Archive for April, 2008
April 30, 2008 — India picks up the pieces
After both the men’s and women’s field hockey teams from India failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, it was inevitable that swift and radical change was in the offing for the entire system for producing, training, and promoting the sport.
Well, “swift” actually meant 41 days. And “radical” meant the replacement of the entire structure of the India Hockey Federation with a five-member council alongside former Hockeyroos coach Ric Charlesworth.
President KPS Gill has been fired and secretary Kumaraswamy Jothikumaran has resigned, and the five-member panel includes a number of veterans of previous Olympic teams.
Oddly enough, this is not the first time the Indian Olympic Association has taken direct control of IHF’s affairs; a dispute in 1975 led to a similar takeover.
According to reports, the move was instigated at the request of the International Hockey Federation, requesting, in no uncertain terms, that the federation get its house in order or lose the hosting privilege of the 2010 FIH World Cup.
That it took 41 days for the wheels to move is an indication of some of the bureaucratic tedium in gaining control of a situation in a nation of a billion people. It also is an indication of Gill’s political capital. Gill, for those of you who don’t have a deep knowledge of the nation’s history, was a military hero for putting down an uprising in Punjab in the 1990s. He received the name “Supercop” for some of his tactics, as well as the results.
However, his decade and a half at the head of the IHA was somewhat erratic. He was found guilty of sexual harassment, was at the center of numerous conspiracy theories regarding player selection, and the national teams suffered. In early March, the men’s national team failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 80 years. For a game which has such a purchase on the nation’s soul, it was too much to bear.
Has India done the right thing? Hopefully, they can put on a good World Cup; that would be a start.
April 29, 2008 — Use the Force
Over the weekend, Ashley Force won an NHRA event near Atlanta. It wasn’t unexpected; the 25-year-old is the daughter of 14-time Funny Car Eliminator champion John Force, and was groomed to one day be on her father’s race team.
As such, the grooming was indeed impeccable. Before coming on board the Castrol team a year ago, she got her college degree in communications and had five wins in three years in the Top Alcohol class. She learned everything about the racing business — including how to please the sponsors.
As an example, when Ashley Force won her semifinal round on Sunday, she came out of her low-slung, purpose-built machine wearing a rumpled driver suit, sooted with clutch dust. She wore sunglasses, sported a towel over her shoulder, and managed to fit in her team’s seven major sponsors and worked in the phrase “the guys in the shop” in about 30 seconds. Just like her father.
But the after the final, the best interview of the weekend was with the losing driver — one John Force. In the ESPN interview, Force mentioned the names of Shirley Muldowney, Angelle Sampey, Melanie Troxel, and Hillary Will. This is a man who completely and totally gets it when it comes to the role of women in motorsports.
And he’s the perfect father figure for someone who could be a dominant Force for some time.
April 28, 2008 — An unintentional Final Four
Yesterday, the top four teams in the latest IWLCA Division I poll met each other as No. 1 Northwestern traveled to No. 4 Penn in a regular-season game, and No. 3 Virginia met No. 2 Maryland in the final of the ACC Tournament.
A couple of stunning results emerged. Maryland let slip a five-goal lead in the second half, allowing Virginia to rescue an 11-10 win after extra time. Also, Penn avenged last year’s NCAA semifinal loss with an 11-7 win over Northwestern, breaking the Wildcats’ 36-game winning streak.
Stunning, indeed. In the ACC final, played at Virginia, Maryland seemingly had everything going right in the first half, going into the second, building an 8-3 lead in the 34th minute. However, the Terps made a series of mental errors in the second half, including having to play short for three minutes for picking up a fourth yellow card in the match. Sophomore Brittany Kalkstein was outstanding in the center circle and in the midfield, and even scored the game-winning goal as the first half of extra time wound towards its conclusion.
At Penn, the Quakers shook off the last four results against Northwestern to create not only a new and positive history, but perhaps gave the rest of Division I some hope. The last four times Penn had taken on the Wildcats, they had lost by scores of 13-6, 17-8, 13-4 and 12-2.
But the Quakers put a lockdown on the Cats’ quick-striking, quick-thinking attack, shutting them out the entire second half. It’s the first time the Wildcats have gone scoreless in a half in five years.
“To hold them scoreless in the second half is just unbelievable,” said Penn head coach Karin Brower after the game. “They just have so many threats, but again and again we just came up with the draws.”
Much the same happened two days previous when North Carolina held off Maryland in the ACC semifinals for the entire second half. Only the Tar Heels managed but four goals in the second term, and couldn’t match the Terps’ six first-half goals.
The final chapters in the national women’s lacrosse season have not yet been written, but you get the feeling this is going to be a wide-open competition. I have a feeling that Syracuse, Princeton, and some dark-horse team (Boston University?) is going to break into that top four.
April 27, 2007 — Νενικήκαμεν!
The above phrase was spoken, according to legend, by a military messenger named Phidippides, who relayed a message about a victory by the Athenians over a mighty Persian army. The adrenaline with which this herald carried this message was so great that it pushed him to run some 20 miles to Athens to utter the sentence, wherupon which he died.
