Post Tournament Reflection

I talked about ODP in my last post and it was a very fun experience. I learned so much from the coaches that came down from California, which is like the center of water polo. They knew so much about the game and could really answer any of our questions. They gave us some great insight to what their experience was when they played, how much has changed, and tricks to better our games.

Scrimmage against Blue Team

I thought that overall I played well. Well enough to make the team, I don't know. My defense was definitely able to keep up with most of the players, but I did lack that aggressiveness on offense. I do not think that it was really physical ability holding me back, more me not wanting to mess up in front of the coaches. Again, from my last post, my mindset was not there so I was not able to really succeed. In order to do better next time I need to "visualize what the goal is and then believe that [you] I can do it" (Minami 474). 

This was a good experience for me even if I don't make the team. I learned so many new skills and drills that I can apply to me own practice and  my games. I was also able to compare myself to all of the best players in the PNW. There were many skilled players, as there were many players that really didn't know what was going on. My IRP book also talks about how being coach-able is something that people look at also (Minami 511). This means that the athlete is able to take criticism from coaches and is able to learn from it. There were many players at the camp that carried attitudes. That is something that I have to keep in mind at my own practices and games. 

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns,. please let me know.

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography: Minami, Takahisa. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchosha. 2012, Print. 

Question: Have you ever been so nervous to impress someone that you ended up messing up anyway? 

ODP Tournament

Since my last post, I have been training really hard to perfect my skills. I finally have the chance now to put them to the test. There is a camp coming up called ODP which stands for Olympic Development Program. This is where all of the club players around the pacific northwest compete for 14 spots on the regional team. This is going to be a really hard thing to accomplish and I am kind of nervous. I have to be really focused and "my mindset has to be that I can accomplish [this]" (Minami 483). My IRP book talks a lot about having the right mindset and that is the key to success. If you go into something thinking that it is to hard or that you will not be able to accomplish it, then you set yourself up for failure (Minami 475).

My High School Team at Regionals Tournament

This is an example of when I had to be extremely focused and had to mentally prepare. At our regionals tournament, we had our first game against Shorewood. The first two quarters did not go our way. We were getting beat on transition and our defense was sub par. We went down 8-1 by half. This was our state qualifying on the line. We knew we had to either focus up or we were going to lose. Then after this talk, we were able to come back and take the lead by the end of the third quarter, racking up 10 points.

We did however lose this match in triple overtime in sudden death. This was a sad moment, but made me realize that our team really did have the chance to comeback from a huge deficit and prove everyone who was doubting us wrong.  I also proved to myself that I could have the right mindset because in those last few quarters, I had 7 goals. 

If you have any comments questions or concerns, please let me know. 

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography: Minami, Takahisi. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchocha, 2012. Print.

Question: If you play sports, what is the biggest deficit you have had to comeback from, and was your mindset going into it appropriate for you to win or did you give up?