In this installment of the Cougar Soccer Blog, Washington State Head Coach talks about the weekend ahead in Los Angeles and we can an update from Gurveen Clair. The freshman goalkeeper is with the Canadian National Team in its quest to qualify for the World Cup.
First, here are some thoughts from coach Potter.
(on facing USC and UCLA)
"We look forward to the challenge and the trip. It's a chance to show what we are capable of doing and finish strong."
(on dealing with injuries)
"Our job is to put the best product we can on the field. We have been challenged with injuries. Players not being able to practice has created an unkown. The rewarding thing is we have not been in an environment where we haven't competed."
(on goals for the rest of the season)
"We're in the final phase of our goals for the season. Our battle plan doesn't change. The vision and the foundation of the program doesn't change. In the short term, we've asked questions of ourselves more than we ask questions about others."
Get an update from Gurveen Clair after the jump.
By Gurveen Clair
I've been here in Cancun for a week now, and first off, the weather has been amazing, only maybe a total of 2-3 hours of rain in the week. Even then, the temperature is still pretty warm. The soccer has been good. We trained every day, except Sunday and Monday. It's pretty humid which makes it a little tough, and even after a week, I am still trying to get used to it. Today was my first double-day here, and it went pretty well. The mornings are the worst; the temperature is high and the air is just hot. In the afternoon it cools down a bit and isn't as muggy as the mornings, but still hot.
The food is pretty similar to the other camp, plus chips and salsa and the best guacamole I have ever tasted. We get meat every dinner, be it chicken, steak, fish or something else. We also get rice, an assortment of vegetables, potatoes, and because were in Cancun, they give us beans, lentils, corn, and other things you can put in a burrito. Overall, the food is really good and healthy, nothing to complain about here.
We had two days off this past week which never happens. Sunday, I decided to overload on the homework and try getting that out of the way, and it really was just too hot for me to go out. I love the sun and all, but not that much. Monday was nearly just as hot, but I spent the day outdoors. The water has distinct shades of blue, so you can tell where it's shallow and where it's deep. We played some volleyball in the pool, some girls went jet-skiing, and others just tanned on the beach. The weather really has been pretty perfect so far.
Everyone is pretty nice as well. A couple other girls and I were sitting by the pool just reading and hanging out, and a staff of the hotel asked us if we needed anything, not once or twice, but every single time he walked by! It was nice, but after about five times it got really annoying. We also had some guy, in his late 40s come and join us in our volleyball game, and he was pretty intense. We were casually playing and joking around, and he came and just killed the ball every chance he got, nearly took off a head or two.
Overall, it's been a great experience. The soccer is intense, leading up to our first game in a couple weeks in the CONCAFAF tournament trying to qualify for the World Cup in 2011 in Germany. The girls are really cool. The hotel is really big and our rooms are pretty nice.
Adios
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