 Jamaica HF |
Field Hockey Canada
|
 |
| February 28: Amy Agulay | March 1: Amy Agulay | March 2: Emily Rix | ||
| March 3: Andrea Rushton | March 4: Becky Price | March 5: Michelle Bowyer | ||
| March 6: Erin Morton | March 7: Jumbo Kopeck | March 8: Carla Somerville | ||
| March 9: Karen MacNeill | March 10: Kristen Taunton | March 11: (pictures) | ||
| March 12 | March 13: Sue Tingley | March 14: Jenny Johnson | ||
| March 15: Deb Cuthbert | March 16: Amy Macfarlane | March 17: Lisa Faust | ||
| March 18: Sarah Forbes |
 Back to Schedule and Results |
Hello from sunny Jamaica! As the rookie on the team, it's my duty to inform you about the wonderful traveling day that we had! (instead of getting to write about a fun filled day or a tournament day or any day but the traveling day…) We finally made it into the sun and out of the wintery weather of Canada. After 10 fun filled days of training in Vancouver, I'd say
that we're all set to go take on the world, or should I say "the Americas"?! The plane trip was fun, but not really. I wouldn't say that taking the red-eye out of Vancouver to Toronto put us in the greatest mood to travel to Jamaica, but all we had to do was set our sights on our final destination, and we were fine. So, four long hours later, and the on-flight features of a barbeque chicken meal and the movie "Meet the Parents" (which got one star out of five), we landed in Jamaica!
We were welcomed with open arms by the Jamaicans but we were also greeted with the news that there was an earthquake back home in Vancouver. After thinking it was a practical joke passed on by the locals, K.T. called home and found out that it was true, but fortunately, her mother had no bad news to pass on.
The Kingston Airport was another positive experience! What made it fun was we weren't allowed to take any of the luggage carts out of the airport so, being "Team Canada", we formed a human chain to pass along our luggage to our bus. It was there that we met our wonderful driver for the next few weeks, Erica Thompson. While we were waiting for our second bus to arrive, we caught a glimpse of Miss Universe (Miss Panama) and snickered as she passed, while thoughts of "Miss Congeniality" filled our heads.
The Hotel Four Seasons (not to be confused with the Four Seasons Hotel) turned out to be a great place to stay. All of us have rooms in one complex, which I like to call the Canadian Compound. The staff treated us to dinner that night, where we took advantage of that deal and tried some the Jamaican Island fare, eating fish and pumpkin soup!
After our full day of traveling, we were definitely tuckered out and literally passed out in our rooms. The End!
Hello again, it's me, Amy Agulay (The Rookie), reporting on day two of our trip to Jamaica! Today we woke up bright and early to start our day off with a short 15 minute run to get our travel wearied legs going. We decided to take a tour of our hotel (which took up a whole 3 minutes of our run!) as well as the surrounding block. We got Jamaican cat calls of "pssst…pssst!" and kept on our way. When we got back we had a traditional Canadian breakfast of toast, eggs or pancakes. We also had some of the island's fruit, which was very tasty!
Then if was off to our first practice at the Jamaican's brand new turf. The turf is a beautiful bright green. The area is still under construction but it will be interesting to see the facility all come together for the tournament. My first steps onto the turf were a bit tricky since it was so dry! Practicing on a dry Brillo pad wouldn't be too difficult or too dangerous, would it? But don't worry, the Jamaicans assured us that we would be playing on a wet turf during the tournament (whew!).
Our first practice was a hot one! We practiced during the hot hours of the day (1-3pm) and Tija recorded the temperature on the turf to be 36 degrees (any guesses as to how hot it was in our goalie equipment?). Thank god we were able to stay hydrated by being presented with our new Gatorade water bottles emblazoned with some new nick names such as "Barista", "Gangsta Girlie Girl", "Kid in the Hall", "Feisty Fausty" and "Non-sharer" (can you guess who those nicknames belong to?).
