Reflections

July 8, 2008

In early December after returning from a trip to Beijing and having a chance meeting with a Beijing hockey fan and coach (Mr. Yuan Meng), I began to think about organizing a trip for a select group of players who had the desire and personal character to travel abroad and be the first ever visiting youth hockey team (boys or girls) to play in China.

At first, I thought it was going to be a difficult task finding enough players who wanted to travel 8,560 miles to a another country where only Tofu burgers are sold. To my pleasant surprise it was exactly the opposite. I had an overwhelmingly positive and energetic response from many people from many teams making the selection process, ironically, even more difficult.

In the end, we achieved a perfect blend of players who all represented themselves, teams, country, and families in an outstanding manner. Throughout the process of preparing for the trip, I was amazed at the level of sacrifice, dedication, and commitment that both players and parents exhibited in all regards. I would like to personally thank my wife Susan Yue for dedicating countless late night hours communicating with our Chinese counterparts and China Spree our travel agency.

I would also like to thank all of the donors who made this trip financially possible. Your donations went well beyond any financial value as can be seen in the interpersonal relationships that the children were able to make with the Chinese players throughout the trip.

I would like to thank the Shoreline Sharks, Mid Fairfield CT Stars, CT Polar Bears, CT Wolves, Greater New Haven Warriors, Wonderland Wizards, Yale Youth Hockey, and the HOSA Ice Center- Beijing for making this experience so successful and possible.

I would also like to thank all the parents/grand-parents and my co-coaches Bill Greim and Kelsey Greim for their time and dedication. Our team blog would not have been a success without our team photographer Mr. Tom Tolla who also deserves a special "medal of honor" for weathering through sun poisoning, dehydration, and vertigo to put together what is going to be a blockbuster photographic chronology of our trip.

The players not only continued their hockey development but also initiated a cultural and anthropological educational process which will undoubtedly be a lifelong journey for them.

To this end, I invite all the players to offer to present their experiences at their schools, to their teams, and to their communities to share their learning experience whenever the chance presents itself. I greatly look forward to seeing everyone "in the rinks" this year!

Best, Coach Yue

P.S. Perhaps we can pull together an end of the summer picnic where we can go through a slide show of our very special trip memories.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 7, 2008


Quite an amazing trip and a great opportunity for the players and their families. Coach Yue, Sue Yue and Nancy Banasiak did a great job of organizing this.

The competition varied greatly, but the Sharks got stronger with every game. The last game, although a loss proved to be the best experience for the kids. They played up, fearless and determined to compete all over the ice. They wore their Sharks USA colors with pride and their growth from the whole experience is immeasurable.

We missed Sam Sandler who got sick and only played one game. She is an awesome player who was with the team in spirit.

In China it is quite clear that only the more wealthy children get the opportunity to play ice hockey (not unlike the US) and not many of those are girls. We hope that our visit and donations of equipment inspires more Chinese girls to play hockey and makes it within reach of a few more kids.

A lot of barriers were broken down this week as the Sharks showed just how good a team of girls (and a few younger boys) can be. Our team learned how talented players can be from a country so far away and we all learned just how powerful sports can be to bridge our different cultures.

The smiles on the kids faces after each game made all the travel and all the expense worth it.

Coach Greim

The Long Journey Home, July 5, 2008

We arrived at the new Beijing T3 terminal about 9:30 AM for a "scheduled" 12.55 PM flight.

After numerous delays, gate changes, plane changes and protests we took off at 8:45 PM.

Arrived back in Guilford at 1:00 AM which is about 30 hours of travel. Safe and happy to be home.

Farewell / Awards Dinner July 4, 2008

On Friday night we went to our farewell dinner. After being about an hour and a half late, we sat down at our last meal together of Chinese cuisine. The Sharks bonded with the Beijing Tiger Cubs, exchanging awards, conversation and their email address.

We may live so many miles apart and our cultures so different but the game of hockey and the excitement of international competition seemed to make the differences seem so small. Friendships were formed half way around the world!

After the late night, we headed back to our hotel, with a detour to Dairy Queen for some good old fashion American ice cream.

KLG

Olympic Village July 3, 2008

Although we were not allowed to stop at the Olympic Village, we did drive by a couple of times. These photos are from a day visit but at night the National Stadium called the Birds Nest is lit up with the red interior pulsating like a heart beat. Spectacular!

Great Wall July 3, 2008

Today we went to the Great Wall of China. It is 3,000 miles long, and would extend from New York City to Denver. It was originally built to protect China and keep the Mongolians out.

At each low point in the wall, is a trap set up to catch invaders. (Like a Turtle in a pond) Much of the wall is overgrown now with brush except for areas that are tourist destinations.

