Mercado at the World University Games: Blog No. 4: Road to Gold Comes to an End
7/11/2019 9:49:00 AM | Men's Water Polo, Women's Water Polo
Brown University men's and women's water polo head coach Felix Mercado is serving as an assistant coach with USA Women's Water Polo for the 2019 World University Games in Naples, Italy. Competition at the tournament is slated for July 2-13, and during his time in Italy, Mercado will provide blog updates.
So, I write this post with some sadness. After we secured our spot in the knockout rounds with a win over the Czech Republic, our run to the medal rounds was stopped in the quarterfinals by our neighbors from the north, Canada, in a penalty shootout, 5-5 (5-4 PS).
The most important part of this game experience is that our athletes played their hearts out! Our Achilles heel (as you can read in my previous post) was our offense. We struggled to take advantage of our power play opportunities and open looks against Canada's zone. To hold a team with very good offensive players like Canada to five goals is a major accomplishment, but we needed a little bit more offense. Internationally when a game is tied after regulation there is no overtime period, it goes straight to a penalty shootout. They scored one more than we did, and our dreams of winning a medal were dashed.
Getting Over It and Finishing Strong: There is no time to pout or have a pity party. We need to get ready to win a new tournament. Fortunately, we get a chance to bounce back and leave Italy on a winning note. Today (July 11), we play Japan at 11:30 a.m. ET to get into the consolation fifth-place game. Our final opponent will be either Australia or China, two teams we are familiar with.
Great Coaching Staff: There have been some great opportunities that have come with the chance to coach this team. I am truly lucky to do it, and while traveling internationally wasn't (and still isn't) my cup of tea, I do hope I get a chance to do this again. Probably the most underrated part of this is how much I feel I have grown as a coach.
Working with James Graham, the Master of Water Polo Analytics, has been fantastic. While I still get lost in all the graphs and charts, there is no question his perception of every situation makes sense. I definitely see analytics being part of my coaching moving forward – at least some of it! Coach Molly Cahill has also been a great resource for improving my coaching skills. With her high level playing – and winning multiple championships – at UCLA as well as her many years as an assistant coach, she brings a different perspective on tactics and dealing with athletes. She is also a great human being which makes her very easy to work with.
Let's see how it goes with Japan! Wish us luck, and Go USA!
Team USA Women's Water Polo Schedule
July 2 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Russia | Game 3 (Group Stage) | Loss, 10-9
July 4 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Italy | Game 8 (Group Stage) | Loss, 8-6
July 7 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. China | Game 15 (Group Stage) | Win, 14-11
July 8 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Australia | Game 19 (Group Stage) | Loss, 11-9
July 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Vs. Czech Republic | Game 22 (First Round) | Win 25-5
July 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Vs. Canada | Game 23 (Quarterfinals) | Loss, 5-5 (5-4 PS)
July 11 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Japan | Game 28 (Consolation)
(All Times Local Time)
So, I write this post with some sadness. After we secured our spot in the knockout rounds with a win over the Czech Republic, our run to the medal rounds was stopped in the quarterfinals by our neighbors from the north, Canada, in a penalty shootout, 5-5 (5-4 PS).
The most important part of this game experience is that our athletes played their hearts out! Our Achilles heel (as you can read in my previous post) was our offense. We struggled to take advantage of our power play opportunities and open looks against Canada's zone. To hold a team with very good offensive players like Canada to five goals is a major accomplishment, but we needed a little bit more offense. Internationally when a game is tied after regulation there is no overtime period, it goes straight to a penalty shootout. They scored one more than we did, and our dreams of winning a medal were dashed.
Getting Over It and Finishing Strong: There is no time to pout or have a pity party. We need to get ready to win a new tournament. Fortunately, we get a chance to bounce back and leave Italy on a winning note. Today (July 11), we play Japan at 11:30 a.m. ET to get into the consolation fifth-place game. Our final opponent will be either Australia or China, two teams we are familiar with.
Great Coaching Staff: There have been some great opportunities that have come with the chance to coach this team. I am truly lucky to do it, and while traveling internationally wasn't (and still isn't) my cup of tea, I do hope I get a chance to do this again. Probably the most underrated part of this is how much I feel I have grown as a coach.
Working with James Graham, the Master of Water Polo Analytics, has been fantastic. While I still get lost in all the graphs and charts, there is no question his perception of every situation makes sense. I definitely see analytics being part of my coaching moving forward – at least some of it! Coach Molly Cahill has also been a great resource for improving my coaching skills. With her high level playing – and winning multiple championships – at UCLA as well as her many years as an assistant coach, she brings a different perspective on tactics and dealing with athletes. She is also a great human being which makes her very easy to work with.
Let's see how it goes with Japan! Wish us luck, and Go USA!
Team USA Women's Water Polo Schedule
July 2 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Russia | Game 3 (Group Stage) | Loss, 10-9
July 4 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Italy | Game 8 (Group Stage) | Loss, 8-6
July 7 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. China | Game 15 (Group Stage) | Win, 14-11
July 8 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Australia | Game 19 (Group Stage) | Loss, 11-9
July 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Vs. Czech Republic | Game 22 (First Round) | Win 25-5
July 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Vs. Canada | Game 23 (Quarterfinals) | Loss, 5-5 (5-4 PS)
July 11 | 5:30 p.m. | Vs. Japan | Game 28 (Consolation)
(All Times Local Time)
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