Game Day

So its Sunday the 2nd of November, yes November is here upon us already!!!  There is only 2 months left of 2008, crazy to think how fast 08 has rolled by :)

Anyway 2day is game day here in Italy, and we have our 4th Italian game of the season.  We are currently 2-1 in league play and 1-1 in EuroCup play.  Today we play the other team from Sicily, Priolo and it is going to be a pretty tough game.  They are coming of a really good win last week, and well we lost a game that we shouldn't have lost last Sunday.  Since then though we have bounced back and we had a good win against a team from Portugal on Thursday night in our EuroCup game.  So it should be a real good game today and hopefully we can come out on top with a win :)  No Doubt the gym will be packed with screaming fans, from both sides I'm sure, but hopefully more of our fans than theirs!!!  Gotta get that home court advantage :)

Not much else has been happening, I've been kept pretty busy with games, practice, treatment and down time!!  I've been keeping an eye on college stuff, well Tulsa news!!  Our football team is having a great year so far and have even broken into the top 25!!!  Go TU Football!!  Also our men's basketball team is being predicted to have a big season too.  And I know that the women's team is going to be pretty competitive this year too, even though I may not be round TU I'm still keeping an eye and ear on everything going on!!!  Good luck to the Women's team for the season, go get em Coach CT  :)

Alrighty well must be off, time to get ready for our shoot around, GAME DAY!!!!!

Pics of Rome

The Colosseum!!

We even found a gladiator there!!

Just a few pics from my few days in Rome :)

Update Update Update

Well it has been forever since I last wrote on this, what can I say, I've been super busy, and time seems to have flown by so fast this past month.  I mean we are half way through October already and Christmas will be here before we know it....crazyness.

So to update everyone on where I am, I'm not in Cardiff Wales anymore with the national team, thats done until january.  I am now currently in Sicily, Italy and loving it I might add.  I'm in a little town called Ribera, which is about 1 and a half hours out of Palermo.  This will be my home til april/may next year and so far everything has been pretty good.  The team have been really good so far, I was able to go back home to Melbourne for a few days after national team duties, and get a few days of rest and then back to it all.

So far we've played two Euro cup games, which we won, and that got us into the European competition.  So we'll play two games a week now, one for the European competition, and one for the Italian league.  We also played our first game for the Italian league, which was in Rome.  We were expected to lose and sure enough we pulled off an upset, which put us all in great moods.  Instead of flying straight back to Ribera a few of us chose to stay for two extra nights.  We got to see some amazing sights in Rome and it was well worth all of the walking we did!!!! I will give a more detailed update at a later date, and maybe a few pics too  :)

Alrighty well its time to take off again, but I will update again hopefully very very soon :)  

Oh and a few pics

And here a few pics from the ropes day  :)

Where to start????

Well its been pretty much a week since my last post and where do I begin???.......  I guess we'll start with the game against Ukraine.  For those who don't know we lost our first Eurobasekt qualifier game 59-54.  It was quite a disappointing result for us, as I believe that we are the better team, but we just didn't perform to our best that night.  The gym that we played in was packed, it was a pretty awesome atmosphere having a gym full of screaming fans, however it would have been much better if they were screaming for us!!  :)  (So note to all our fans, our first home game is on Wednesday night at the Welsh Institute of Sport at 7:30pm, hope to see our stands packed too!!!)  Our first half of the game was not pretty, and we struggled to get points on the board.  We went into the locker room 18pts down and feeling a bit deflated.  

But we came out in the second half and turned things around, we knew that we were doing a fairly decent job on the defensive end, but we just needed to find a way to put the ball through the hole!!  With two minutes left we were 5pts down after clawing our way back into the game, but we were unable to get any closer than that.  Everyone was frustrated and disappointed with the loss, we know that we can be a good team, and that we CAN compete with these teams, we just have to come out and put a whole game together.

So we've know got Lithuania coming up on Wednesday night and we've been practicing hard trying to correct all the "little things" that will hopefully help us to get a W on the board.  Lithuania is going to be a very tough game, they could be one of the toughest teams in our pool, so no one is taking them lightly.  We are preparing for them as we do every team, so it will should be a very competitive game.  Wednesday night, Tip-off is at 7:30pm!!!!! 

Other news, congrats to all the Breakers girls winning their first grand final game!!!  Awesome news, I knew you guys could do it, 1-0 baby!!  Now lets just finish of this series this weekend and take the title in 2 games, no need for 3 :)  Go out there and play hard and know that this is your win.  Take it from them on their own home court!!!  Best of luck to you all, and I will be eagerly awaiting the results.  Good Luck Breakers  :)

Also a belated happy birthday to both my brothers!!  James was on the 14th and Andrew was on the 15th, I cant believe how old you guys are getting now.  Your just growing up so quick.  I'm sorry i missed another one of your birthdays, but I was thinking about you both and I did text and call!!! 

