Chasing Gold & Team Chemistry

It's almost as if you have to feel the pain to fully realize the consequences. You can hear about it You can read about it. You can even preach about it.

Yet unless you endure the pain of underachieving, its a facet of the game as easily forgotten as hitting the cutoff man.

It's called team chemistry. Having it can make a good team great. Not having it can make a talented team awful.

There's little doubt that Canada's Olympic hockey team might be the most talented hockey team ever assembled - but even before heading into the Olympic games the concern among the Team Canada ranks was that only one practice wasn't a whole lot of time to foster chemistry among some players who have never played a single game together.

For Canada those concerns raised their ugly head when the pain of underachieving was attained in Sunday’s stunning 5-3 loss to the Americans in the final game of round-robin play.
The loss forced Candada to play an additional game to advance in the tournament.

In the case of Team Canada, only five skaters and two goalies are back from the 23-man roster at the 2006 Torino Olympics.

The challenge throughout the Olympic tournament has been to quickly get all these players feeling as if they've been teammates for years as opposed to days.

This ESPN article uses Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash as their prime example. As two-thirds of Canada's top line, their history together won't fill a page, let alone a scrapbook:

"We had four days in Calgary [at the summer camp], and that's it," Nash said after Tuesday's rout. "But I think we complement each other's game. Hopefully we get better with each game."

Much like the rest of their team, the Nash-Crosby pairing looked more comfortable as the game went on.

"Just playing together is the only way, that's why you have to make the most out of practice," Crosby said of developing a rapport with his linemates.

How do make up for lost time? You communicate. One could see Nash and Crosby talking to each other constantly on the bench during the game, and apparently even more so in the dressing room.

"In-between periods is big, always trying to figure each other out and ask as many questions as possible," Nash said.

In Tuesday night's 8-2 rout of Germany that punched their ticket to today's quarterfinal showdown against Russia, the Canadians finally found cohesion and consistency. The right mix of playmaking, finish and grit was there all along -- it just took longer than expected for the coaching staff to find it. And to stick with it.

Don't Underestimate Who You Are Or What You're Doing

From time to time I'm fortunate to recieve emails from my former college Coach David Kintas.

The notes are often short and direct - reflections and thoughts intended to provide encouragement and inspiration. It is something that Coach Kintas took time to do before game sessions, and now years later, he continues the tradition through our email conversations.

Competiting at a small private university presented unique obstacles that many coaches at athletes at larger institutions will never confront. From a limited staff to a minimalist budget, it made the job of being a coach and/or athlete all the more challenging. Yet, despite the additional challenges, there was always one thing I appreciated above all else in playing under the tutelage of Coach Kintas: He always took it upon himself to consistently challenge and inspire those of us who played under his guidance.

Now years later, he continues to provide notes of encouragement and inspiration. The words he shared recently were worthy of sharing here:

Do not underestimate who you are, or what you are doing..... "Keep the Faith"... "Action, supported by confidence in preparation, and completed with courage."

Always Room to Evaluate and Improve

It wasn't quite the "Miracle on Ice," but Sunday's USA Olympic hockey victory over Canada - the first such win since 1960 - ranks just a notch or two below it in the country's history in the sport.

Though the U.S. team is comprised entirely of NHL players just like Canada's squad, most observers gave them only an outside chance of making the medal round at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Almost to a man, Team USA is younger and less well-known than its neighbor to the North.

That may be changing after a dramatic 5-3 win over Canada and stellar play by USA goalie Ryan Miller. After Sunday night in vancouver, some regard him as the best goalie in the world.

Now, thanks in large part to Ryan Miller's efforts, Team USA finished the preliminary round as the No. 1 team, edging Sweden on goal differential. The top finish means USA will advance directly to Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

And while it's good to win games, USA goalie Ryan Miller said, the Americans need to keep feeling as if they aren't one of the tournament's top teams. As Team USA Coach Brian Burke insisted Tuesday, Russia, Sweden and Canada haven't yet played their best games.

Ryan Miller's comments after Sunday's victory provide great insight on how there is always time to evaluate and improve, even when things seem to be hitting on all cylinders.

"The confidence, each game it gets a little better, but we have to keep that little bit of paranoia there, too," Miller said. "It's only been three games together and we went through a tight battle with Canada and that should help us grow, but now the games count for more than just bragging rights. It's elimination time."

"We need to evaluate our game, look at it honestly and see what we need to improve on and hold on to some of that excitement and keep building," Miller said.

Always Attack, Hold Nothing Back

There are so many great stories at the Olympics of athletes who overcame injuries and returned to their sports. Sometimes that determination is rewarded with a spot on the podium, sometimes it isn’t.

Enter the story of Norway’s super-G gold medalist Aksel Lund Svindal.

In November 2007, Svindal crashed hard during a training run at Beaver Creek and, to quote his NBC bio, “suffered multiple facial fractures (caused partly by impact with his knees), injuries to his ribs and back and an 8-inch deep laceration in the abdominal region (caused by his ski)."

He was taken to the Vail Valley Medical Center where the skier underwent a four-hour emergency medical procedure. The operation involved opening him up further to ensure that his internal organs had not become infected. He lost more than 30 pounds of muscle mass during the five months it took him to return to the slopes. The next time he skied Beaver Creek, he won.

Now at the Vancouver Olympics it would seem the 27-year-old Svindal is peaking at the right time. He's taken the silver in downhill and the gold in super-G (watch), and he still has the super-combined, giant slalom, and slalom.