After practice we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some goods. We found that the best deals were found in the fruit so we stocked up! Dinner was next on our agenda and a few of us decided to venture out into the city of Kingston to eat at "The Fish Place". After almost being swindled into paying an arm and leg for a cab ride into the city, we were saved by the hotel manager who found a taxi for us so we would only have to pay an arm. Anyways… "The Fish Place" had a great island atmosphere and we all ordered seafood (obviously). The service wasn't so swift since we were ready to dine on the gecko lizard that decided to join us on our ceiling. But the food came in large portions and we all agreed it was very tasty and we were fully satisfied with our dinner… until we got the bill (but we won't talk about that!).
I guess I can safely say that we are well on our way to a great week of preparation for the Americas Cup Tournament in Jamaica. I can't wait to work on "acclimatizing to the heat" (i.e. "tanning") but that will have to wait until tomorrow!
With this being my first tournament with the Canadian team, every day is new and exciting. Playing field hockey for Canada is a dream come true and I'm enjoying every minute of it!
P.S.: A quick "Hello!" goes out to my family and friends in London, Ontario, and to everyone in Durham, New Hampshire!
The day began with weigh-in and pee at 7am. We left for the field at 8:45 on our packed bumpy team bus, winding through the busy streets of Kingston. Last minute preparations are still underway at the field and the lack of a fence on one side of the field makes ball collecting difficult. A number of tents are being constructed next to the field, although we now understsnd that they're NOT for us but instead for the local dog show!
Today is Dru Marshall's birthday! |
Today is Dru's birthday. Becky's comment of "How does it feel to be 30 Dru?" has earned her the Brown-noser of the day honours!! In memory of the fourth anniversary of the infamous "Underwear" event in San Diego, the team presented Dru with a pair of signed, fluorescent orange underwear.
Following a tough 2-hour practice, the team returned to the Canadian "Villa" at the hotel for lunch. A packed gallery then watched Dru beat Manageress Tamara in the less-than-hotly-contested 60m individual medley. Tamara is still working on her butterfly. We returned to the field at 4 pm for an hour of penalty corner practice.
Following some mild confusion around the conversion of Jamaican to American dollars, we settled down for a dinner. Karen took charge and ordered nine(!) team pizzas from the local Pizza Hut.
Today practice from 9-11am was a little earlier than our other practices but it was still very hot. We were thankful that there was a strong breeze to help us in our
acclimatization process. Practice involved lots of one vs. one work and shooting. Practice went well and we are getting a better handle on the bouncy "sand-based" turf.
Now, originally, when I heard we were going to be playing on a "sand-based" turf in Jamaica, I had invisioned a turf with a lot of surface sand and little bounce similar to UVIC or Eric Hamber. To my surprise there was no surface sand and it had a lot of bounce. However this was partially due to the dry turf which will be watered for the tournament.
After our morning practice, we returned to the hotel for some lunch, swimming and tanning. At 3:15 it was back to the field for some penalty corner practice. Our warm-up consisted of a rowdy game of Octopus (introduced to us by Assistant Coach Deb Whitten) which everyone enjoyed.
Post PC practice we decided to take advantage of the North American convenience cuisine available to us (this being SUBWAY and BASKIN ROBBINS). Then it was home
to the Hotel Four seasons for a rest.
I am honoured to be reporting from sunny Jamaica on this perfect day. Our journey began in the morning when we hopped on our tour bus and headed for the famous Dunn's River Falls on the North coast of Jamaica. On the way, our lovely tour guides Sophia and Erica arranged for us to stop at a "Jelly fruit" stand where we tasted many new exotic fruits. Our next stop was for "jerk" chicken and corn bread where we experienced a true Jamaican treat!
The countryside through the mountains was picturesque and unbelievable. From the lush Fern Gully to the unique rock formations, our eyes were surely entertained. Note: "Pun-Pun" is not the same as "pun"-intended. When we finally arrived at the falls we were eager to bask in the sunny rays and drape our bodacious bodies over the rocks as the water streamed over us. Karen was a little more eager than most of us to show off her body! She's our "Coppertone" baby!! There's one area that needs sunscreen.
