I was reunited with the National team this week for the second phase of the 4-Nation Classic. This phase included an actual round robin and medal round of games and involved Japan, Chile, Trinidad & Tobago, as well as Canada. It was a great feeling to be selected back on to the "real team" but I realized that I have a lot of work to do still! If I get chosen to go Pan American Games, I suppose it will be on the hunch that I still have 2.5 more months to get my physicality up to speed. This includes strength, fitness, footwork and mobility in yes both my shoulder and the rest of my body.
G1: Canada vs Japan (0-3 Loss)
This was my first cap since October 2010 at the Commonwealth Games where we lost to India to come 6th. I finally stitched up the gap between caps and earned my 37th cap. I even started the game! One of the starting defenders is injured right now (or resting?) so, I started but that was short-lived. The speed of the Japanese attack really overwhelmed me physically. I was also back to my old position of Left D and the outside defenders do a lot of running to come into the middle of the field when the ball is on the other side of the field but high and out to the line when the ball might come up my side. Anyway, it was a good way to show me that I need to continue with the fitness! We lost 3-0 but we gave a GREAT effort and even put immense pressure on them in the first 10 minutes!
G2: Canada vs Trinidad & Tobago (4-0 Win)
Having seen Chile beat T&T 11-0 the day before and Japan beat them 14-0, we knew that this game was going to be a different and more un-orthodox style of play. It was definitely a challenge to play a more unstructured team and we didn't take them for granted at all. We just played our game and although we missed many opportunities and only scored 4, we still got the 3 points to move forward and that's what really matters. Personally, I feel like each game I got a bit better and in this game I part-took a bit more offensively which has been a goal for me coming back. I don't want to be just the stay at home defender.
G3: Canada vs Chile (0-5 Loss)
Most girls on the team don't really want to comment on this game because we knew we had to win this one to get into the Finals against Japan. Ultimately, it was our biggest loss in a long time and I mean that in the scoreline and just mentally. It was a rough loss but again, personally, I feel like I was still improving on my play. I think we had a lot break down in this game and mostly it was due to our basic skills and our field hockey abilities. Mentally we were charged up to play and physically I thought we had a great warm-up. That's the challenge with elite sports, I suppose.
G4: Canada vs T&T for Bronze (6-1 Win)
We got the job done today since losing a really tough game the day before. Moving on mentally was quite a challenge but luckily we have a lot of strategies from our team psychologist, Dr. Sean Richardson! We bounced back to win and although we let a loose goal in, I think that the team still got it done and we got third place.
We had a lot of great photographers out at the games and I thought I would share a few action shots of me finally back in the real uniform sporting, of course, #5:
Lastly just a shout out to my sponsors who have been so supportive through my recovery and getting me the support I needed to afford the rehab procedures after my surgery:
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| www.akprocanada.com |
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| www.pennwest.com |
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| www.mycanfund.ca |
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