Until Next Summer.....

Hey Everyone!

This whirlwind of a quarter has come to an end. What an experience. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities that playing for Team Canada has presented me. It is hard to believe that a few short years ago I showed up to a Team Canada tryout in Vancouver, not having a single clue of what to expect. It has now been an amazing three and a half years. I have played on three different continents, in six different countries: Canada, the United States, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico and now South Africa. I have seen so much of the world, simply playing the game I love. It has opened so many doors for me. It brought me to Sorcerer, to the All-America game my senior year of high school and of course, to the University of Washington. Team Canada has honestly changed my life and I am thankful every single day.

These three weeks flew by. I am now back in California, sitting on my couch looking through pictures, already reminiscing on the amazing time I had with my coaches and teammates…the amazing places we visited, the amazing things we saw, and the amazing people we met. Although we didn’t medal, I learned a lot from watching. Every team plays the game differently, especially the Asian teams, and I am hoping to incorporate elements of their game into my own. The final game was an exciting one to watch as the United States won gold, defeating Japan 4-1. If I couldn't be the one out on the field competing for the title of "World Champion", there's no one else I'd rather be supporting than one of my best friends and teammates Kylee Lahners.

Later that night, our team took our official team photo and did a little "White Elephant" gift exchange as our final goodbye. In a "White Elephant" gift exchange, everyone is given a number. One by one, people have the option to either steal someone's gift or choose a new gift to unwrap. I was fourth and unwrapped hand-carved giraffe hair pins. They were stolen a couple of times and at the end of the game, I had the final decision of choosing whether to steal a gift or end the game by unwrapping the final gift....I was pretty bold and decided to take a chance on the final gift.....It was a pair of 1/2 inch long, clear, buttons...........hands down the worst gift in the entire group. But c'est la vie! It was a great way to say goodbye and spend our last night together as a team.

The next morning, we headed out to the airport. We said goodbye to our amazing host and bus driver and began our trek home. We flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg to Dakar to Washington DC together as a team. From there, I said my goodbyes and sprinted to my connecting flight to San Francisco. From when I left the hotel to when I arrived at home...it was 34 hours of total traveling. It feels so good to be home, but sleeping has already become a huge issue with the ten hour time change.

In closing...to my friends, family and followers, thank you all for the continued support. I can’t believe the success this blog has had. At first it was just for close friends and family, it has now spread to countries all over the world, with thousands of views.

I would also like to thank my teammates, coaches and support staff for making this trip truly unforgettable. Although it was my last event playing with them on the Junior National Team, I know our paths will cross again in the near future. I wish all of my teammates the best. Good luck to everyone at school this year and I hope we will play together in the future with Team Canada.

As always, it is an honor to play for the Canadian National Team and wear the red and white. Over the past three years I have accumulated amazing memories and made friends that I know will last a lifetime… I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

Happy Holidays everyone & GO CANADA!

Victoria