Alrighty well its going on 10pm here and I'm extremely tired so I'm cutting it short and calling it a night.  Be good and stay safe  :)

Getting closer now...

Well we have our first big game coming up and we've been on court starting to prepare for our first Eurobasket game.  We got back to our home base the Celtic Manor on Thursday night, and we spent Friday recovering from a very long week.  Some players took the opportunity to take off and visit family for the day, while others stayed at the hotel and enjoyed a nice relaxing day, with a massage thrown in there too!!!  I might throw in there, that my roomie, Harriet, and I watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics.  It gave us a real giddy and nervous feeling to think that in four years, hopefully that will be us!!!  :)

Saturday we hit the court, back to our normal schedule of practice and started making a few adjustments for our upcoming game against the Ukraine.  Speaking of the Ukraine, this will be my first time going there, so i get to add another country to my list of countries I've travelled too!!  We'll be heading out early Tuesday morning, so the blog might be a bit outdated for a few days until I get back.  It all just depends on whether we get Internet access over there.

Oh yeh and a big shout out to all the Mornington Breakers Big V girls back home.  Big congrats on handling Darebin in the semi's.  Now its time to take care of business and finish the season off on the right note.  Don't go in under estimating Melton, expect to have a fight on your hands, but don't let that scare you.  You guys are the better team, and I'm expecting game reports consisting of W's!!!!!  So good luck to you all, play hard and enjoy the moment :)

Ok well I'm off to nap, so until next time, stay safe, be good and keep on smiling  :)

1-1

So a quick update before we head off to the airport for our day of travel back to the Celtic Manor.  Our games against Croatia are over, we split with them.  Tuesday night we, lost 81-69, in what I must say was not one of our better performances.  But we reviewed the game and came out on Wednesday night trying to make all the little adjustments that we had talked about.  When the final buzzer rang, we came out on top, 72-62!!  

Overall these games don't mean a whole lot as they are friendlies and more practice for each team.  However, last year when we came to Croatia, we lost both games.  So to have split our trip with them, I believe that it shows the GB Women's program is moving in the right direction.  Obviously we still have a lot of work to do, and by no means is anyone satisfied, because WE CAN be so much better.  So congrats to the team on a very good win and here's to hard work and moving forward!!!   :) 

 

Stuck, Stuck, Stuck

Yes that's right we got stuck in an elevator!!!  9 of us, Sarah, Meagan, Stef, Chan, Lisa, Jo, Georgie, Roz and myself all stuck in this tiny elevator for just under 30 minutes.  It was def the first time in my life that I have been stuck in a lift, and yes we may have had a few TOO many people in it, But really those people and weight limits are only there to scare people lol !!!!  The weight limit for our tiny little lift was 630kg, and I guess we miss calculated......oops.  

But all is well now, after a bit of an intense and giggle filled HOT and SWEATY 30 odd minutes, the men that "look like elevator guys (Julie Page quote)" managed to get us all out, much to all our relief!!  A HUGE BIG thank you to them, and also to Julie for actually raising the alarm that we were stuck in the lift!!!

We have Internet!!

We have Internet!! Yay!!  So a quick re-cap over the last few days.....

We left our lovely home at the Celtic Manor on Thursday morning, bright and early at 7am after eating a quick breakfast at 6:45am.  We bussed out to Heathrow airport where we caught a British Airways flight to the Amsterdam, Schipnol.  It was great to see some sunshine and feel warm weather.  As most of you know all I ever do is go from winter to winter (from one basketball season to the next), so to spend a day in the sun was awesome!!!  We had a full day of practice on Friday, one session in the morning then another session in the afternoon.  It was good to get some sessions in after a day of travel, the coaches filmed our sessions and were able to really pin point some specific area's that we need to improve on, and other area's where we are all really working well together.

Before we knew it, game day was here, and we were all pretty excited to get on the court and play.  We were playing the Netherlands, which was the team that we played and beat last year in our promo games.  We knew we were going to be in for some good quality play and that's what happened.  We won our first game and got some good things out of it, and we were able to really go into our second game the following day, trying really hard to key in on certain points.  Both games were really good preparation for us, and I believe that they have increased our level of play, and increased our intensity for our tough games that we have coming up against Croatia. 

So right now its Monday night and we are here in Croatia.  We got in at roughly around 5pm, had to be back downstairs ready to go to practice at 5:20pm, and we then had a good work out from 6pm-7pm.  We have our first game against Croatia tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to getting out there and playing hard against them.  It will be a true measure to see how we are in terms of our preparation for our main focus, our European games that are coming up very quickly. 

