DAY 13, July 16th, 2011 and final thoughts

We finally put together 4 quarters of very solid football as we beat France 21-17 for 5th place in the Tournament. It was definitely the most fun game we have had. What a difference a couple extra days make. Not only could we get healthy (all but 2 players played), but the extra time to game plan was put to excellent use. We, as coaches, were definitely the most prepared for France than any other team. We had their tendencies down and put together and excellent game plan on BOTH sides of the ball. The extra time and effort we put into Special Teams also paid off really well for us.

I was more than a little concerned when going through our pre-game routine. We did not look good at all, and worst of all it looked like we didn’t even WANT to be there. Thank goodness that changed when the game got under way, though we were still a little asleep in the first quarter. However, I was very impressed how we matched both French TD’s with Touchdown scoring drives of our own. That is how to respond!

I am not sure what goes into the selection process of the All-Tournament Team, but I do know we had at least 2 or 3 deserving players. I generally don’t like pointing out individual performances but the play of WR, Niklas Roemer and DE, Robert Zernicke throughout the tournament deserve to be mentioned. Among quite a few individual efforts throughout the tournament, theirs stand out clearly in my mind. How they did not make the All-Tournament Team is still a HUGE mystery to me.

It was great also fun to see the Boys let loose after the game and have some fun. Anyone that knows me knows that having fun is a big priority with me. For some, maybe they had a little too much fun, but what the heck…….they did manage to stay out of jail. At the after game party, who was the first team to take over the stage?.....that’s right, TEAM GERMANY!

They represented like kings. Just a bunch a guys having some good clean fun.  Looking back, I wish we would have implemented more fun into what we were doing as a team. Unfortunately, we were working with limited preparation time and the team fun factor fell down on the priority list. Since our game I have been asked often if I was pleased with our results. My answers were always the same: ‘Pleased with today? Absolutely’…..’Pleased with our overall results? Absolutely not’….. I believe this team had the talent to, at absolute minimum, play for Bronze.

When I go into any competitive situation I go in it to win it. There is no other way to compete. There has been more than a little discussion about our tournament preparation and I would rather not get into all that. Those are things out of my control and sometimes……it just is what it is. My only hope is that the powers to be realize what could have been and are motivated and driven to take the national team program where it belongs……into the TOP 3 on the planet, instead of being satisfied with the status quo. Just being the best European team should no longer be the
goal. It’s now time to go after the world!