patrickanderson.ca

Last week in Canada before heading to Beijing (where we are now…more to come on that).  In anticipation of a month of complete basketball saturation, I had planned to take a mini break just before we left, as long as I’d trained well up that point.  My goal had been to get out of the city for a few days, but that didn’t happen.  I did have a good birthday though, at a pub in Kits with some friends and teammates.  

Monday August 18 – shooting 90 min at Kits Beach – on court 2 hrs (scrimmage)

Tuesday August 19 – on court 90 min (shooting and scrimmage)

Wednesday August 20 – on court 1 hr (scrimmage)

Thursday August 21 – tapering for my birthday

Friday August 22 – first day of the last year of my twenties

Saturday August 23 – flight to Beijing

Sunday August 24 – arrival

My training regimen last week bore the stamp of life in Vancouver.  In a word, variety.  Hockey to quicken the pulse and handcycling to quiet the mind.  Training on the outdoor courts at Kits beach because UBC was unavailable (and because the beautiful weather begged for it).  In fact, finding gym time took me all over the lower mainland.   At various times, I found myself at Trinity Western University in Langley, at a community centre in East Van, and at a high school in Richmond.  But I kept coming back to the beach.

Funny cause when I lived only a couple blocks from Kits beach, I rarely went.  It was always nice to know that it was there, but it wasn’t a daily attraction.  Perhaps that had something to do with the vertical drop that is the road down to the water.  Or more precisely, the vertical climb that is the way home.  At any rate, I’m glad I landed here for a few weeks before heading to China.  No one likes to hear Vancouverites wax poetic about God’s country, least of all me, so I’ll leave it at that.

Sunday August 10 – ball hockey 2 hrs

Monday August 11 – on court 90 minutes (shooting) – on court 1 hr (scrimmage)

Tuesday August 12 – media blitz

Wednesday August 13 – lifting – on court 90 minutes (scrimmage)

Thursday August 14 – on court 1 hr (shooting, 1 on 1 vs Bear) – on court 1 hr (shooting)

Friday August 15 – tapering

Saturday August 16 – more tapering

Sunday August 17 – tennis 1 hr – handcycling 1 on Mt. (as in mountain) Seymour

It’s been a productive few weeks, blogging aside.   It all started in Fergus, where eight of the twelve players gathered for a week of training and home cookin’.  We pushed, pulled, bent, and by midweek we were ready to break.  But we kept it together, and felt relief when the dawn of the long weekend broke instead.   So with the bonds of fraternity tested but intact, we scattered for a few days.  Some guys went to visit friends and family, some went to see their squeezes, and some like Ross drew the curtains, shut the door, and went to sleep.  Not to pick on Ross.  We are passionate sleepers, every last one.  In fact, the consensus formed in Fergus among observers of our daily routine is that if our will to win in Beijing is half as strong as our desire for sleep, then victory is assured. 

Anyway, after a couple of days off we reconvened this past week at Humber College in Etobicoke for a training camp of the official sort.  You know, the kind with structure, alarm clocks, and coaches – three things that I cannot live with or without.  (just kidding. please don’t bench me).

All in all, I think we made great gains over these past few weeks.  And it wouldn’t have happened without the support of family and friends in Fergus.   Thanks.

Monday July 28 – on court 2 hrs (chair skills, breakdown drills, shooting) – on court 2 hrs (scrimmage)

Tuesday July 29 – on court 2 hrs (shooting, breakdown drills) – lifting – on court 2 hrs (scrimmage)

Wednesday July 30 – on court 2 hrs (shooting, breakdown drills) – on court 2 hrs (scrimmage)

Thursday July 31 – on court 2 hrs (chair skills, shooting)

Friday Aug 1 – on court 90 min (shooting)

Saturday Aug 2 – off

Sunday Aug 3 – lifting

Monday Aug 4 – to Toronto, training camp at Humber College

Tuesday Aug 5 – on court 2 hrs (5 on 5 half and full court scrimmages) – on court 2 hrs (shooting) – on court 2 hrs (end game scenarios and plays)

Wednesday Aug 6 – same as Tuesday

Thursday Aug 7 – same as Wednesday

Friday Aug 8 – on court  2 hrs (5 on 5) – on court 90 min (end games)

Saturday Aug 9  - flight back to Vancouver

Sunday – Aug 10 – TBD

Last week, aka the week after Roosevelt.  If you were to condense this summer into a work week, the tournament in Georgia felt like hump day.  We played our last tune-up game in Warm Springs on July 19.  Our first game in Beijing is on September 7.  That’s seven weeks of trying to stay in game shape without playing a single game.  That would difficult in any sport, but it’s even tougher in ours.  For one thing, we can’t just drop into a university gym and find a pick-up game.  If you’ll forgive a touch of hubris, Joey and I training together in Fergus would be like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier training in the Bahamas.  They’d be surrounded no doubt by tremendous athletes, but none that can skate. 