After our well deserved visit to the falls, it was off to beautiful Ocho Rios. While in Ocho Rios some of the girls visited the golden beach with endless aqua blue waters where they were photographed for the 2002 Swimsuit Calendar. Others decided to catch up on purchasing gifts for friends and loved ones from the local craft people. This is one time where the word "Feisty" came in to use. These shops made the employees at the GAP seem passive! Instead of a free perfume with every purchase, we were offered a free wooden turtle with the purchase of a wooden giraffe. We even had two of our girls (Michy Bowyer and Sue Tingley) transformed into Bo Dereck look-a-likes when they had their hair braided by some of the local women. Lookout boys! – Bo is on the loose!!
Unfortunately our journey home was not so smooth (literally), as some of the girls were welcomed with a taste of their morning chicken. The roads were quite bumpy and turbulent in the mountains of Jamaica... Hello Gravol, we needed you!
However, despite the journey home, it was all in all a smokin' day for the beach bunnies. GO CANADA!!!
Hi to everyone at home, cheer hard for us! To the Aruba gang and the Olynyk's at home, love ya! Jimbo - Happy Belated, I can't believe we didn't know, we'll have a (root) beer for you on March 19th!
Today we got the chance to sleep in a little as the bus didn't leave until 9:45am for practice. The bus boomed with energy as Karen led us through a sing-a-along and Becky gave us her rendition of "Who let the cats out".
When we got there, we were the first team to experience wet turf. We watched as the large truck pumped out the water and turned the playing surface into a small river. From what we understand, that was "Plan B"… I'm guessing they are going to have to work on "Plan A"!
The weather was overcast but it was perfect for playing in. We started with body control followed by two hours of practice. Julia experienced a true taste of the Jamaican medical care as she made a trip to the hospital to stitch up her chin after coming in contact with a stick.
After practice, we came back to the hotel, ate lunch and had a team meeting. We did a team exercise, "Why we Rock… Volume II", followed by the rope ceremony. After all this, we went to the JamRock for a team dinner. We finally found a place with good food, cheap prices and quick service. We were starting to think that everyone is on a different time to us Canadians. After dinner, some called it a night, while some of us had our own fun. Jumbo, Tinger, Deb and I kept ourselves amused with a Boy Crazy blind date game. We selected Becky as our victim and after some tinkering with the profiles, we gauranteed Becky's selection of the ugliest boy from the pile.
Everything else here is good… and we are gearing up ready for the start of the tournament. As the rookie and the youngest player here, this experience and opportunity has been incredible. Thanks to those of you who continue to be so supportive and thanks for following along with our journey On the Road to the World Cup!
Today was one of those days that was busy but not busy. We had many things to do because the tourney is about to start. With our first game tomorrow at 2:00pm against Uruguay, which will be live on Planetfieldhockey.com!
This morning we had our pictures taken for accreditation and then had an optional practice (mostly penalty corners). Tonight we had the tourney reception at the Hilton and guess who was there? None other than one of the "original" Jamaican bobsledders (Chris Stokes)! Tomorrow he will be at the Opening Ceremonies where we hope to get some pictures with him. The Calgary girls are especially excited.
Some more Canadians also arrived today: Dr. and Mrs. Taunton, Becky's parents, Andrew Griffiths and Hari Kant. Apparently more are on there way and it will be great to have their support and see the flags in the crowd.
At 4 we had a team meeting to receive our uniforms and talk about tomorrow's events. The Uniform Ceremony has become a special event for our team. We were each presented our uniforms which we will wear proudly for the next 11 days as we strive to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Perth, Australia. The feeling in the group is good and we are ready for our first test!
PS: For those people who haven't received email messages or had their messages not answered, it is not because we don't care but because it is hard to get onto the internet!
First day of the tournament. Yes, we were excited, maybe a little nervous, yet, anxious to get going.
This game was a real personal triumph. Two knee surgeries have kept me from international competition for over a year. The hundreds of physio appointments and hours of rehab would make anyone excited to be back. To have gone through that experience makes me realise how special your friends and teammates are.
Neither team really settled into the flow of the game. Combinations of nerves and an over active official took away most of the games momentum. However, the game looked to open up when Jumbo converted on a beautiful shot off a penalty corner. To Uruguay's credit they dropped back to defend and fouled hard between the 25's. Although we controlled the ball, we had a hard time generating corners and goals. K.T. (a.k.a. Pink Lady II) scored an amazing rebound flick over the goalie. Both Canadian goals were world class!! To make things interesting Uruguay scored on a stroke late in the game.
