Countdown Beijing - Settling into the Village

We are beginning to get into a routine in the Village.  It has actually been great being over here so early.  We are learning the ropes on how everything works. 

Here are a few of the things that we have learned so far - transportation - if you are one minute late the bus will leave without you.  The driver waits until the clock in his bus strikes the designated time and then he drives off.  No stopping him.  It has definitely been better to learn this now rather than later. 

Cafeteria -so far the Mediterranean food has been the best.  There are different sections set up in the cafeteria with different types of food.  There are Asian, Mediterranean, and International stations.  There is also a McDonalds set up in the Village dining hall. The oatmeal is excellent in the mornings. There is lots of good pasta also.  Probably the most important thing that I have learned about the cafeteria is that the Dove Bars go fast and they only have them at a few of the dessert stations.  We figured that one out real fast.

The Village is set up like a city.  It has been landscaped beautifully.  I really don't recognize it from when I came over in March.  It is really nice.  However, it is a long walk to almost everywhere. We are all getting some good exercise just going back and forth to the dining hall and transportation and our apartment.

BNU (Beijing Normal University) is where the USOC has set up our high performance training center.  We are training there most of the time.  It is about a 15 minute ride from the Village to BNU.  We have been training there in the morning and then getting lunch there before we head back to the village.  The food at BNU is awesome. It is certainly much easier to feed a hundred athletes than it is to feed thousands.  They say the Olympic Village will serve 30,000 meals a day. It has been a nice break to have a quiet meal at BNU once or twice a day.  The longer we are here I am sure that the guys will appreciate the break from the village food more and more.

We trained last night in our competition pool.  It was the first time that the guys have seen the pool (other then pictures) so they were very excited and most of them had their cameras out.  I focused in on the podium at the scoreboard end of the pool.  It was already set up so I took the attached picture of it and will post this on each of the guy's rooms tomorrow.  I am hoping that this will help them visualize standing on the podium in a few weeks.

We had a short team meeting last night and I reminded the guys about staying calm and yet confident and not getting caught up in all the excitement.  I also left them with these words from a Joni Mitchell song "you don't know what you have till it's gone" and told them to enjoy the moments here.  One week until opening ceremonies!

See you at the pool!

Coach

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PS Check my blog on YourNews for a picture of the Podium where our team plans to take a position to receive their medal. Wayne Bean

Countdown Beijing - In Route

We woke up this morning to some interesting news. The Beijing Organizing committee (BOCOG) sent out a statement that said that no Olympians will be allowed to stay at Beijing Normal University (BNU).  It was a little unnerving to wake up to this news especially since we were to get on our plane to Beijing in a few hours and BNU is where we were set to stay for the first week of the trip before we can move into the Olympic Village. We are also suppose to be training at BNU prior to the beginning of the Games.  

This whole thing was a bit stressful to say the least.  Here were our options: 1. Don't get on the flight and stay home for another week for training.  2. Get on the plane and hope that we can get into the Olympic Village right away.  April Heinricks (our main contact with the USOC) called from Beijing and assured me that they would get us into the Village early and work hard with us to make sure we had a place to train.  We chose to get on the bus and head for the airport. 

From this point on the day has become better and better.  We arrived at the airport and found out that Kinetics (a company that I was introduced to in New York on our way back from Europe in June) had launched an advertising campaign to help "make us famous".  There we were on a big digital billboard right next to Tiger Woods in the airport.  It was pretty cool to see. This particular one was a picture of Jesse Smith up high in the water shooting a ball.  The caption read "The most intense sport in the Olympics and you only see half of it.  Watch the USA Men's Water Polo team in Beijing". The guys all gathered around the billboard and we took some pictures.   We were then ushered over to the red carpet room at United and treated as if we were some special.

As we boarded the plane a few of the guys met the captain. It turned out his daughter is a water polo player.  One conversation led to another and the captain invited our whole team to sit up in business class for the trip. Obviously, this made the team very happy.  There is nothing like a big sleeper seat for a 12 hour flight.  Usually, we are packed in coach and by the time you get off the flight you feel like you have been beat up.  Beijing here we come!

