{"id":2067,"date":"2014-06-20T12:02:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T16:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2014-06-20T12:02:58","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T16:02:58","slug":"union-2013-14-part-2-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/?p=2067","title":{"rendered":"UNION 2013-14 Part 2: Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/play.usaultimate.org\/events\/Mixed-Easterns\/\" target=\"_blank\">first tournament<\/a>\u00a0of 2014 out of the way, \u00a0I can&#8217;t help but think of the opportunities we have this summer.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned in <a title=\"2013 Challenges\" href=\"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/?p=2053\" target=\"_blank\">my previous post<\/a>, 2013 seemed like a season of challenges &#8211; hurdles, speed bumps, struggles &#8211; that were overcome. \u00a0Seemingly negative in context, due to the stresses they cause, challenges are what make us learn and grow as individuals and as a team. \u00a0They are what make us better and are necessities on any road to success.<\/p>\n<p>Opportunities are often the flip-side to challenges &#8211; hope, excitement, possibility. \u00a0This season, we have afforded ourselves many great opportunities due to the\u00a0challenges we went through last year. \u00a0We have the opportunity to:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"color: #222222;\">\n<li>call ourselves\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/uc.usetopscore.com\/past-championships#MixedCUC\" target=\"_blank\">National Champions<\/a>\u00a0and wear gold with pride<\/li>\n<li>prepare the team &#8211; training, roster, strategy,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/?p=1971\" target=\"_blank\">fund-raising<\/a><\/li>\n<li>attend the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.usaultimate.org\/news\/2014-triple-crown-tour-field-set\/#mixed\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0likely the most difficult and deepest tournament in the world<\/li>\n<li>play in Italy for the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worlds2014.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">World Ultimate Club Championships<\/a>\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.ca\/search?q=lecco+italy&amp;safe=active&amp;rlz=1C1CHTY_enCA494CA494&amp;es_sm=93&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=3nuYU_rNJ9CWyATwpILQBg&amp;ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&amp;biw=1440&amp;bih=785\" target=\"_blank\">#notbad<\/a><\/li>\n<li>meet and tackle a whole new set of\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/?p=2053\" target=\"_blank\">challenges<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; injuries, burnout, defeat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">We get to say we are Canadian National Champions! \u00a0We worked our asses off, we were considered the underdogs despite our 2012 silver but we won.<\/p>\n<p>We get to seize the opportunity to train and make the most of our physical abilities, pick from the best players to fill roster gaps, refine and prioritize our strategies and host kick ass, bleary-eyed, team building fundraisers to help alleviate the financial worries that these opportunities can create.<\/p>\n<p>Our success over the past two years has given us the opportunity to play in the US Open and hopefully repeat what Odyssee did\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/scores.usaultimate.org\/scores\/#mixed\/tournament\/13302\" target=\"_blank\">last year<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; a Canadian team taking home the cash prize. \u00a0This is the premiere event on the planet, with the deepest field of any tournament we will play.<\/p>\n<p>Gold has given us the opportunity to represent Toronto,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/scores.usaultimate.org\/scores\/#mixed\/tournament\/13381\" target=\"_blank\">Ontario<\/a>\u00a0and Canada in Italy to show that we can play with the big boys and girls from the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Columbia and Japan. \u00a0We get to go play a sport we love, living in Italy, on the shores of lake Como, while sipping prosecco from our water bottles.<\/p>\n<p>As a team we should feel\u00a0very excited and fortunate to have these opportunities &#8211; to represent our country, play the highest calibre Ultimate, meet new people and travel to fascinating new places. \u00a0Opportunities also lie within each game, each team meeting and every team bonding experience &#8211; take control of a game, 100% cuts, full attention in strat sessions, giving feedback, being the dude that orders shots. \u00a0We have the opportunity to face new challenges this summer, learn from them and succeed because of them.<\/p>\n<p>However, the summer will be measured by what we do with these unique and thrilling opportunities. \u00a0The key is to make the most of our opportunities, to have no regrets and be content with our efforts as we dissect our play on the long roads home from Boston, Minneapolis and Lecco.<\/p>\n<p>We cannot rest on our laurels as Canadian champs, because no\u00a0American teams will care, let alone Stache, TFP and Gecko. \u00a0We can&#8217;t go to the US Open simply happy with the opportunity, we need to show the world (ESPN 3&#8217;s world) what Union Ultimate is all about. \u00a0We can&#8217;t go to Italy simply to enjoy the sights, we need to show how past challenges have galvanized us and to take advantage of the\u00a0biggest opportunity of our playing careers by winning Worlds.<\/p>\n<p>One of our players recently said\u00a0this:<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8220;<span style=\"color: #222222;\">Our time together at practice and on the field is precious<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">. \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">There will always be work stress, family, babies, and the all\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">important question of what&#8217;s for dinner. None of that matters when\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">we&#8217;re on the field. We need to be in the moment. While you&#8217;re climbing\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">those steps to Sunnybrook use each one to clear your mind and prepare\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">for practice. Opportunities like this are few and far between so let&#8217;s\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">not let it slip away.<\/span>&#8220;<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Boston Mixed Easterns\" href=\"http:\/\/play.usaultimate.org\/events\/Mixed-Easterns\/schedule\/mixed\/Club-x-Club\/mixed_elite_teams\/\" target=\"_blank\">Boston Mixed Easterns<\/a> was our first challenge. \u00a0We finished 5th. \u00a0We had higher expectations. \u00a0But I&#8217;m excited because we have another opportunity to compete with <a style=\"color: #1155cc;\" href=\"http:\/\/donate.wildcardultimate.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Wild Card<\/a>,\u00a0and the other elite teams, this weekend at <a href=\"http:\/\/play.usaultimate.org\/events\/Boston-Invitational\/\" target=\"_blank\">Boston Invite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Our goals are to win and be the\u00a0dominant team from Canada. \u00a0The challenges we faced last year have provided us with many excellent opportunities. It is not everyday that we get these opportunties, so it is up to us to make the most of them.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; UNION<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With our\u00a0first tournament\u00a0of 2014 out of the way, \u00a0I can&#8217;t help but think of the opportunities we have this summer. As mentioned in my previous post, 2013 seemed like a season of challenges &#8211; hurdles, speed bumps, struggles &#8211; that were overcome. \u00a0Seemingly negative in context, due to the stresses they cause, challenges are what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2067"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2079,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions\/2079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/union.playwithspirit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}