Our break... short, however necessary.

At the moment the Matildas are between two major tournaments. We have had the World Cup in the month just gone and the Olympic qualifying tournament commencing in a weeks time. Back to back tournaments... I suppose the prospect of it all could seem quite daunting- but it's important we concentrate on the doing part and not the what if...

If anything you could say we have had ideal preparation... our warm up games have been up against some tough competition ;)

Rest and then... the reality of it all.

After a tournament such as a World Cup- your mind and body needs a break- a change of environment... no matter what responsibility proceeds. Times like these (when the majority of your body is extremely sore- you're quick to question whether or not the break was worthwhile) Upon reflection I'm going to say yes... however for the sake of my sore muscles i'd beg to differ.

Any athlete/ coach would agree you have earned the right for a few days off following any tournament. In our case roughly about two weeks before returning home to fly to the Gold Coast for camp. We then had several days in Sydney before flying to China for our Olympic Qualifying tournament, our first game in a weeks time. Having just glanced at the date- in about 3 weeks time our Olympic destiny will be decided. A rather daunting prospect, however a situation we are more than familiar with and certainly capable of.

It was interesting to get together with the girls and reflect upon our World Cup experiences but also what is to come.

Looking forward... but briefly back...

All emotions of the recent World Cup feels so vivid in my mind. The natural highs are followed by a lets say... more sombre low. Your on a journey with your mates experiencing differing moments of strong emotions. Defeats, triumphs and decisions made beyond your control. Your acceptance of these situations and ability to deal with the circumstances becomes paramount. As i've grown older emotions feels rawer. Your are no longer innocent, nothing is refined, all you feel is real.

At this stage of 'limbo'- between two major tournaments, for us as a squad reflecting on the positives of what we have achieved is important in order for us to move forward. Our foundation in which we must keep building.

It's important for our team to focus on the now, on the doing, and not get hung up on the what if. This tournament is very important yet how beneficial is it to be reminding ourselves of the enormity of it all- the what if. Maybe for some the thought of London 2012 will assist their performance and im no no way denying it will all cross our minds. But at the same time we don't want to have it as a distraction, we want to focus on the doing, on the playing. This need not be an overwhelming experience...

Following our two camps in Australia it doesn't feel as if we have had too long apart. The games we played have been quiet fluent and intense. Everybody was moving about extremely well considering the soreness we were enduring. Muscle memory will play a role here...


Off the pitch...

What people don't realise is the amount of time we spend off the pitch during a stint away... My predictions are their will be plenty of study, school for our youngen's, reading of books, dvd's, the odd Starbucks run (tis the only decent coffee- i know...sad huh?) singing, ukulele playing (compliments of myself and one of our physio's musical prowess- or lack of...) and even... knitting :) One of my favourites. There is always plenty of football talk, meetings and match analysis of opponents. All part and parcel of being an elite footballer.

It was nice last week in camp speaking with the girls about our adventures post WC. Several girls sailed the Croatian coast line, others watched Cadel in the South of France, sunbaked in Turkey... Just to name a few. Several have been bitten by the travel bug- Thank goodness for football being a world game. Providing us all with the opportunities to see all corners of the globe.


Our next chase...

In the end we did not have any time in order for the dust to settle. I believe the fact we only had a short break will perhaps provide us with an advantage... Keeping in mind Japan have just been crowned World Champions. The fact China and South Korea missed out on the World Cup they have been spending all their time preparing for this tournament... They will be in great form.

In my earlier blog i made mention of one of our girls, Elise Kellond-Knight being selected in the World All Star team... I will leave you with one of her quotes...

"The task of five games in 10 days scares me, but we've shown our never-say-die attitude before and I think it will shine through in September. No matter how tired or fatigued we are feeling, our team always manages to find something extra, and hopefully that will help us get to the Olympics."

Thanks KK :)

Stay tuned for further updates. The old facebook, twitter (basically ANY social media site) is banned here in China. Interesting snap shots and bits and bobs will be posted both on and off the 'green grass'...

Sal.