Climbing the wall can be very challenging especially in the summer heat. (Just ask our photographer, Tom Tolla).

KLG

Sharks Lose Finale

Although playing their best game of the week, the Sharks USA team lost the final game in Beijieng.

Originally scheduled to play the Hurricanes, the Sharks were surprized to find a diffferent opponent waiting for them on Wednesday.

The Snow Birds turned out to be a talented opponent with multi national players. The final score of 10-3 was not totally indicative of the play as the Sharks challenged all over the ice and at times controlled play. In the end though, the Snow Birds talent gave them a well deserved win but the Sharks showed very well how girls and a few younger boys can represent their country when challenged at the ineternational level.

Goal scorers for the Sharks were Sam Pratt, Nicole Lue and Kayla Maloney.

Over the course of 3 games the Sharks tied their opponents in goals and held an advantage in shots on net.

Friday night will bring a final opportunity to meet their opponents in a farewell dinner and a conclusion to a tremendous international experience.

Coach Greim

Summer Palace Visit

Today we visited the Summer Palace where the Emperor and Empress enjoyed their summers for eight centuries. Beautiful temples and a 728 yard long corridor which is a covered walkway with beautiful paintings on every surface.

After scaling Longevity Hill we took a Dragon Boat ride on Kumming lake and watched Chinese women dancers in a covered pavilion at the lake side by the Seventeen Arch Bridge

Enjoy the photos!

KLG

Sharks defeat Warriors 8-0

Goals:

Kayla Maloney (2)
Samantha Pratt
Padaraic Connors
Nicole Lue
Andrew Banasiak
Derek Lue
Emily Hershman

Assists:

Lauren Yue
Nicole Lue
Lizzie Banasiak
Padaraic Connors
Andrew Banasiak
Derek Lue
Jordan Ginsburg
Kayla Maloney
Emily Hershman

Winning Goalie: Emily Yue - Shutout

Beijing Zoo and a visit to a Hutongs village

The AM trip today was the Beijing Zoo. I believe every one's favorite was the Giant Pandas, which were beautiful and fairly active giving us great picture opportunities. We also saw all kinds of animals like monkeys, elephants,gorillas and even raccoons.

After the exciting, yet short visit to the zoo we visited a home which belonged to a Chinese family in a Hutongs village. The couple made us traditional food, and gave us a taste of their life. They shared stories of their past and present with all of the construction in Beijing. In a Hutong village up to 10 families may share a common bathroom! This was an amazing journey back in time to help us understand how the Chinese lived, and many still live in communities. Many are being forced to leave now due to development but would prefer to stay rather than go to condominiums.

After the meal, we all went on cart rides driven by Chinese men on bicycles. The men brought us over to the Beijing drum tower where we walked up a completely vertical flight of stairs which led to the drums and other historic pieces. Outside was a wrap around balcony which looked over Beijing from the Forbidden City to the Olympic village.

KLG

Sharks USA Hit the ice

Another early morning for the sharks when it came time for the first and only practice. After about 1 hour drive through Beijing we arrived at freezing rink, got dressed, and took the ice. Most of the practice was devoted to getting their skating legs and revisiting a few drills learned in previous practices and games.

After practice, we went out for lunch at the twin towers mall for either Thai or Peppe's Pizza. We filled our stomachs and headed back to the hotel for some rest. We then met down at the lobby to take off for the game.

The game opened with a ceremonial drop of the puck by Zou Dewel, a two star General who served as the Chief physician in the recent earthquake rescue.

This game was a big change for the Sharks with three 20 minute periods, it was a close game with the Sharks taking a 1 goal lead in the first period but the Beijin Tiger Cubs scored 2 goals in the second period as jet lag and confusion seemed to take hold of the Sharks.

Period 3 brought a renewed energy to the Sharks who after an initial goal by the Tiger Cubs controlled the play for most of the period with Sharks goalie Emily Yue having only to make a few key saves. With just under 3 minutes to play the Sharks pulled their goalie and came alive to score with a second goal by Rachel Muskin. The Sharks continued pressure with Samantha Sanders and Kate McNally applying constant pressure from the points but unfortunatly ended up as a 3-2 victory for the Beijing Tiger Cubs.

The good news is that the coach called and wants a rematch and the Sharks can't wait.

After we packed up and loaded on the bus, we went out the dinner at the infamous "Hot Pot". This was a traditional chinese meal where there is a pot of steamed water at each table and you throw in all sorts of food such as beef, mushrooms, tofu, and much more. This dinner was definately the most unusual yet but who knows what the rest of the trip will bring!

KLG