It wasn't a great game to watch, but it's a great first step. 3 points for the win and a little momentum for our next match versus the Argies.
The support from home has been great. Keep those emails and faxes coming. I would like to say a special thanks to B.J. and her class from Colonial Estates school. The girls enjoyed the letters and words of encouragement! AWESOME!
Well another day has gone by in sunny Jamaica. Today we rested for our upcoming match with the mighty Argies. We started the morning off with a little bit of exercise in the pool. We were just supposed to doing a little bit of pool running and stretching, but of course it turned into a bunch of silly immature games — good for the psyche I guess.
The next event consisted of packing into Fausty's room like sardines to watch some video tape of the Argies from Pan Am's and the Olympics (Gold Medal match). It was cool to see the two parallels. On one hand it was a team that we totally played with and dominated at times…. On another it was a team that won the Silver Medal at the Olympics! We are excited for the upcoming opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world.
The rest of the day was taken up by homework for some, movie watching for others and ant watching for Tinger… Not the movie, but the actually tiny red creatures — different strokes for different folks I guess. We then piled in the bus and headed to Jam Rock — our favorite new restaurant (it is kind of like a Jamaican Earls). We got take-out so that we could go watch Argentina play Venezuela. The Argies just arrived the day before and had no practice time on the turf… a little bit cocky if you ask me (the flight is over 22 hours). However, the jetlagged side still performed…. The score was 7-0 and we left at half time. Our work is cut out for us, but we are up to the challenge.
That's about all I have to say for now. Thanks for your support and interest.
We started off the day as usual, with the morning pre-game run around the block, stretching and breakfast. We had a big day ahead ofus with our game versus Argentina, the Olympic silver medallists.
Most of the team seems to have developed stomach upset but we are battling through it. Of course, peanut butter and banana sandwiches everyday may make anyone feel a little queasy but we're pretty sure that they're not the root of the problem. But what you're all waiting to hear about is the game so we'll get right to it.
Well, actually, first we'll make a quick detour. The turf here gets watered with one HUGE hose that curls its way across the field. It's pretty hard to miss but one of the technical officials seemed to have trouble spotting it, or hurdling it (not sure!). So, 40 minutes prior to the start of the game, this poor woman found herself lying on the wet turf, surrounded by umpires, tech staff, and the medical staff from both Argentina and Canada. She had broken her ankle and will require surgery.
Now, game time, which by the way is Jumbo's 150th cap!!! Amazing- I think she is the 2nd person in Canada to achieve this. We had a terrific warm-up. The game started well and we held our own for the first part of the game.
Argentina started off the scoring with a penalty corner goal and then made it 2-0 with a stroke which, I might add, was a horrible call and we still haven't figured out what it was for. That's 2 bad stroke calls in 2 games! Anyways, we came back and scored an awesome penalty corner goal - Karen had a rocket shot. The final score was 5-1. We didn't have our best game as a team but we still have a chance to play them in the final as long as we play well in our next 4 games. We have put the game behind us and are now focusing on our game tomorrow vs Venezeula.
 Warmup at Mona Stadium, Kingston |
 Lisa Faust |
 Penalty corner: Jenny Johnson |
 Penalty corner |
 First Cap for Erin Morton |
 First Cap for Amy Agulay |
Today we had a day off. A complete day off!! We didn't have to do anything related to hockey. So, some players went for brunch at the Hilton, some worked on their tans pool-side trying to maximize their allotted "sun time". The new "PK PINKY", Becky Price, definitely took advantage of that. Others went to the Bob Marley Museum but were disappointed when they arrived and it was closed. Many stayed behind and did some school work.
For lunch we were on our own, so we ventured to "The Strip" (street with Jamrock). Some of our players went to Kenny Rogers, some to Wendy's for their famous baked potatoes and the rest went to Jamrock.
