The morning started early with a brisk walk. The coaches and the players went out into the 'fresh' morning while I got breakfast out and ready to go.
We get through breakfast and I sneak a quick 20 minute power nap before we have to head out to training. The girls shoot around for about 45 minutes and the stadium is all a buzz as first matches were due to kick off just half an hour after our training. You can feel that anticipation in the air. Love that feeling of game day. The girls are relaxed, but ready. We still have a lot of hours to go, but our preparations have brought us to today.
Remember those friends I made yesterday, well one of them (the very friendly canteen manager) hand delivered our coffees to training. Rather that have me wait for them to be made. Winning.
We had stocked up on some healthy snacks and decided to check out some of the competition that were playing at another venue. Ordinarily the coaches do this (its called scouting) and then report to the team the various players to look for, their strengths, weaknesses etc. But today we thought we would all have a look at who we were up against. There are some very short teams out there, but despite having some height in ours, it doesn't mean that we can rest of our behinds that's for sure. Being at Nationals is really cool.
We have a little bit of down time so the girls fill up the rest of their day with lunch, sleep/rest and hanging around chatting. We had some visitors to our accommodation that helped keep some of the girls occupied. Our Head Coaches parents popped in to say hi, who are complete basketball tragics. I often think that I will be much like them when I am retired, following my favourite teams around the countryside.
They have been a wonderful support to me, as being Victorians they have been close enough to bring me some of the items that were too big to pack, and offering to lend a hand with last minute issues and requests. They also were so kind to organise support hoodies/shirts for our team. When I designed our team gear weeks ago, the idea of having our families all in the same gear would be cool. So if you see someone with the below design on their shirts, they are supporter of the NSW Country Women.
So a bit thanks to Diane and Bill. Very cool couple indeed.
FINALLY it is time to get ready for the game. The girls are so eager, and I am not surprised, after being here for 3 days its great for them to start to get into what they are here to do. Compete!
We are up against the team with the home court advantage VIC Country. The silver medalists from last years Nationals. We arrive and head into our change room. Definitely a little bit of tension in the air, but all these girls (except 1) have been before. So it's great to have that experience. The maturity they display is really beyond their years. It's great really. I had a quiet moment in the change room to tell them all how proud I was of all of them and how grateful I am to be their manager. Of course also made another friend in Gerrard who was in charge of making sure our changerooms were all ready for us when we needed them. He is a lovely elderly man that used to coach many moons ago yet still involved and volunteering his time.
The coaches arrive and do their thing....and off we go.
I definitely felt the gratitude today of my awesome families, when the team's names were read out and at the very end, when they said my name and the cheers were so loud. Thanks so much, it warmed my heart.
Sadly the girls went down by 11 points, But certainly did themselves proud that's for sure.
We didn't really get much down time before we had to get dressed and ready for the opening ceremony. It's a formality where you hear from dignitaries about how great it is to be a part of this experience. Many people don't like it, but I still get goosebumps when they call out NSW Country and I see my team march out. I hope that these players appreciate the great privilege it is to play for their state. The most intersting thing I heard was a comment from a ex-state player reflected on their time in the past at Nationals.
"I came to National too and in true VIC metro style, won every game" - mmmmmm humility can be a great thing.
There is a lot of camaraderie in the NSW camp this year, defying all the things that I have heard about Metro and Country rivalry. It's actually really cool, and the way it should be.
We head out to catch some of the NSW Country men team. But as they were really giving their opposition a beating, we decided to head home for some showers and hot Milo.
Note to self: Don't leave checking out the laundry till the night you actually need it. Managed to scrounge some $1 coins to make sure the uniforms were nice and clean and ready for tomorrow.
Girls had milo, and I washed. After such a long day they were all pretty weary by now and were grateful when they were given the all clear to have an extra half an hours sleep in the morning.
Loving life.....loving the basketball......loving my team!
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