Tuesday, August 31, 2010

H2O

Hello All.
For those of you who are involved in training camps this week, you need to concentrate on getting lots and lots of H2O into your body. Before practice, 1L minimum. During practice, finish off at least 1 full water bottle. After practice, 1 more water bottle then frequent drinks until you go again. The slightest decrease in your total hydration level will significantly decrease your performance on the field or court. Drink up.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Queen's hosts Old Four Tournament

This entry is taken from gogaelsgo.com/soccer-m and written by Ben Richards, Sports Information Student Supervisor.

Kingston, Ont. (August 27, 2010) - For the first time since 2004, the Old Four Soccer Tournament returns to Kingston and Queen's University. The two-day tournament sees teams from McGill, Western, Toronto, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Queen's play in exhibition play.

Last year, the McGill women's team won the tournament, while host Western won the men's draw.
The men's portion of the tournament will see a change this year, as the University of Toronto men's soccer team declined an invitation to play. UOIT will substitute and makes its debut appearance in the Old Four Tournament.

The men's bracket has Western playing a rematch of last year's final with McGill, while OUIT plays the host team Queen's.

The women's bracket also begins with Western versus McGill, with Queen's hosting Toronto in the second game. This sets up a potential repeat of last year's final between McGill and and Queen's.
All games will be played at Tindall Field on campus at Queen's University.

Women's Draw:
Saturday August 28, 2010 – 9:00 – Western vs. McGill
Saturday August 28, 2010 – 1:00 – Toronto vs. Queen's
Sunday August 29, 2010 – 9:00 – Old Four Consolation Game
Sunday August 29, 2010 – 1:00 – Old Four Championship Game
Men's Draw:
Saturday August 28, 2010 – 11:00 – Western vs. McGill
Saturday August 28, 2010 – 3:00 – UOIT vs. Queen's
Sunday August 29, 2010 – 11:00 – Old Four Consolation Game
Sunday August 29, 2010 – 3:00 – Old Four Championship Game

Cornell experience a success!

On Wednesday, August 25, the men's soccer team travelled to Cornell University to take on the Big Red in pre-season exhibition play. Below is the game recap from Jamie Howieson, Sports Information Assistant, who travelled with the team.

ITHACA, N.Y. (August 26, 2010) – The Queen's men's soccer team travelled to Cornell yesterday evening and earned a hard-fought draw against the Division I school.

Both squads used the game as an opportunity to get all their players into game action before the regular season kicks off.

The matchup, which featured three 45 minutes halves, had the feel of a mid-season contest for both teams and saw the Gaels defend well against their counterparts from the NCAA. Queen's was able to counter a quick counter-attack from the Big Red with strong positional play from the back four, led by rookie Joseph Zupo and veteran Andrew Nador of Kingston, Ont..

Offensively, the Gaels used strong play on the wings, highlighted by a number of excellent runs from Adrian Rochford of Ottawa, to generate their chances. The team's best opportunity to score came off the foot of transfer MacArinze Ojiaku who broke down the left side late in the first half but just fired wide of Cornell's cage.

The Gaels will wrap up their exhibition schedule this weekend when they host the Old Four Tournament, featuring McGill, Western and UOIT. Queen's will face UOIT on Saturday at 3:00 pm at Tindall Field.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Summer Draws to a Close

It is hard to believe that the summer is just about over. It was a great summer! Why was it great? Well, as I look back, there are lots of reasons. First of all, the weather was fantastic. My golf game improved. My garden is flourishing and I successfully completed a major renovation in my house.

On a volleyball level, I did several camps, touching about fifty coaches and about 400 kids – well not literally touching them of course, but I think I have had some level of impact on many volleyball folk again this summer. Lots of people ask me if I have had a good break, and the question actually puzzles me. I have to think, “a break? A break from what?”, and then I realize; oh yes, they mean volleyball... and I politely answer. But if the truth be known, I don’t need or want a break from volleyball. It is my life’s passion. I love it! I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend, than at the beach watching my guys play a tournament, or being part of a camp or clinic helping young coaches and athletes improve their game.

When you are one of the people who can turn your hobby and your passion into your career you are truly blessed. I really am lucky. I am doing exactly what I want to be doing. Planning for next season is so exciting. We achieved everything we set out to last season, which is incredibly satisfying as a coach. It doesn’t always happen that way, of course, but when it does it leaves you energized and yet you have to wait five months to get back at it. Well those five months are just about over and I can’t wait! We have a great schedule, with about fifteen matches against teams from outside the OUA, plus of course our very competitive league to look forward to.

Last year’s top five finishers were all in the hunt, right down to the wire. No one had an easy time of it and I think that is the way it should be. It is more interesting for the players and for the fans and certainly more stimulating and challenging for the coaches when the outcomes are not straight forward. I sometimes think our athletes like the challenge of close games and consequently allow scores to be closer than they should or could be. That is a goal and a focus for us in the coming year. As a veteran team now, we must establish the level of every rally and every match. We must challenge ourselves to perform at our level and at our capacity, and not allow our opponents to dictate the level of play, even for short spurts. This is the sign of a great team, as opposed to a team that can play great. That is the goal. It is a challenging goal, but one that is certainly attainable. With only two weeks now until we get started, I can’t wait to put the wheels in motion. I can’t wait to take the first steps towards success once again. It’s never easy, but what fun would it be if it wasn’t a huge challenge? Go Gaels Go!!!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Off to play Cornell University today


Good morning Gaels supporters,

Today is an exciting time for the Men's soccer team and coaching staff. In less than 5 hours, we will be traveling to Ithaca, NY to take on one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in the US, Cornell University. It will be an experience that I'm sure these young men will remember for quite some time. We are thankful for this opportunity and we will ensure that we represent Queen's University with class and professionalism both on and off the pitch.