2:30 pm  -  we arrived safely in Beijing - one more step closer to blast off.

See you at the pool!

Coach

Countdown Beijing - The Launching Pad

Yesterday we arrived in San Jose and went through processing with the Olympic Committee.  As we were heading to outfitting we ran into the USA Basketball team.  Kobe Bryant actually came up to us and said hello and wished us good luck.  It was pretty cool for the guys. All the USA teams will come through San Jose for their processing on their way to Beijing.

Outfitting is quite a scene.  The first thing that you do is to get a shopping cart and then give you a clipboard that has all of your sizes on it.  Then you go station to station and pick up your goods.  You try on everything to make sure you are getting the correct size.  Our guys are not shy so before you know it they are all prancing around in their underwear going station to station and picking up their gear. I have some great pictures that I will share at a later time. The guys get a ton of stuff - really too much to use while you are at the games.  Ralph Lauren and Nike were the big sponsors and then we get some gear from Speedo too.  It was like Christmas!

The reality of going back to the Olympic Games has definitely set in.  It has been 16 years since I participating in the Games. I am very excited and all of the guys are feeling the excitement too.  Ryan Bailey one of our three time Olympians told me that when he woke up yesterday he felt some butterflies for the first time.  We are close.  It is a little like we are sitting on the launching pad and getting ready for take off.  The countdown is very apparent now.  "Liftoff" is less then two weeks away.

One of the biggest keys now is keeping everyone calm and confident at the same time.  We don't want to be wasting a great deal of energy on nerves at this stage. We need to keep our cool so that we can be totally ready when we hit the pool for our first game against China on August 10^th.  We trained once yesterday and will be in the water twice today before we leave tomorrow.

See you at the pool!

Coach

USA Water Polo Television Coverage at the 2008 Olympic Games

(subject to change)

Live Broadband Coverage on NBC Olympics.com everyday

All Times are Eastern

Sunday August 10

Men's Water Polo - USA vs. China - 10am to 6pm on NBC and NBC HD

Tuesday August 12

Men's Water Polo - USA vs. Italy - 10:00am to 1:00pm on NBC and NBC HD

Saturday August 16

Men's Water Polo - USA vs. Croatia - 10:00am to 6:00pm on NBC and NBC HD

Monday August 18

Men's Water Polo - USA vs. Germany (Live) - 2:00am to noon on USA and USA HD

Wednesday August 20

Men's Water Polo TBA - 2:00am to noon on USA and USA HD

Friday August 22

Men's Water Polo Semifinal (Live) - 2:00am to noon on USA and USA HD

Sunday August 24

Men's Water Polo Gold Medal Match - noon to 4:00pm on NBC and NBC HD

Men's Water Polo Bronze Medal Match - 5:00am to 11:00am on USA and USA HD

Countdown Beijing - Time to go!

Wow - unbelievable!  I can't believe that we get on a flight today and head out of town for one month.  Looking behind us it is amazing to think about how fast 7 months of full time training have gone.  It has been an incredible journey so far. I can also look at it from another perspective and say that in less than one month (August 24^th) we will be playing for a gold medal. 

Audley Harrison came and talked with our team this past week.  He was awesome.  Audley is a local resident who won a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in the Super heavyweight division in boxing.  He was representing Great Briton at the time.  He talked to the guys about visualizing winning.  He said that when he arrived in Sydney he had already won the gold medal hundreds of time in his mind so he was totally prepared for the experience.  He had us all close our eyes and than he played our national anthem as he talked to us about what it felt like to stand up on the victory podium.   It was a great visualization and I believe the team really benefited from it.

I feel that same sense of anticipation I had a few weeks before the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (my first as a player).  Now as I prepare for my first as an Olympic coach I can honestly say that I am ready.  There is one person who I really wish were around to reassure me and tell me that everything is going to be alright.  That is my Dad.  He would always tell me that no matter what happened at the Olympics he was proud of me and that he would love me just as much when I returned.  Those words were always so calming to me.  