As the coaches headed out to the field for some scouting of our opposition, Beaner and Karen 'The Great' MacNeill went to the laundromat. They both volunteered to sacrifice their afternoon off to do the team laundry. When they returned to the hotel, the team was definitely grateful and really excited to help separate the clean clothing. It looked like a monsoon had hit Amy and Karen's room!
Generally, all had a really good day and we look forward to tomorrow's challenge!
HEY MAN! (in the best Jamaican accent you can muster) What is up my friends? Here are the top headline of March 13th in Kingston, Jamaica.
The pressure of the tournament is rising as our next match up is versus our southern neighbours – The U.S. of A. It is the game we have all been anticipating as it will decide which team will advance to the Gold Medal match / WC potential berth, so cheer loud for us on the 15th as we kick some Yankee butt!!!
 |
 |
 |
at Mona Stadium, Kingston for the triple-header: Jamaica vs. Uruguay (1-2) Argentina vs. USA (4-1) Canada vs. Mexico (2-0) The games were live on Jamaican TV. |
Canadian players |
 |
 Els van Breda Vriesman, FIH General Secretary talks to Andrew Griffiths, planetfieldhockey.com |
 Marina van der Merve (former National Team Coach) and Sharon Creelman (Junior National Team Coach) provide pre-game opinion to planetfieldhockey.com |
Today we relaxed, and mentally and physically prepared ourselves for the biggest game of the tourney against the Americans. We had a short practice in the early afternoon, in which we fined tuned our plays. In the afternoon Erica (Big 'E'), our awesome bus driver, set up a hair salon by the pool. She braided Amy Mac's and my hair. I must say it looks awesome! Also, Jumbo cut Becky's, and Emily's hair. WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT JUMBO??
We went for a team dinner at the Hilton. After 2 hours of playing the "name game", we finally got our food. But no worries, we ended up with free dessert.
Well, it's 11:00pm and the team says good night. I hope it's okay to say hi and I love you to my Jeff and my family!
Today was very much the day we had all been anticipating... the day we stood across the field from our American rivals.
On the way to the turf, the mood was light and the team was ready to do some damage against our southerly neighbours. Sue Tingley must have caught a Jamaican's eye from the bus when he came over to her window while we were stopped at a red light. After living in Jamaica for almost three weeks, we are very used to propositions of all kinds from "feisty" Jamaican men, however today's was by far the most creative: Tinger's admirer proclaimed his love by writing "I love you" on the bus window in saliva and using his finger!!! It was the longest red light Sue has ever experienced. Don't worry, Sue, you don't have to turn on the red light!
The battle between Canada and the Americans was truly a great one. Canada brought out their "A" game, dominating a great deal of the attack. Jenny opened the scoring with a well struck shot from the top of the "D". 1-0 Canada. Unfortunately, in her excitement, her stick flew from her hands to land on the other side of the "D" and land her with a yellow card. Canada fought through the next 5 minutes until an equalizer yellow card was called against the Americans. With chances at both ends, the Americans eventually scored on a scrambled penalty corner after a high-ball non-call by the umpire...
The Canadians showed no sign of retreat and excited the crowd with 3 more near misses but the match was destined to end a 1-1 tie. The game was well played, Canada excecuted well technically as well and tactically but the score sheet did not read the win we set out to achieve.
With our heads held high, we now know the goal scoring frenzy we must conduct against the host country Jamaica tomorrow.
We tried to put yesterday's tie behind us today but I gotta admit it wasn't that easy especially when we learned that the umpire was in tears when she watched our game tape with the rest of the technical table and they all agreed that the Americans tieing goal should not have counted - something we tried to tell her at the time, of course with no success. We do know however that the bottom line is we needed to score more goals so we went out needing 15 or so against Jamaica and unfortunately fell a wee bit short with 4. The last of which was a beauty tip of Michy's off of a great ball from KT.