Also it is great to have Internet access again!!!!  We didn't have a connection in Almere where we stayed.  So it is great to get my email fix and to be able to, of course update my blog!!!  :)

Thank you to everyone who has commented so far  :)  Sarah it was awesome to hear from you, I will send you an email when I get more of a chance!!  

OK lots of luv to everyone, be good, stay safe and I will post again soon  :)

On the Road...

So I just thought that I would let everyone know that we are about to venture on our first road-trip.  Tomorrow we are heading out to Holland where we will play two games against the Netherlands.  From there we will head on to Croatia where we will play another two games against Croatia's national team.  So we shall be on the road for around 8 days and I'm not sure how often I will be able to update the blog.  Hopefully we will have an Internet connection in our hotels, and then that way I'll be able to keep you posted, otherwise it will just have to wait until I get back!!!

Our goals for the trip are to obviously keep working hard and getting better every time we step on the floor.  Its going to be our first time on the road traveling together as a team this year, so it will be good for everyone to experience the traveling side of things and the whole away game process, before we get to the real important games coming up in August and September.  So fingers crossed everything goes well  :)

On a little side note, I forgot to mention that On Monday I got to go and meet with our major team sponsor Adidas.  The meeting was all about what products/kit we are going to be supplied with for our 2009 campaign.  For me it was an awesome experience!!!  It was great to see what goes on behind the scenes in getting a team prepared for an upcoming camp/tournament.  The meeting was a very positive one and there was a lot discussed, and I believe that the Great Britain women's team is going to have a great looking kit for the 2009 campaign!!!!  (well maybe I'm a little biased!!)

So here's to hoping that the next time I can blog will be in a few days and hopefully with a good game report :) 

First Week Down!!!

So its Tuesday night over here in Cardiff and we are well and truly into camp mode!!  Its been a pretty hectic first week of camp and so much has been going on.  Since the last time I blogged, we as a team had a big team building a day at a high ropes course.  We have played two games against Norway, and we are now getting ready to take off to Holland and then onto Croatia for some friendly/practice matches against some good quality opponents.

So to take it back a bit, Thursday the 24th of July we had a practice at all, but don't worry, we sure did get a work out!!  We had a 3 hour bus drive out into the country side where we were greeted by plenty of fresh air and green grassy hills.  By the time we got to the "Success Factory" it was late in the morning, so we had a quick introduction to where we were and what the "Success Factory" was all about.  Obviously they are a company that focuses on making teams, all sorts of teams, from sporting to corporate business, a fully functioning successful team unit.  From our meet and greet, we were taken on a short stroll that took us into the woods, where a high ropes course awaited us!!!  Well I now know that I have a bit of an issue being up high, it is def not one of my favorite activities to be doing!!

Our first task to test our own fear was to walk along a beam that was suspended in the air by two poles, one on each end, from one side to the other.  That seemed easy enough right.....haha think again.  Once you got from one side to the other, you were then given an egg and a spoon, and told to climb up to the next beam that was a good 2-3 meters above your head.  And then once up there, hold your egg with your spoon and walk from one side top the other, WITHOUT dropping your egg!!  Just when we thought that we had finished our task, hahaha, we were then told to climb up to the highest level, which i can tell you was rather high, and repeat the process from one side to the other while holding your egg with your spoon.  Needless to say there were a few eggs dropped, but of course my egg stayed in place......with the help of my thumb holding it down!!  Yes i def did cheat just a little, but I was just pleased that I actually completed the task hahah   :)   When I get the pics, i will attach a few so you can all see how high we were off the ground.  OH and not to worry we were all harnessed in and attached to ropes, so it was quite safe!!!

We broke for lunch and then headed back down to the ropes course for more team building activities and plenty of activities high up in the air.  All in all the day was a great success, everyone had a great time and it has really payed off as I feel that the team is just that much closer now.  The girls here are all a great bunch of chicks and that day has just brought us all that much closer.  I feel good things coming up haha!!

So we headed back onto the court on Friday for more practice and preparation for our two practice games that we had coming over the weekend.  By the time Saturday morning rolled around, everyone was pretty pumped for our first friendly.  Tip-off rolled around and the game started with Lisa at the point, Stef at the 2, Myself at the 3, Roz at the 4 and Kim at the 5.  What can i say we came out firing and never looked back for one minute.  By the time the final siren sounded, we had a 30+ point win behind us.  I had a pretty decent game, played 21 mins, had 22 pts, 3 steals, a few assists, so I did alright out there.  Mark (our head coach) was happy with the win, but we def have a lot of improving to do.  So a good nights rest was in order for the game the following day.

