ends with Mo receiving the ball open stick on the penalty spot. He had not-a-bad chance today, which ended with a diving two-handed swipe against the goalies pads. Classic Mo! Of note from the Chileans was their goalie's astonishing double-footed, karate-kick save. He landed flat on his ass, and required a few minutes rest to have his lower few vertebrae re-aligned. None of us had seen anything like it, and it was certainly a distraction for Rob as he tried to service the ball for the penalty corner immediately following. He couldn't stop laughing! AND... miracles of miracles, the sun was sort of shining for much of the game, making it a satisfactory outing.
As we now head into the tournament, I must say (though I am hesitant to jinx us) that the mood is a positive one, and that we have created for ourselves a style of play which I believe will bring us success. For the first time in the many years that I have been involved with the team, all the players are on the same page, and buying into a system that we have been working at for the past several months. Considering the circumstances, and the adversities we have faced since the team re-convened in January, I am proud of the way we have been able to persevere through all this, and used it to grow up, and grow together. We are of yet a completely unproven entity awaiting emergence: truly it is an exciting situation and opportunity for all involved - coaches, players, and staff. The moment of truth is soon to be on our doorstep!
I will choose to end on a personal note: having played with Tom Green since he was a tender boy of 15, a young Hawk testing his wings, it is a proud time for me as I watch him play so well within our back four. Each player comes forward to the forefront in his own time. To me, it seems that his time is now. Though I didn't plant the seed, I watered the sapling from time to time, first with water, then a little beer was slowly brought into the mixture. I certainly won't take all the credit for what has unfolded, but I will gladly take a smidgeon. Auf geht's Tommy!!! Gib Gas, mein Freund!!!
Signing off, with best wishes to all and some special Love to my Girl back home. Auf wieder sehen. Mach get meine Freunde!
After being in Belgium for one week, we have finally arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, the site of the World Cup Qualifier. We have been here for four nights and after being in the Belgium Sports Center, I must say it is definitely a welcomed change!
To describe Edinburgh is like describing a scene out of some medieval type movie... with rolling hills, very old buildings and if there were a castle around every corner. It's rather interesting to see how all the very old buildings and history is mixed in with all the new. We have been told by the locals that there are many legends and tales that lay within the area. We also heard that many of the surrounding castles and houses are haunted, so we are planning to go on a "ghost tour" on our next day off. Should be fun!
All the 16 teams competing in the World Cup Qualifier are staying here in Edinburgh University. Very nice campus. The best part about the accommodation is that each player has his own room. Very comfortable and spacious, with a phone, desk (good for me cause it gives me a place to study... that is if I ever get around to it!) and daily room service that provides us with chocolate cookies. Our team is on the third floor of the 'Ewing Building'. The coincidental part is that my dad, who is coaching the US team, is also in the same building as us and is only one floor up from me. My dad arrived a couple of days ago, and after his luggage did not arrive, he asked me to borrow a few things... of course I obliged; hey, although he is the opposition for the next two weeks, he's still my dad after all!
All the teams have arrived. Everyone eats at the common dining hall. It's always interesting walking in to eat and seeing all the teams from all over the world. Everyone is easily recognized, as most of the athletes and staff are all proudly wearing their respective National Team track suits and outfits. Teams as far away as Egypt, Chile, Argentina, Japan, New Zealand, etc... are all here trying to qualify for the World Cup, next February in Malaysia. You can see all the teams sizing each other up as you walk around; wondering which team has who on it, who has retired, who hasn't, who's looking in shape, who isn't, etc...
So far here in Edinburgh we have played two exhibition matches. The first one was against India (always a very big match for me to play in!) that resulted in a 0-0 draw. The second match was against Chile which we won 2-0. In the past year, including in the Olympics, I was playing the right half position on the National Team, but I have recently changed positions while here in Europe, and am now playing "right inner", which is like an attacking midfield position (in between the forward and midfield line). I like the position since it allows me to play a more attacking style of game.
While we were in Belgium, I twisted my knee in one of our matches. Because of this, Kevin the Physio has become my new best friend on the team and I have been spending lots of time with him in the physio room, getting ultra sound and electrocuting myself with the "stim" machine (I have the record on the team for putting it on the highest voltage!).
Tomorrow the World Cup Qualifier finally begins. Our opening match is against Poland at 3pm. It will likely be our toughest match in our pool. Last time we played Poland was at the Olympics, where we won a tough fought match 3-2. After Poland, we play US, followed by Russia. The top two teams in our pool will advance to the next round. Finally, time to get down to business.
Thursday July 19th started off very similar to every other day, overcast skies and rain to greet us on our morning stroll. Although after breakfast the weather picked up a little and we even saw a little sunshine during the match.
Our game against the USA started off brilliantly. The end of the first half saw us up 3 to nil! I won't go into details of our chaotic second half, mostly because I got hit rather hard in the first half and don't remember a lot afterwards. But suffice it to say we have the all important 3 points of the victory.
A relaxing afternoon spent catching up on some sleep and e-mailing back home saw us into our evening meal followed by a team meeting. Thanks for all the e-mails and support from everyone back home. That's all for now.
The morning started off with a walk and early breakfast. As I looked around at all of our boys, I realised we were a tired bunch of guys. The day before, we faced Spain as all of you are aware. It was a hard fought battle, and it left us in a good position.
So on to our game against Belgium. From the opening whistle they had us pressured. Trapping us where ever possible. They were winning all the 50/50 balls. Everyone knows that you cannot win against anyone like that. At the start of second half we knew what had to be done but before we knew it we were down 1-0. This seemed to wake everyone up. We poured on the pressure having a few good chances but at the end of the day, 1-0 loss, was not good enough. The ball is still in our court. We face New Zealand on Wednesday. Its sure to be a tough battle and we will be ready.
After the game everyone tried there best to forget about what had happened in the day. Some of the guys decided that they wanted to watch a movie. So me being the nice guy that I am decided to setup the TV and VCR. I asked Robin "Which plug should i put the VCR in the 110v or 220v ?" Robin responded with "I'm sure its the 220v!" So in saying so we no longer have that VCR. After breaking the News to John and Andrew, we setup the other VCR and the boys watched Usual Suspects. Toon and I went and watch The Matrix on DVD. Our movie was briefly interrupted by the Argies singing and dancing outside our building. The have now qualified. We will return the favour!
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