good job girls!

This will have to be a fast and furious update, as I'm fading... well, fast and furiously. I write from beautiful Sudbury, where the 2010 Ontario Summer Games are taking place, and so far, so good! Assistant coach Sandra and I drove up here on Tuesday morning to meet the three other coaches, and then the team, before the whole lot of us headed to the opening ceremonies where, to be honest, we were bored by speeches, speeches and more speeches. For the athletes I think the boredom levels were lower and the excitement levels higher - there were very few complaints from the girls under the sunny, early evening skies. Day one (yesterday) was full, and we finished 2-2, with some good performances, but not our best. Today, however, was amazing... This is the first time in quite a few years that I've coached a team - usually, my summer sees me running week-long camps for individuals that get together to work on skills; there is no culmination-tournamentation that follows the learning process. And so, as a coach, I've had an amazing time with these Region Six girls, and was sooooo proud of how they played today! It has been so rewarding to see the group come together and execute... and do so in such a focused and mature way. We were 3-1, and are set up to play a very win-able quarter-final game tomorrow morning. Busy, busy, busy. PLUS, at dinner tonight the girls gave me my very first BABY GIFT! It was soooooo so so so sweet, and really - ready for cheese? - made me smile all over. They asked me in mid-card-read whether I was going to cry... and I said (in all honesty) that no, I wasn't. However, I did tell the girls that I almost cried when, after a convincing win against a strong team - a win that involved every single member of our team - that I was very, very proud of them. I was! Sure, it could have been the pregnancy emotions talking... but... nope, actually it wasn't. These girls have done me proud!!