Day 5: USA v. Avesta

The team is on a pretty regular schedule now, waking up, eating breakfast and heading to the gym for practice in the morning. This morning, the WNT had a special meeting with Claes before handball training, so things got started around 9:30am instead of 10:00am.

Claes spent an hour going over various psychological aspects of the game, and setting goals and having proper motivation. He also showed some videos about how different animals use cooperation and teamwork to overcome obstacles in nature. It was a very inspirational meeting, and after that the team hit the gym to put some of the new ideas into action.

Once again, the WNT was joined by Claes and Thomas during the training session. They worked on different skills, focusing a lot on the wings and 6-meter shots (both for the goalies and the shooters). It was a great practice, and the team was sad to say good-bye to Thomas and Claes who had to leave shortly after the practice session was over.

After lunch at the bistro, the WNT had a chance to rest and relax for a few hours before boarding a bus to Avesta, about an hour to the north. Once the team arrived in Avesta, a representative from the town council walked everyone around the museum attached to the sports complex.

The team on a tour of the factory

The museum is an old steel/iron factory that has been preserved and then renovated to include audio/video and interactive features for people to experience what it must have been like to work in the factory a hundred years ago. A guide walked us around and explained how steel and iron were refined using the furnaces and mills. Upstairs, there were exhibits made by Swedish artists that reflected some of the themes that revolve around the factory, such as the story of a ghost woman in a white dress who is said to have haunted the workers.

The tour guide explaining the story of the "woman in the white dress"
The WNT looking at the glass art exhibit

When the tour finished, the WNT got ready for the game in the locker room before warming up as usual and being introduced to the crowd of around 350 people. Avesta, a Division 1 team, took the court and the WNT got down to business.

As in the past two games, the WNT had a difficult time in the beginning, letting Avesta run up a solid 5-6 point lead through most of the first half. At half-time, the WNT went to the locker room behind by five with a score of 18-13.

During half-time, the team regrouped and came back to win the second half, coming within two points of Avesta during the last few minutes of the game. In the end, they couldn't quite catch the lead and lost the game 29-26.

Overall it was a very good game for the WNT, who was able to keep pace with the very fast speed of the Division 1 team. Turnovers were down from the previous game, and there were goals from every position. Defensively, the WNT was able to adapt using several different strategies to disrupt the flow of Avesta's offense, while offensively the WNT was patient and better controlled.

Team captain Tomuke "T" Ebuwei won MVP of the game and received a gift from the host club. Megan Ballard was recognized as the WNT defensive player of the game, and Kathy Darling was recognized as the WNT offensive player of the game after scoring 8 goals.

After the game the team joined Avesta and many members of the club and the town council for a very nice dinner at a restaurant near the museum. Each member of the WNT was given a book and a small wooden horse to commemorate their visit to Avesta.

On the way home, the bus stopped at the "World's Biggest Wooden Horse" and took a picture with it- it is a famous symbol of Sweden and the town of Avesta is very proud to be the site of the Guiness World record.

USA: 26, Avesta: 29