For another thing, in wheelchair basketball, there is slow, fast, faster, and then the Americans.  Seems like it’s always been that way.  Traditionally, the US has pressed teams relentlessly and leaned heavily on its speed advantage to force opponents to play at an uncomfortably quick pace, leading to mistakes, turnovers, poor execution, and general chaos.  One reason this has worked so well for so long is that there’s only handful of players in the world with truly exceptional speed and athleticism, and in any given year, the US has half of them. And the nature of wheelchair skills and position is such that, if I’m 10% faster than you, I can effectively keep you from moving.  If you keep that in mind, and realize that the US often has four or even five such speed mismatches on the floor at any given time, you can imagine how great the advantage is.  

So the US team hoards all this quickness and trains at 200 miles an hour, while the rest of the world lumbers along at a loss for how to simulate the American’s team speed in practice.  Now, if we were playing stand-up basketball, we would have more options.  We could find athletes with the requisite speed and physicality to get in our face, get in our way, and generally make themselves a nuisance.   Individually, if I were looking for someone to push me, I might not find Kobe Bryant hanging out at my local rec centre, but I might find some 5′10″ former high school jock with sharp elbows and a serious chip on his shoulder. But as it is, not only will I not run into Paul Schulte down at the YMCA, I won’t even run into a mini-Paul Schulte, or a just-as-strong-and-fast-but-can’t-hit-the-broad-side-of-a-barn Paul Schulte.  So I have to use my imagination, pretend he’s pestering me up and down the floor, and push accordingly.  For another 6 weeks.

Monday July 21  - R and R

Tuesday July 22- …and R

Wednesday July 23 – lifting – on court 90 min with Adam at V V (shooting, 1 on 1)

Thursday July 24 – on court 2 hrs with Joey at U of G (chair skills, shooting)

Friday July 25 – on court 2 hrs with Joey at U of G (shooting, 1 on 1)

Saturday July 26 – off

Sunday July 27 – lifting

Last week, in 100 words or less.

Monday July 14 – 2 hr morning session at the Roosevelt Institute – 2 hr afternoon session

Tuesday July 15 – 1 1/4 hr afternoon session – 1 1/4 evening session 

Wednesday July 16 – win vs GB -  loss vs USA

Thursday July 17 – win vs Sweden – win vs Japan

Friday July 18 – win vs Israel

Saturday July 19 – semi final win vs Israel -  loss vs USA (is there an echo in here?)

Sunday July 20 – flight home

I was back home in Fergus last week, battling the post-Jamaica blues and fighting off an oncoming cold (I lost that struggle decisively).  Trained mostly at the University of Guelph, for whose continued support I’m very grateful.

We’re in Warm Springs, Georgia this week, competing in the Joe Lyttle Tournament (formerly the Roosevelt Cup).  Half the field from Beijing is here including teams we haven’t played in several years – Israel, Sweden, and Japan.  I might be excited about that, if it weren’t for the lingering effects of this cold.  Symptoms include mild depression and recurring daydreams about life after basketball.  But such visions come and go regularly these days, and I try not to pay too much attention.  Invariably all it takes is one good practice and a couple of laughs with the guys, and it passes.  And then I enjoy myself immensely.  Until the next one comes.

Monday July 7 – flight home from Jamaica

Tuesday July 8 – wait for it…

Wednesday July 9 – lifting, cardio on UBE 30 min, on court 2 1/2 hrs with Adam and Abdi at Variety Village (volume shooting with the Gun, chair skills,  1 on 1)

Thursday July 10 – on court 2 hrs (shooting, free throw pyramids)

Friday July 11 – on court 2 hrs with Joey at U of G (shooting, chair skills, 1 on1)

Saturday July 12 – on court 1 hr with Joey at U of G (shooting)

Sunday July 13 – flight to Atlanta

Just got back from a week in Jamaica.  “No Problem!”, they like to say down there.  Of course, they don’t read my blog in Jamaica, and therefore couldn’t possibly know how much it has sucked lately.  But I know, and it’s a problem.  

First thing to do is to catch up on the training log.  After Alabama, I took a few days off to recover physically and reflect on the tournament.  Losing to the USA in the final was disappointing, as is any loss, but as I watched the tape, I saw a lot of things we can improve on.   We now have an opportunity to work on those things, and then test ourselves again next week in Georgia.  The USA is in the same position.  Even though they won, I’m sure they’re watching tape and looking for ways to play better.  I know I saw a few, though I hope they’ll understand if I keep them to myself for the time being. 