Dad passed away over two years ago and I have certainly gone through phases where I missed him more than other times.  This week has been one of the worst.  I am sure it is because I know how much my dad would have loved to see this all happening.  He was always my biggest fan and kind of a "rock of strength" in my life.  I know he is watching me from up in heaven but I sure do miss picking up the phone and just hearing his reassuring voice telling me that he is proud of me.  He taught me so much and I am thankful for all of his love and support through the years.  They have helped to get me to this point. I can still feel his presence in my life.

Perhaps those are the words that I need to tell the team today.  I am proud of them.  They have come a long way as a team and I will love them no matter what happens in Beijing.  Although, I am quite confident that something special is going to happen with this team.  Anyway, we are off to the airport. We will spend two days in San Jose (getting our credentials and outfitting) before we leave for Beijing on Monday morning. 

See you at the pool.

Coach

This will be my last submission about the teams involvement in Canejo Valley. I will continue to post any news I get from Beijing prior to my arrival in Beijing on August 18th. The Team's last scrimmage at CLU yesterday was another resounding success with great community representation. The players accommodated everyone who asked for pictures with the players and autographs. Today they are packing for the trip and saying goodbye to their host families. Tomorrow fly to San Jose and on Monday Beijing bound

Ryan Bailey an Olympic veteran who plays professionally in Europe wanted to share a picture of his wonderful host family Scott and Suzanne Birdsall and their Eric and Siena.  The attached picture was a gift to Ryan as he was leaving.  The support of all the host families has been great and they have been a valuable member of our team.  Thanks and see you in Beijing.

Well things are going to start slowing down after tomorrow (Thursday). The Olympic team holds their final practice in the morning and final scrimmage tomorrow evening from 7pm-8pm at CLU. It's your last chance to see the team before the leave the County on Saturday morning for San Jose and leave the Country on Monday from San Francisco to Beijing.

I understand the good folks at CLU who graciously hosted Team USA all year are planning to feed the troops after practice tomorrow morning. Nice touch Tom Dodd, Director of Aquatics and Dan Kuntz Athletic Director!

I hope to see as many of you as possible at tomorrow night's scrimmage 7pm-8pm. You probably will not get a chance to see an Olympic Team in Conejo Valley for another 4 years. Let's send the tam off in style!!

Thank you all for following the USA Olympic water polo. I hope I have provided you with information that you were able to use. As the team winds down its practices in Conejo Valley I would like to update the practice schedule that has been posted.

Tuesday 7/22

5:45pm-8pm  (Scrimmage 7pm-8pm) at CLU

Wednesday 7/23

7pm-10pm  (Scrimmage 8pm-9:30pm) at Oaks Christian HS

Thursday 7/24  (FINAL PRACTICE)

5:45pm-8pm (Scrimmage 7pm-8pm) at CLU 

Coach Schroeder told me Fri 7/25 practice was optional since many of the players will be moving out of their host family homes in preparation for flying to San Jose on Saturday 7/26.

Stay tuned for some inside information on how the host families went "above and beyond".

Thank you for your support.

I have had requests to post the scrimmage times again. Keep in mind the team usually jumps into the water to warm up an hour prior to the actual scrimmage time posted below.

Monday July 21st Oaks Christian HS 8:30pm-9:30pm

Tuesday July 22nd CLU 7pm-8pm

Wednesday July 23rd Oaks Christian 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 24th 7pm-8pm CLU

Friday July 25th CLU 11:30am-12:30pm

Below please find the rooster and game times which is subject to change. Coach Terry Schroeder will be posting the NBC Olympic water polo tevevision schedule within the next couple of days--stay tuned.

TEAM USA - MEN
World Ranking - #9

"GO FOR THE GOLD"

Countdown Beijing - 7 days

Saturday we had an Olympic Send Off for our team.  When it came time to say a few words all I could think about was how important the supporting family and friends is to each one of our athletes.  Each of us (coaches included) need to have understanding and supporting wives or girlfriends (whatever the case may be), family and friends.  Without these people in our lives we would struggle to do what we do.  There are not many that fully understand what an Olympic athletes goes through to make his/her dream come true.  Most of our family and friends do.  They see the sacrifices that are made to make the dream come true.  We have just completed our second week of hard training at home.   We are spending 6-7 hours a day (weight room and pool) and going 6 days a week.   At this point the guys are practicing, eating and sleeping.  There is not much time for anything else.

