CANADA
/JAPAN EASTERN CANADA
TOUR
2002
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CANADA
CUP
2002
WINNIPEG,
CANADA |
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PAN
AMERICA'S CUP
2002
TIJUANA,
MEXICO |
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CANADA/JAPAN
TOUR 2002
WINNIPEG,
CANADA |
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CANADA/DOMINICAN
REP.
2002
WINNIPEG,
CANADA |
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CANADA/CZECH
REP. TOUR
2002
CZECH
REPUBLIC |
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WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIPS
2002
SCHWERIN,
GERMANY |
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While
I hope that all of you had an exciting
summer at the beach, on vacation and just
enjoying yourselves with friends and family,
I chose to spend my time doing what I know
and love best: Playing
volleyball.
Returning with Team Canada this year was the
beginning of a two year plan to kick-start
my future, after volleyball. It
is also the time limit I've given myself to
find out what it is that I have been
searching for in this sport for all these
years. With life's ups and downs, I
hope to look back on this period, knowing
that I lived all that I could and with
everything but regrets.
This summer, Team Canada went on an
adventure that would eventually lead to the
World Championships in Germany.
Starting with an exhibition tour with Japan
at the end of May, our team was in search of
its potential (while waiting for the return
of the veterans from their pro teams in
early June). Japanese teams have
always been known for their consistency,
speed and strength, regardless of their
often young team.
Our next step was Canada Cup 2002 (June
13-16) which included teams from Puerto
Rico, Australia, and Japan. This
annual, four-team tournament gave us a
chance to play in front of a home crowd for
the first time in 2 years. We gladly
rose to the occasion, winning our first
match against Puerto Rico 3-0
(25-19, 25-22,
26-24). We also won our second match
against Australia 3-0
(25-19, 25-22,
25-18), playing a lot more consistently than
our first match and in preparation for our
most challenging third match against
Japan.
Our first disappointing loss of the
tournament was against Japan. Although
playing very hard for most of the match, our
unforced errors at crucial moments left us
trailing Team Japan after the first set
(24-26). After another close loss in
the second set (26-28), an intense third set
win brought us back in the match
(25-22). However, the stellar
defensive play and consistent attack of
Japan led them to 3-1 win against Team
Canada in the fourth set (23-25).
Team Canada and Team Japan would meet again
in the Canada Cup final where the
consistently strong play of Japan
would once again win against a less
convincing Team Canada (3-0).
The first ever Pan American Cup held in
Tijuana, Mexico (June 24-30) would be
another major competition in preparation for
the World Championships at the end of the
summer. The tournament of 7 teams in
two pools would include the hosting country
Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic,
Canada, USA National B team, Puerto Rico and
Cuba. Most of these teams would later
go on to play in the World Championships in
Germany.
Canada's Results:
| Canada
- USA |
3-0
(25-18, 25-20, 25-21) |
| Canada
- Cuba |
0-3
(19-25, 22-25, 18-25) |
|
Canada
- Puerto Rico |
3-0
(25-22, 25-21, 25-22) |
|
Canada
- Dominican Rep. |
0-3
(15-25, 20-25, 13-25) |
|
Canada
- Mexico |
3-0
(25-21, 25-22, 25-16) |
Canada
finished third for the bronze medal at this
tournament. However, even though
Canada played some very good, promising
volleyball, the inconsistency of the team
was clear in the 3-0 wins and the 0-3
losses, and would prove to be very
detrimental to the team's success at the
World Championships.
After a
brief mental and physical break, Team Canada
trained and played several exciting
exhibition matches against Dominican
Republic 's powerful attacks (similar to a
team like Cuba) and yet another Japanese
team, Hitachi Mobari (similar to the fast,
consistent play of Korea) and finally
against Czech Republic, all in preparation
for the teams we would encounter at the
World Championships.
World
Championships August 30 - September 15 2002
Schwerin, Germany
Canada
finished between 17th and 20th in the
tournament.
After many exciting moments this summer, and
a very promising first 2 matches at the
World Championships, it was very
disappointing that Canada didn't qualify for
the second round of the tournament. It
is always easier to reason after the
disappointment and regrets have subsided and
all in all, Canada has a young, but
potentially strong team that needs to learn
discipline and consistency in the most
important moments of the match. I am
convinced that if this team stays together
and works to improve these things in the
next year, we will have a team that can
stand up to and beat many of the teams that
we unfortunately lost to this summer.
Our goal is to develop this team and go into
the qualification for the Olympics 204 with
one of Canada's best teams ever. Are
we up to it team? I say we are!!!
Game
Results at the World's
| Canada
- Egypt |
3-0
(25-9, 25-23, 25-12) |
| Canada
- Cuba |
2-3
(25-22, 22-25, 14-25, 10-15) |
| Canada
- Korea |
0-3
(11-25, 19-25, 15-25) |
| Canada
- Romania |
0-3
(21-25, 18-25, 22-25) |
| Canada
- Netherlands |
3-0
(18-25, 21-25, 23-25) |
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