I’m always of two minds about these tune-up tournaments.  On the one hand, we can think of them strictly as guideposts on the way to our final destination, which is hopefully a gold medal in Beijing.  On the other hand, a win is a win right?  We won the Roosevelt Cup something like six times in a row.  When the Aussies ended that streak by beating us in ‘04, they broke out champagne and cigars.   As you can imagine, not a few people rolled their eyes, and wondered what the big deal was. It was a Paralympic year after all, and the big prize was still up for grabs.   I was one of those people.  But looking back, I have no problem with it.  For one thing, they played great and won a fantastic game that went down to the wire.  But also, I realize that they did us a favour.  I’m not talking about Athens, and how it gave us extra motivation.  I mean that it helped me appreciate our Roosevelt streak.  That accomplishment stands alone in my mind, apart from any other achievements, thanks in part to the slightly ridiculous sight (I had to say it) of the Aussies laughing and celebrating in a cloud of smoke. 

I think we need more ridiculous sights like this.  In fact, I’m calling out all countries.  I want to see one next week.  It’s just too bad the Aussies won’t be there.

Monday, June 23 – flight back to Vancouver

Tuesday June 24 – R and R

Wednesday June 25 – lifting – shooting with sprints 90 min

Thursday June 26 – shooting 2 hrs -  ball hockey 90 min

Friday June 27 – shooting and chair skills with Jaimie and Bear at UBC 2 hrs

Saturday June 28 – jazz festival and shopping

Sunday June 29 – flight to Toronto – lifting

Monday June 30- lifting – flight to Montego Bay

Tuesday July 1 – pool 6 hours – beach 1 hr

Wednesday July 2 – it’s hazy

Thursday July 3 – a wedding (not mine)

Friday July 4 – ??

Saturday July 5 – lying under a tree 30 min

Sunday July 6 – watching Wimbledon final 6 hrs

Another training camp and tune-up tournament, this time in the States.  Bo, Bear, Joey and I left Frankfurt Monday afternoon and arrived in Birmingham, Alabama Monday night.  Our bags and chairs struggled to keep up with our blistering pace however, and decided to stop for a breather in Chicago.   As a result, a few of us had to sit out the first practice on Tuesday.  Eventually our gear began to trickle in – a chair here, a guitar there – and by the afternoon session, we were back on court with the rest of the team.  I’d like to say that the extra rest sent us flying out of the gate, but to put it positively, the quality of our training improved as the week went on.  

Monday June 16 – travel

Tuesday June 17 – 3 hr cheerleading practice – 3 hr afternoon session

Wednesday June 18 – 3 hr morning session – 3 hr afternoon session

Thursday June 19 – 3 hr (early) morning session – 3 hr evening session

Friday June 20 – 73-60 win vs Australia – 61-47 win win vs Great Britain

Saturday June 21 – 62-50 win vs USA – ditto vs GB in semifinal

Sunday June 22 – 63-58 loss vs USA in final

Still in Giessen last week.  Just Bo, Bear, Joey and I were left, but we were able to link up with the Germans again for a few evening sessions.  Looked for ways to shake up chair skills (ie. speed/quickness training), to avoid monotony.  Played lots of shooting games to add pressure and variability.  Shot free throws with consequences ie. sprints.

Monday June 9 – shooting 2 hrs (chair skills)

Tuesday June 10 – lifting – shooting 2 hrs

Wednesday June 11 – shooting 2 hrs (chair skills) – evening practice with German national team members (scrimmage and shooting)

Thursday June 12 – light lift, stretching – shooting 1 hr

Friday June 13 – shooting 2 hrs – evening scrimmage vs German National team 90 min

Saturday June 14 – lifting

Sunday June 15 – lifting

Sitting at a cafe in Giessen with Bo, finishing a smoothie and watching soccer out of the corner of my eye. The European Championship is taking place this month in Austria and Switzerland.  Germany won their first game last night versus Poland, which was terribly exciting for everyone except the guy who scored both German goals.  He looked liked he’d just run over someone’s cat.  Turns out he was born in Poland, but moved to Germany as a kid.  I guess that would make for some mixed feelings.

Last week started with a day off Monday following the Osnabrueck tournament.  Everyone but Jaimie and Stouty were here in Giessen/Wetzlar for the week for an unofficial players only training camp.  This is what went down…

Monday June 2 – day off, dinner at a local castle

Tuesday June 3 – 2 hr practice (chair skills, scrimmage, shooting) – lifting –  Licher brewery tour

Wednesday June 4 – 2 hr practice (free throw pyramids, shooting) – 2 hr evening scrimmage

Thursday June 5 – 2 hr shooting – lifting – 2 hr evening scrimmage

Friday June 6 – 2 hr practice (shooting, Deng’s chair skills dice game) – evening friendly game vs German national team

Saturday June 7 – most guys back to Canada – 90 min scrimmage vs German National team and shooting

Sunday June 8 – day off

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