I guess as an athlete or a coach.  We don't really look at it from the view point of what I am giving up.  What are the sacrifices?  Perhaps they are not really sacrifices.  We tend to look at it as an opportunity to make our dream come true.  Very few people ever live out their dreams. We are living out our dreams and we are able to do that because we have people around us who have helped us to believe and achieve our dreams.  All I can say is thank you to my family and friends (especially my wife and daughters). Coaching the Olympic team has been a lifetime goal since I stopped playing. I am living my dream.

Our move out to the Conejo Valley has really worked out for the team.  The community has really embraced us and supported us in our training.  So many people have stepped up and helped us. We now have 50 - 60 people coming out to watch everyone of our practices.  The bottom line is that we feel that support and all of it has helped us to get to the point where we now believe that we can beat anyone in the world. 

Thank you all for your support. It is getting exciting.  I even began to pack my bags this weekend.  

See you at the pool!

Coach

Beijing or Bust"

My wife Lynne and I had the privilege of being invited to a "family and friends send off" gathering at Coach Terry Schroeder's house yesterday. The Coach and Team Captain Tony Azevedo each gave a short speech about the team coming together and working as a unit. Terry and Tony commented about this team being one of the closest teams, in terms of camaraderie and team spirit, that either one has been part of for many years. Terry specifically praised the community for their support during the last seven months, while the team trained in Conejo Valley. This was the first year that the team has trained outside  Orange County, a move which Coach Schroeder say's was by far the greatest contributing factor to the team work currently being displayed. 

The team leaves on Saturday (7/26) for San Jose where they will be outfitted for their team uniforms and properly processed. On Monday July 28th they are off to Beijing, China. On a personal note, it has been a thrill for me to be able to watch this exceptional group of athletes train, and to get to know them and the coaches as well as I have.  I will miss seeing them daily.

I have been so involved with the team that Lynne and I have decided to travel to Beijing and take our chances on getting game tickets for our first visit to China.

I will continue to post any USA water polo information as I can, when I can. 

Thanks to all who were able to attend last nights practice. I do not have an accurate count but I estimate there was close to 70 people in attendance. Coach Schroeder and the players really appreciate your support. The players are working hard as they wind down and get ready for Beijing. There is still time to catch a few scrimmages.

Wednesday July 16th Oaks Christian HS 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 17th CLU 7pm-8pm

Friday July 18th Oaks Christian HS 8pm-9:30pm

Saturday July 19th Oaks Christian HS 11am-12noon

Monday July 21st Oaks Christian HS 8:30pm-9:30pm

Tuesday July 22nd CLU 7pm-8pm

Wednesday July 23rd Oaks Christian 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 24th 7pm-8pm CLU

Friday July 25th CLU 11:30am-12:30pm

Ventura County's finest Fire Fighters and Paramedic took time out to visit the practice last night in between emergency calls. One of the brave fellows center just returned from 15 days of fighting the fires raging through California.

Countdown Beijing - July 15^th

We have been back home now for just over a week.  The team is working very hard.  We are trying to take advantage of the fact that we do not have any games in the next month.  So we have really been pushing the workouts.  Here is what our schedule looks like right now.  We will work hard through these next three weeks and then ease back a little when we arrive in Beijing. 

M - F - Weights 8:30 - 10 am

              Pool   - 10:15 - 12:45 pm

              Pool  - 7 - 9:45 or 6 - 8 pm depending on the night

Saturday  - 9 - 12 noon

As you can see it is a very busy schedule.  We have left some times in their so the guys can eat and sleep.  They are all very focused on what we are trying to do.  The goal is to arrive in Beijing in better shape than any other team.

The mood has changed at practice.  Everyone knows how close the Olympics are now.  All the guys are working extremely hard and the focus is great.  We all believe that we can beat anyone out there.  My job is to try to help these guys stay calm and focused while keeping workouts competitive and fun.  We are close - so close.   Here is a quote a read to the guys the other night.