“We have won!”
So, this blog can announce to the nation and the world that the U.S. women’s field hockey team, with its 3-1 win over Belgium in Kazan, Russia this morning, has earned its first Olympic berth in 20 years when it has not been the host nation.
It is also the first time in many decades that the United States has won any tournament in which there has been more than four participating teams.
This is a new era for the American program; failure to make the Olympics would likely have meant even more draconian budget cuts for a team which had seen its funding sharply reduced in 2000 and 2004, relegated almost to a level only seen for team handball. Now, the U.S. team will likely have more sponsorship opportunities, as businesses will want to associate themselves with a team with its ticket in hand for Beijing.
This result is, I believe, a vindication for those who believed in an expanded player development apparatus. As youth players, I’ve seen Katelyn Falgowski, Lauren Powley, Rachel Dawson, April Fronzoni, Katie O’Donnell, Lauren Crandall, and Carrie Lingo as mere teenagers, honing a craft instead of just running around aimlessly on summer afternoons.
I also believe that this is a victory for the U.S. college system. I have heard many criticisms that the level of play in NCAA Division I could not develop high-quality, high-performance players.
But I am hoping that the play of Rachel Dawson, chosen the outstanding player of the Kazan Qualifier, will put all that to rest. The current Honda Award winner for field hockey, Dawson is a player who simply does not know how to lose; UNC did not lose a game in 2007, and her high school team at Voorhees Eastern (N.J.) did not lose a game when she was with the team.
Tiffany Snow was also outstanding, as the leading scorer for the Applebees. When she graduated from Old Dominion a few years ago, she was looking for any and all opportunities to continue and to train. She even went indoors, playing with one of the franchises in the early days of the North American Premier League. She earned her first senior outdoor cap the following spring, and has become an offensive spitfire for the U.S. team.
Do not underestimate the contributions of Kate Barber, your captain. She is the last link to the North Carolina championship teams of the mid-1990s. She’s a true winner, and she has transcended the era to today’s FDIC/ODS prospects who will likely be the heart of the effort to qualify for London 2012.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. As for now, let the shout ring out from San Pasqual, Calif. to Walpole, Mass. and from Chapel Hill, N.C. to Colorado Springs, Colo.
“We have won! Chak de USA!”
April 26, 2008 — Perfect in pool play
The U.S. women’s field hockey team, seeking to earn its first Olympic berth (when not the host nation) in 20 years, closed out pool play and closed out the Netherlands Antilles with a 3-1 victory earlier today in Russia.
Belgium awaits, after playing a perfunctory 0-0 draw with Russia. The Red Devils are the only team in the Kazan Olympic Qualifier to have more than one goal against the American juggernaut, and the U.S. camp would tell you that one of those two conceded goals was awfully fortunate.
I, for one, will be tuning in on the computer for the FIH’s match commentary, which has been first-class this tournament.
April 26, 2008 — Alexandria St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (Va.) 10, Towson Notre Dame Prep (Md.) 8
The last nine minutes were the key for St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes as the No. 1 team in the LaxPower.com computer rankings held off a game Notre Dame Prep team. NDP had the lead and the ball as the clock ticked down, but a steal and an immediate score, plus a goal off the next draw put the Saints up 8-7. The two teams traded goals, then the Saints got the ball in the final minute of play and, while the Blazers ran an all-out eight-player ride in an attempt to get the ball, left the goal exposed for a final goal with four seconds on the clock.
April 25, 2008 — Early matriculation
Before my senior year in high school, my parents wanted me to skip my senior year at my high school in New Jersey and send me off to boarding school in Massachusetts. It was no ordinary boarding or prep school, however: it was designed to accept students as young as 10th grade, offering college-level work to get an accelerated associates’ or bachelor’s degree.
I protested. I really didn’t think I was ready for that kind of change socially; I had it in mind to attend an Ivy League school, preferably Harvard, upon completing the usual 12 years of schooling. My parents finally relented, especially after being unable to find people to write recommendations (my teachers weren’t dummies; you think they’d want to approve of me leaving for college after 11th grade?).
This phase of my life came to mind whilst reading some recent press releases regarding the U.S. colleges’ spring hockey mini-tournaments. In a tournament in Louisville, Ky. last weekend, Michigan State played a day’s worth of 7-on-7 matches against various teams. The MSU press release listed the scorers: Angela Pagura, Floor Rijpma, Jantine Steinmetz, Nicole Pitticas, Gwen Riley, Amanda Huck, Joelle van Ierland, and Chantae Miller.
Yep, that Chantae Miller — the only field hockey player in recorded Federation history with 100 goals and 100 assists. After winning last year’s state final for Williamsville (N.Y.) North, she graduated early and headed off to East Lansing to begin her studies as well as what could be a brilliant field hockey career.
NCAA regulations allow universities to enroll student-athletes a semester earlier than the usual August or September start, meaning that the Michigan State coaching staff can train Miller at a much higher level than she would get in six weeks of Futures. She’ll be a semester ahead on her bachelor’s degree, too.
