World League Champs

So we ended up beating Australia in the semifinal, scoring the rebound from a 5 meter called right at the end of the game.... it was a nail biter for sure!  Then we played Canada in the final and beat them 9-7, so we brought home the lovely trophy, even though we still have a ways to go to reach our full potential.  The trip overall was interesting, we are all still getting to know each other and the new coaching staff.  We are home for two weeks, then we leave for World Championships in Rome!  Very exciting :)  Until then, we will be putting in some (or many) hours at the Los Al pool and getting geared up for the tourney of the summer (woo hoo)!

HELLO from mother russia

So I have been in Kirishi, Russia (about a two hour bus ride from St. Petersburg) for the past week playing in the World League Super Finals (a yearly tournament that includes 8 international teams).  We had quite a LONG day of travel to get here starting with a 3.5 hr delay out of LAX!  We got to the hotel around 2 am and settled in for the week and a half stay!

Our first game we played against Italy (who brought a younger team) and beat them pretty badly, which is always fun!  Next day was China, who came out strong, but we were played really well and ended up beating them as well.  After that was Russia in Russia, which was an exciting game (and very loud... many a fans in the crowd all cheering for the Russians of course), but they ended up beating us by one (12-11 in the end).  That put us first in our bracket, so we played Greece yesterday in the quarterfinals and beat them, which sends us to the semi's against Australia.  The water polo has been going well.... two games to go then we are back to the US..... I'll try to update again soon :)

Finally....

Yes, it's true I have finally got a blog up and running.... I am hoping to keep everyone updated whenever possible through this and will try to post and check it frequently so feel free to comment :)  

I guess I will give you a quick update on things now, since this is the first post bullet points are necessary!  Here's what you missed last year:

• lived in good old Seal Beach, same complex as last year, new roommates though
• coached South Bay United Water Polo Club and LOVING it!  (very much fell in love with the team and community up there and can't wait to get back)
• worked as a teachers aide at Naples Elementary and got the opportunity to work in three fantastic classrooms.... learned SO much!
• took pre-requisite classes at CSULB for the multiple subject teaching credential
• started doing crossfit (which is AMAZING) and tried my best to stay in shape for this summer
• finally started to feel settled and at home in Southern Cali.... ahhhhh yes

This summer things have started off on a good foot.... I made the World League team that will play in Russia this month (actually we leave in 4 days!)  I have stopped working and school for the summer in order to focus on polo and to be honest there is NO WAY I could do more than train (just too much time and energy required).  The new team and coaching staff are figuring out how to work together best and doing it as quickly as possible since this summer is going to fly by.... we have already played Canada three times here in Cali (won two lost one), we leave for Russia end of the week, then we head off for World Championships in Rome on June 30 (just after getting a chance to celebrate the b-day) which surprise surprise is our focus this year.