Stay tuned for a game report upon our return.

Chris

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Inspiration

Hi All.

My first blog. It is fitting that it comes on the heels of the start of training camps. The soccers started over a week ago and football got rolling on Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing all the other teams as they get started. When I set up their programs in the spring, I try to plan toward August and it seems so far away. As with every off-season, camp jumps up much more quickly that expected.

Every August, I love witnessing the effort and dedication that the athletes put in at camp. It serves as an inpiration for me to work harder and train harder. I usually head home from a day of work and get the running gear on, just to push myself that little bit more.

Welcome back teams - game on!

Rodney.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A new era...

To all alumni and Queen's Gaels Men's Varsity Soccer supporters, I wanted to thank all of you for your continued support. As a result of your generosity and contributions to the soccer program - especially over the last 4 months - we were able to renovate the Men's Soccer change room at Richardson Stadium, and establish a more professional environment for our players (your young boys). Your dollars contributed to this positive change, and I hope you enjoy the final product.


Regards,

Chris

Q.S.I.M. - Queen's Soccer is Magic

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

100th Anniversary Update

Hi Folks,

With summer winding down, we are gearing up for another season of Queen's Basketball.  In concert with the upcoming season, the Athletics department will be launching an exciting, re-vamped www.gogaelsgo.com   web site.  In addition to absorbing all the information currently stored on the www.queensbasketball.net site, it will allow me to post game reports directly to this site.  The changeover should be seamless, taking place sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Exciting news on the 100th Anniversary weekend event -- Anne Turnbull, who coached for 13 years from 1956 to 1969 will be joining us as a special guest for the weekend.  Anne, of course, continued on at Queen's as the Women's Coordinator of Athletics, eventually hiring me in 1981 to take the reigns of the women's basketball program.

Tim Orpin, having sat for 23 years on the women's bench (1 yr. as head coach and 22 yrs. as an assistant), has agreed to serve as the Master of Ceremony for the dinner/banquet at the Ambassador Conference Resort.  In addition to being an outstanding coach, Tim is well known for his humour and razor sharp memory --- think of the stories!

No question the "buzz" is gaining momentum around the weekend.  I have now had contact from players (and coaches) from seven different decades -- as far back as the 1930s!  I have also had parents of former players contact me, seeing this as an opportunity to have another "Parent's Night" -- a tradition the women's basketball program started over 20 years ago. 

Over the course of the weekend, we will be recognizing the Championship teams including: 34-35, 47-48, 51-52, 60-61, 69-70*, 70-71+, 73-74+, 00-01. (*denotes both Senior & Intermediate Champions, +denotes Intermediate Champions).

Please find below the link to a great article and photos in the Alumni Review promoting the event. A link to register is also included.

http://www.queensu.ca/news/alumnireview/womens-basketball-celebrates-100-years

Please feel free to spread the word about this historic event as I do not have contacts for everyone.  Please let people know they are free to contact me (by email or phone) to ensure they receive future communications.

That's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of your summer.

All the best.

Dave.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Training Camp has Begun


I would like to welcome our loyal fans, supporters and alumni to the 2010 season. Training camp has begun and there is a certain buzz around Richardson Stadium. This is an exciting time for the coaching staff and players as everyone involved waits in anticipation for the challenges that lie ahead, and the possibility of capturing an OUA and CIS championship.

We have a solid core of returning players and a quality recruiting class, which should allow us to strike a balance between experience and youth. The coaching staff have worked tirelessly to ensure the appropriate preparations have taken place over the last 4 months, and are very pleased with the direction the program is heading.

Over the past 2 mornings, the players have undergone 5 different types of fitness testing. Test scores have illustrated a high level of commitment from our returning players and recruits to off-season strength and conditioning, an important component to our program's long-term success. With a total of 38 players at camp, the training environment has been competitive to say the least.

As we continue to prepare for the upcoming season, I will be posting updates from the team to all of our supporters and alumni. Please follow us at www.gogaelsgo.com. In the mean time, I would like to thank all of you for welcoming the coaching staff to the Gaels program. We are constantly reminded of the honour and privilege that we are given to represent Queen's University, and we promise to put forth an effort that will make all our supporters proud. We certainly hope you continue to support our efforts in achieving our ultimate goal of becoming a National powerhouse.

Sincerely,

Chris

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Training Camp Starts September 7th

I hope everyone's summer have been great so far. I just wanted to touch base to pass along some information regarding the upcoming year. Training camp will start September 7th, 2010 with a meeting in the Alumni Lounge at 300pm. A try-out fee of $25 must be submitted at that time for any player that did not play on the 2009-2010 team. Our camp will be very competitive and I look forward to seeing a great product on the ice over camp. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me via email at qmhockey@queensu.ca. Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you in a month!