Yes, she won’t have the chance to compete at the National Futures Tournament, but she’ll be pushing herself to that international level expected of someone of her vision and ball-striking ability.
It’s not the first time a field hockey player has gone off and trained in the second semester of their senior year of high school; at the onset of this decade, Kelly Dostal took a couple of months away from Hatfield Smith Academy (Mass.) to train with the national team pool. A couple of years later, Anne Marie Janus did the same with the U-20s while at Plymouth Wyoming Valley West (Pa.).
And we shouldn’t begrudge Miller, her family, or the Michigan State staff for doing this; after all, given the promising young players coming into the university and national-team system the next couple of years, the competition is becoming keener — the kind that makes us a better hockey nation.
April 24, 2008 — The task is clear
The United States is almost surely through to Sunday’s final at the Kazan Olympic qualifying tournament, thanks to a near-flawless 4-0 victory over India this morning. The win put the U.S. three points clear of Belgium and The Netherlands Antilles in pool play, and eliminates India from the possibility of qualification.
Tomorrow is the final day of pool play. Belgium will likely cop three points against lowly Russia, meaning that the United States needs but draw or beat the Antilleans to get the 13 or even 15 points needed to attain the top of the table and secure a berth in the final. If, however, Netherlands Antilles beats the Americans, there will be three teams tied for the lead at 12 points, each with four wins and a defeat.
Here’s how the tiebreaker system would work:
- Matches won: In the aforementioned situation, the Americans, Belgians, and Antilleans would each have four wins.
- Goal differential: After today, the United States is +19, Belgium is +6, and The Netherlands Antilles is +4.
- Goals scored: The Applebees lead the tournament with 21 goals, with the Red Devils having scored 13, and the Islanders a mere nine.
- Result between equal teams in preliminary round (i.e., head-to-head or round-robin): Now, if this was the National Football League, this would actually be the first tiebreaker, not the last. We’re not likely to see this one invoked.
So, what has to happen? For the U.S. to play for the coveted Olympic berth on Sunday, it needs to win, draw, or lose by less than eight goals to the Netherlands Antilles tomorrow.
And as good as some of the Dutch players on that team are, they aren’t going to beat the Americans by eight goals. To get into the final, the Antilleans need to beat the U.S. and have Russia tie or beat Belgium, or tie the Americans and then Russia would have to beat Belgium outright.
Got that?
April 23, 2008 — What a start
The United States is at the top of the table in the Kazan qualifier, with nine points in three matches. Barring an epic collapse, the Stars and Stripes have surely qualified for Sunday’s final match.
Note the last sentence: “Barring an epic collapse.” Only France and Russia cannot make the final as of today; theoretically, if the Americans lose the next two games against India and The Netherlands Antilles, they could finish pool play as low as fourth.
Everything points to Saturday’s pool finale against the Netherlands Antilles, but the tipping point for the Americans is tomorrow’s game against India. Three points against the Eves means that neither India nor Belgium can overtake the Applebees for second place in the table.
That leaves the final match against the Antilleans, who are part and parcel of the Dutch system — think of the relationship that Puerto Rico, for example, has with the U.S. in terms of basketball.
Now, when you look at how the Americans have taken their chances thus far (see these videos for details), you understand that the goals no longer come from work rate. Look, for example, at Jesse Gey’s brilliant finish in the Belgium game, and the flash corner that Carrie Lingo scored to open the U.S. account. Absolutely brilliant execution thus far.
American fans are hoping this continues for the balance of the week.
April 22, 2008 — The girls’ lacrosse scoreboard and its jumbled nature
Last Saturday’s 12-7 win by Alexandria St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (Va.) over Moorestown (N.J.) wasn’t the only thrilling lacrosse game over the weekend.
In Camillus, N.Y., host West Genessee won a pair of fabulous matches, defeating West Chester Rustin (Pa.) 14-6 after an absolutely legendary comeback over Radnor Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) the day before. The Wildcats had fallen behind 14-10 deep in the second half and notched five straight — including four by Carly Motondo — to close out the match with a 15-14 win.
In the other semifinal, Rustin was down in overtime to Skaneateles (N.Y.) 12-11 after the first half of extra time before pulling out a 13-12 win.
In Ellicott City, Md., a wounded, but proud Mount Hebron team eked out a 14-12 win over perennial powerhouse Garden City (N.Y.) in the final of the Viking Invitational. In the win, the hosts had been down 12-10 heading into the dying minutes, but found the extra gear that had been missing all season, pounding in four goals and running out the clock on the Claret and White.
Hebron, after losing earlier this year to IAAM top dog Bel Air John Carroll (Md.), had, earlier in the week, been beaten by Ellicott City Centennial (Md.). It was the first match the Vikings had lost in Howard County in 18 years. And Centennial was coached by a Hebron alumna, Katie Clark.
But the process of healing after that match started Friday in the Viking Invitational’s first-round game against Greenwood Village Cherry Creek (Colo.), an 18-8 victory. That led to Saturday’s heroic comeback over Garden City.
Not a bad weekend, huh?