``It's been a lot of work getting to where I need to be for winning races,'' Svindal said, "[the] downhill result took the pressure off."

``I felt like it was the last thing I was thinking at the start gate - 'You already have a silver and it can only get better, so enjoy this and give it all you have. Don't hold anything back.'''

Svindal, starting at No. 19, eight places after Miller, trailed the American by 0.30 second at the first time split but made up the difference and had a 0.02 lead at the halfway point. He extended his lead along the bottom half of the course.

The big Norwegian was clocked at 114.8 kph (71.3 mph) at a speed check where Miller went through at 100.9 kph (62.7 mph).

“It was good but it’s hard to talk about perfect,” Svindal said, adding that he felt he had been "chasing the game this season after injury and illness".

“I made one mistake. I heard Bode was leading and Weibrecht was in third and those guys don’t slow down – they go hard. It shows you just have to attack. I’m lucky I already have silver so it can only get better, you just have to have fun, enjoy the race, always attack."

“I prepared well. I’m in top form and am just enjoying it.”

Better, Better, Best

Apolo Ohno is one of the American stars of these Vancouver Olympic Games. A short-track speedskater competing in his third Winter Olympics, Ohno just moved past Eric Heiden as the most decorated American male at the Winter Games.

With more races ahead, Ohno is poised to also pass fellow six-time medalist Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian, male or female. As we watch these Olympic Games and marvel at the accomplishments of these athletes, this story in USA Today reflected on the greatness of Eric Heiden's Olympic moment.

In nine days in February 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., Eric Heiden accomplished what no Olympian had ever done -- he won five individual gold medals in a single Olympics, be it Summer or Winter.

At the Lake Placid games Heiden whirred around an outdoor track at the high school along Main Street there, wearing skates two sizes too small, hoping the lighter weight would increase his speed, powering himself with thighs so massive he needed size 38 pants even though his waist measured only 32 inches.

When it was all said and done, Heiden established five Olympic records, including one world mark. The 21-year-old took home more gold from the 1980 Winter Olympics than Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, West Germany, Italy, Canada, Hungary, Japan, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and France combined.

Heiden won everything from the 500 meters to the 10,000 meters in 1980. Perhaps even more impressive, all five gold medals were won in the span of one week.

And unlike Ohno who will compete in every short track event - typical for short-track speedskaters - since Heiden, fewer than 10 skaters have competed in all the long-track distances at an Olympics.

What does Heiden say it takes to achieve such incredible success? "You have to stay really focused, and you have to put a lot of personal goals on the back burner for years and years while you pursue your dream."

Overcoming Distractions

Lindsey Vonn lived up to expectations and won the Olympic downhill Wednesday. The accomplishment came despite a bruised shin that almost took her out of the running and threatened to sideline her Olympic games.

Hurt Feb. 2 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria, Vonn had hardly skied over the past two weeks.

The injury even made her question whether Olympic gold was meant to be...

"...It's been a really tough couple of weeks, pretty much having your Olympic dreams crushed. I felt things weren't going my way, that my whole world was kind of tumbling down. I was really depressed, sad and really just hoping that my Olympic dream was still alive. It definitely wasn't the place I wanted to be."

Yet before Wednesday's race, former U.S. Olympic skier Billy Kidd told FanHouse he could think of no athlete better prepared mentally and physically to block the excruciating pain that accompanies ski boot shin bruises and contusions -- known as "boot bang" to skiers everywhere.

Kidd said Vonn, whom he has known since she was a young racer in Vail, Colo., is accustomed to performing through extreme pain like any elite athlete. Kidd talked about how he has always been impressed with Vonn's focus during her races and he says that ability to block out everything but the run will help her overcome the discomfort she is certain to experience.

"On one hand, it makes it very difficult to perform under pressure, unlike the Super Bowl, where you can make a mistake and you've got two or three hours to make up for that mistake. In ski racing, with that one chance, you make a mistake and it's over – come back in four more years."

"But absolutely, it is a lot of work. With Michael Phelps, swimming back and forth through the pain, or long-distance runners or Mount Everest climbers – all of that is painful. But you push through the pain. Lindsey is just so good at doing that."

Now on this day, she is celebrated for her courage AND her brilliance, for producing under intense pressure, for overcoming pain that lasted three weeks and continued perilously into the downhill -- and for delivering even when so many thought she would fail.

"Americans perform well under pressure," Vonn said. "We're game-day athletes, and we don't hold anything back. I always feel like Americans come out on top. We're free-spirited and really determined people."

Unafraid of Change

After racking up 103 wins and a world championship you might think that Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman would be content to try and keep the same team together in order to make yet anther run.

In fact, the easiest thing to do after winning it all is to keep the gang together for another shot. But that would mean neglecting to address weaknesses while all the other clubs work on theirs.

This article at MLB.Fanhouse.com details many of the changes Cashman has made this off season in an effort to address specific needs. "...You try to keep up with the Joneses. Everybody else got better. So hopefully we tried to keep up with everybody else's improvements."

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi echoed the same sentiment saying once the full squad reports he will tell them to forget about 2009 and resting on any laurels. "The gist of that message," Girardi said Wednesday, "is: It all starts over. You can't rely on what we did lat year. You can pull from your experiences, yes. But it all starts over. Everyone is 0-0 going into April 4. We know what it took to do it last year and we have to work hard like we did and we have to get that feeling back."