"Many of us spend our lives searching for success when it is usually so close you can reach out and touch it."   Russell Conwell  (writer/minister)

I told them that I did not want them to just touch it - I want them to reach out and grab it! 

See you at the pool!

Coach

Check out the video for an up close and personal view of water polo

http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=26
88445

All of the hard work training and sacrificing everything in their lives the USA Olympic Water Polo team is drawing closer to their mission of participating in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The team is in their final 2 weeks of training at CLU and Oaks Christian high school. The fly to San Jose for Team Processing and Outfitting on Saturday July 26th. Bright and early on Monday, July 28th they head to Beijing. They will have about 10 days in Beijing to get acclimated and have practice games against other countries before their first match against China on August 10th.

The team would still like to see spectators at practices before they leave. Contact me if you are interested in attending any practice session for times. They are free to the public.

Countdown Beijing - One Month to Go

A few nights ago we celebrated the 4^th of July.  I have never been more proud to represent our country.  I am not sure why.  Maybe it is just being a little older and having lived longer in our great nation. Perhaps it has been coaching the team and wearing USA gear all the time.  Whatever it is I am proud of the red, white and blue and while we have our share of problems, there is not a better place to live in the world.

As the fireworks exploded and sparkled in the air my eyes filled with tears and I had goose bumps all over my body.  I am so proud to be an American and I am looking forward to representing our country next month at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

I believe that our team will be one that America will be proud of too.  This is a team that believes in each other.  That belief system is getting stronger everyday.  It has been fun to be a part of this journey.  I have watched these guys go from a very fragmented group when I took over one year ago to a team that now trusts and respects each other.  The whole idea of team - this is why I played the game and this is why I coach the game.  There is no greater feeling in sports than to be a part of a group that shares a common goal and comes together to work for that goal.

Just last week in Colorado Springs our sports psychologist asked our team to come up with words that described themselves back in December of last year when we had our first training camp.  They chose words like frustrated and flustered. Then he asked them to pick a word that describes the team now.  They picked energized and confident. We have definitely transformed into a united team.  The chemistry is building and in my opinion it will continue to grow from here.  We have momentum and this is a team that will become closer and stronger.. 

I am looking forward to seeing how far we can go.  We may not win the gold -that is a reality- but I feel really good about our chances to surprise a lot of teams. Go USA!

See you at the pool!

Coach

The Olympic team is back in the water at CLU and Oaks Christian HS. They left for Europe on June 13th to play in World League play which by the way they finished 2nd winning a Silver medal. They returned from Europe on Saturday June 28th for the final Olympic team selection on Monday June 30th. Immediately after the team announcement they flew to Colorado Springs for a week of team building returning to LA on Saturday July 5th from their final trip before heading over to China.

The team needs your support! You can show your support by attending one or more of their practices (free). Here are the practice times.

Wed July 8th Oaks Christian HS 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 10th CLU 7pm-8pm

Friday July 11th Oaks Christian HS  8pm-9:30pm

Saturday July 12th Oaks Christian HS 11am-12noon

Tuesday July 15th CLU 7pm-8pm

Wednesday July 16th Oaks Christian HS 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 17th CLU 7pm-8pm

Friday July 18th Oaks Christian HS 8pm-9:30pm

Saturday July 19th Oaks Christian HS 11am-12noon

Monday July 21st Oaks Christian HS 8:30pm-9:30pm

Tuesday July 22nd CLU 7pm-8pm

Wednesday July 23rd Oaks Christian 8pm-9:30pm

Thursday July 24th 7pm-8pm CLU

Friday July 25th CLU 11:30am-12:30pm

Saturday July 26th start the journey towards Beijing and a finish on the podium.

First game at the Olympics is against the home country China on August 10th.

Please show up and support our Olympians.