Sunday was a new day and a completely different game!!  We started the game with Georgie at the point (she is our youngest player at 18), Jo L at the 2, Me at the 3, Roz at the 4 and Kim at the 5.  Norway came out on fire and before we even knew it we had dug ourselves a pretty deep hole.  However we fought hard and came out with a 10+ point win in the end.  I played a few more mins this game, 27 and then had 14pts a few steals again and a few assists.  Mark played quite a few different combinations in the games over the weekend and overall everyone got some pretty good minutes and was able to show what they could do.  We still have quite a lot of work to do to get us really firing on all cylinders, but I do really see good things coming our way, if we continue to work hard and move forward.  Hey what can i say "we're a work in progress" that's for you Coach CT!!!! 

Camp has begun..

Just a quick update, team camp has started and we are getting right into it.  We are on day 4 and still have many days and many, many practices to go before all the big games start!!!

Day 1 started with lots of meetings, and information talks and all that sort of stuff.  We have quite a few new faces here this year, so it was important to take that first day and get to know everyone a little more, and get everyone comfortable with each other.

Day 2 was started our first session with a few agility tests, a conditioning test, and then we got right into the basketball stuff.  We put in our basic floor shape and just got everyone comfortable with where they should try to be on the floor.  Our evening session consisted of putting in more offensive sets and continuing on with our floor shape, and then we got into the good stuff, 5 on 5 :)  By the end of the day everyone was ready to shower, eat up and get some much needed rest.

Day 3 we began our first session being split into two groups, while one group did some conditioning and such, the other group worked on some offensive principles.  The conditioning was by no means easy, but conditioning isn't meant to be.  I personally felt good after the session, Its always great to have a tough conditioning session and come out on top.  Our evening session was full of transition drills, and then lots of 5 on 5.  I love the 5 on 5 stuff cause its what we really need.  We need to be playing as much as possible, and it also get s everyone use to each other on the court.  We finished that practice really well and on a good note.

Today is day 4 and we've already had our morning session and we've just eaten.  I'm about to lay down and take a short nap and try and recharge for tonight's session, but I wanted to do a quick update to let everyone know what was going on.  Until next time.........  :)

Back to GB Basketball :)

Today it all starts again!!  GB basketball has arrived and today, Saturday the 19th July, we begin our team camp in preparation for the Eurobasket 2009 Qualifiers.  

(Just a quick refresher for those who don't know, GB stands for Great Britain, and I am a member of the GB Senior National Team.  My awesome Mum is Scottish, (born and bred in Stirling to be exact, and then moved out to Australia when she was 5) and through this fact, it enables me to hold a UK passport as well, which then allows me to participate for the National team here.  The GB team consists of players from England, Scotland and Wales.  And as I've got some Scottish blood flowing through me, here I am :)  It is a huge opportunity for me, to have the chance to go to the 2012 Olympics,  and it was something that I could not turn down.  I am still and will always be a very proud Aussie, but I am also very proud to be a member of the GB team!  )

I'm sitting in my hotel room right now typing this out and I can't sleep.  Its just gone 6am, and my ride to Cardiff wont be here until 8am, but I can't sleep!!!  I'm not sure whether that's the fact that I'm quite possibly still feeling the effects of jet lag, or whether I'm just so excited to meet back up with all the GB girls.  I'm thinking its prob a bit of both!!  Last year was such a great experience for me, it was my first time with the team, and it def had its low points (injuring my groin and not being able to be out on court with the girls for the start of the program, and having to just sit on the sidelines and watch as the team got better and better each day, well that was tough).   To then being in the locker room in the Netherlands, spraying champagne around cause we had just achieved our goal of promotion to Division A, well that was definitely the best high!!

So I am def looking forward to today, the start of a new chapter.  There will be quite a few new faces, from staff to players, but we know that these new faces can only improve our team.  By no means do we think that the qualifiers will be a walk in the park, with teams such as Germany, Israel, Lithuania and Ukraine, how can it be!!  So here's to the beginning of a new chapter, one full of hard work, lots of sweat, and many, many good times and amazing memories, and the best one of all GREAT friendships  :)  In that photo from last year is: (L-R) Me, Lisa, Kristy, Georgia.

 

The Begining of "Shoot Wicked"

G'day to all.  I have been thinking about doing this blog for quite a while now, but I just had no idea what to name it.  I wanted something a little different, but just didn't know what.  Until a few days ago when it was time for me to leave home again.  My Dad had written me a short little note on our message board wishing me luck for the upcoming few months, but in particular there were two words that stood out, "Shoot Wicked".  It made me laugh, and it was just him to a tee.  It wasn't until I was speaking to my parents on the phone this morning that they suggested it could be the name of my Blog.  And so here it is, the beginning of my blog, "Shoot Wicked" :)

I hope that this will keep everyone a little more up to date on what I'm up to and of course where I am in the world.  I shall do my best to keep it updated regularly, and post a few pics here and there :)