Not much else to report - the even jersey numbers (one of whom I am sad to admit I am) got killed at the early morning water polo game but only because the odd numbered team hid the net - or should I say lifesaver - underwater the big cheaters! Normally I would talk about the food but nothing new and exciting was discovered today - we are all looking forward to brunch at the high class Hilton tomorrow (hopefully it won't take the two and a half hours that it did last time we ate there) and a bit of a rest before our last game when we will have to play Uruguay again.
 |
 Amy Macfarlane |
 Dru Marshall chats with the Argentinean Coach |
 Lisa Faust |
 | |
 | |
| ||||||
Today was the final rest day of the tournament. And of course I have lots to write about all the eating we did. The day started off well with a brunch at 9:30 at the Hilton - lots of yummy food, in honour of Dru's last tournament with the team. My personal highlight of the meal was the great Jamaican coffee.
After breakfast, things got a little emotional when we presented Dru with an inscribed "Coach" watch. A perfect gift, since her previously coveted coach watch was ripped off at, you guessed it, the Livingstone Turf in Vancouver right before we left. There was lots of informal speeches and stories of all our shared memories of Dru over the years with a lot of tears and laughter.
We all had a relaxing afternoon waiting until we were hungry again which was dinnertime. We headed into town (10 min walk) and went to a new restaurant for fajitas (not as good as Rick's but they still hit the spot as they were something new and different than our usual JamRock or Wendy's fair). The dinner was full of some interesting happenings. The most noteworthy was when the restaurant went completely black; all at once, the lights, music and air conditioning went out. At first this gave us some angst (since someone was mugged at knife point in front of the Hilton yesterday). But the management allayed our fears by telling us that the generator went out and that the food was still being prepared by the cooks in candle light on the gas stove. Apparently a whole sector of the town had lost power.
During dinner an American Church group asked if we were a women's basketball team, and was Jack our coach. "Close", I said, as I informed them that Jack was in fact the Team Doctor for the Vancouver Grizzlies which seemed to impress them but "not so close" on their choice of sport (unless, Tinger, are you actually a guard?).
We finished the evening off with some yogurt icecream. Now off to bed....
Our final day. It is hard to believe that the end of the tournament has arrived. We are all excited to play but, at the same time, a bit sad as it is Dru's final game as our Coach.
Today started as a usual game day, a run, a meeting and hotel lunch for most. Some passed the few pre-game hours playing cards, watching movies or having Jumbo cut their hair. Personally, it's an emotional day. It has been a great 4 years having Dru coach our team. I have enjoyed all the lessons she has taught me and the confidence she has given me to be a strong player and, more importantly, a proud and confident individual. Yesterday we presented Dru with a watch engraved from the team and shared our favorite stories and memories. It was an emotional time with a number of tears shed.
OK. More about today! As we waited for our bus to go to the field, the time kept getting closer and closer to game time... The bus never arrived so we took cabs to our Bronze Medal game! Our driver got lost and was contemplating what way to turn at a four way STOP when Uruguay went by in their team bus. Thank goodness! We followed them to the field and made it on time.
After our usual warm-up... game time! We all knew it was a special game and were eager to "win won for the gipper"! 1-0 at half time. Not the score we would have liked but we had a goal scored at the 35th minute called back by the umpire. We are still not sure why but we took that frustration into the second half and turn it on. Aoibhinn scored a hat-trick! Yeah! She pumped in a couple of nice penalty corner rebounds to put us well in the lead. We won 6-0.
We hoisted Dru on our shoulders and then soaked her with a full ice jug of Gatorade. It was awesome! We then watched Argentina defeat the USA 4-1 and watched a cultural show before the Awards Presentation.
We are all a little dissapointed with our Bronze Medal. We feel cheated by a bad umpiring call in the USA game but sometimes you are thrown a curve ball... We are now all eager to go to France and qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Perth. It will be under the guidance from a new hired Head Coach but, when that final whistle blows in France, Dru will be in our minds and hearts as the Coach that put us on the right path and always believed uin us as athletes and, most importantly, as individuals.
 Canada defends a penalty-corner |
 Acrobatic save by Sarah Forbes | |||||
| ||||||
 Thank you Coach Dru Marshall! |  End of an era | |||||
 |  Kristen Taunton - Michelle Bowyer | |||||
 Deb Cuthbert - Carla Somerville |  | |||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
 The end... | ||||||
|
Back to Schedule and Results
|
for information or comments: fhc@fieldhockey.ca
FHC Menu
Women's Teams Menu