Thank you

Countdown Beijing  - 35 days to go

Last Wednesday was one of the toughest nights I have experienced as the Olympic Team coach.  After we played the Hungarians to a close 7 - 6 loss, I had to go back to the hotel and make our final two cuts.  It was very difficult.  All of these guys have put so much time into the program.  They have all sacrificed a great deal to make it this far.  In most all athletic competitions there is very little that separates the winners from second place.  In a similar way, there is very little that separates the players that made the final team and the two alternates. In was a painful process for me.  I met with the two players and told them why I had made my choices. Both were near tears and I could see there pain.  I know that this can be a life changing event.  I sincerely hope that for both of these players that have been cut (John Mann and Brian Alexander) that it changes their lives in a positive way.  I know that may be hard to understand but honestly for me (in my life) some of my biggest defeats and disappointments have done more to change my life in a positive way then any of my successes.  Regardless, I had to get outside and take a walk.  I spent about an hour on my own just walking and thinking. My heart hurt but I knew that even though it was very difficult  - I made the right decision.

On Monday morning, we held a press conference at the Los Angeles Athletic Club to formally announce our team.  It was a nice event and there was a good amount of press in attendance.  Immediately after the press conference, we left for the airport for 5 days of training and team building at the USA Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.  We trained for a day and then went up to the mountains (Lake George area) to spend some good quality time together.  We spent about 5 hours on Tuesday doing a ropes course and listening to Dr. Guy Reikeman talk to us about leadership, our belief system and becoming a closer team.  All of us, picked up a good deal of information. That evening we built a nice fire and spent about 2 hours discussing things that we have learned about ourselves and our team over the past six months. One of the most important questions that I brought up was "Do we really believe that we can win the Gold Medal?" Most of the guys spoke up and once again I could sense that we had come to a new level.  Sure there are doubts -that is a normal - but these guys now believe that we can win.  They all recommitted to do everything possible to give us the best chance to win in Beijing.  No one wants to get to the Olympic Games and have any regrets!

We spent the night at the ranch where we actually slept in authentic Indian teepees.  None of us are used to sleeping out in the woods so I think that we all slept a little rough. Never the less, it was pretty cool.  The following morning we drove to a town called Buena Vista where we went white water rafting.  The guys all enjoyed it and I think that it was a very good team building activity. 

It is time to get back to work and focus on preparing these guys so that they are ready. We have 19 more days of practice (counting today) before we leave for Beijing.  It is a little nerve racking that we have so little time left.  However, I am confident that we are coming together at the right time.  We have to work on some tactics and improve in certain areas of the game but there is no reason that we can not win a Gold Medal.  Our collective belief is stronger now that it has ever been!

See you at the pool!

Coach

After a week of team building in Colorado Springs our recently named USA Men's Olympic Water Polo team returns to the Southern California tomorrow afternoon. They will be back in the pool at CLU and Oaks Christian on Monday July 7th for their final 2 weeks of intensive training before departing for Beijing and the Olympic Games.

More to come on training times. I encourage everyone to attend a practice session and cheer our chaps on besides that you will witness what a "true" Olympic athlete looks like in person.

Wayne Bean  

I would be remiss if I did not give the Star credit for their excellent coverage of the USA Water Polo team. Now that the team for Beijing has been selected all that remains is intensive and focused training before leaving for Beijing on July 28th. According to Coach Terry Schroeder "this is the best team we have put in the water" Wouldn't you know it but the first test for USA in Beijing is against China on August 8th. I'm sure the home country will have a good contingent of fans routing against USA. NO PROBLEM, our folks are ready!!!

I know we can count on the Star's continued coverage throughout the Olympics up to and including the Medal Ceremony where USA plans to pick up some hardware.

More to come.

Wayne Bean

Now that Coach Schroeder has named his team who will represent the United States in the Beijing Olympics it back to business of focusing on training. Don't get me wrong these chaps train hard and often. Having dabbled in sports at a high level trying to "make the team" can take its toll. With that detail behind the Men's Olympic team I expect I'll vitness a new determination and commitment from the blokes when they return to CLU next Monday 7/7 and pick-up their training routine.

These guys have a great work ethic and a good attitude. Besides that they are a very friendly group, including the Coaches.

I'm sure Coach Schroeder would love to see you show up at training next week as they continue their quest "to get back on the medal stand" Stay tuned for the training schedule.

Wayne Bean