The second half of our
Olympic Camp in Canberra, had us hosting the Japanese National Team for some
training games. While the Japanese are not highly ranked in the water polo
world, they displayed some refreshing attributes. The Japanese goal is
ultimately to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. We went in knowing
that they weren’t going to be the strongest competitors that we were going to
come up against, but they were going to be fast.
The combination of
altitude and only playing with 9 players, meant there was going to be plenty of
game time and we were definitely going to be feeling the effects. What I didn’t
expect was the Japanese girls attitude. They not only trained their hearts out,
but showed up to every game ready to play (even though most games had about
10-15 goal difference) and came out firing every quarter of every game.
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| Photo thanks to AIS Facebook Page |
With the camp reaching
it’s final days there was anticipation in the air. Selection was up for grabs
on the upcoming tour to Montenegro, Brazil and USA. Which meant the very
important step of checking out some of the sites in Rio, as well as some of the
venues. Getting the lay of the land is helpful in our preparation for the Games
as you can start some visualisation training, plus if we can fit in some site
seeing while we are there, means no distraction while competing at the Games…
especially with family and friends all having a great holiday while you’re
stuck in the most intense and pressure filled experience of your sporting
career (seems fair).
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| Photo thanks to AIS Facebook Page |
While it is not the be
all and end all if you miss out on this tour, it is however, an indication of
where you are currently positioned in the team. We will take 15 away out of the
19 players currently involved. As
the days continue to count down, the stress and pressure for selection continue
to build as we head into the holiday season. As they say, no rest for the
wicked….
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