I had the pleasure a few years ago of speaking with Cheryl Pounder, one of the members of the Canadian Women’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Although Canada had dominated women’s ice hockey for years, it had to settle for the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, losing to the United States. In the years that followed, the USA became the team to beat.
Leading up to the 2002 Olympics, the Canadian squad had lost quite a few consecutive exhibition games to the Americans, who were favoured to repeat as Olympic champions.
Pounder told me that one of the important events in selecting the team was the fitness test. She said it was difficult, extremely difficult. It was so difficult that some of the players gave up. In the end, she said, nobody passed the test.
Then she revealed the secret. The coaching staff had designed the test so nobody could pass. The test was designed to measure the hearts of the players when faced with impossible odds. The coaches felt that in order to beat the Americans, they would have to assemble a team where nobody would ever give up, no matter what the circumstances. Those who gave up too easily were not considered worthy of being on the team.
Against a strong American team, the Canadians hung on to win the final game 3-2 and the gold medal.
There are times in our life when we may be facing something like the fitness test the Canadian women were put through. Just like them, the experience may be simply a measure of our heart to push on when others would give up, so that we can eventually meet destiny head on and come out the winner.
Although Canada had dominated women’s ice hockey for years, it had to settle for the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, losing to the United States. In the years that followed, the USA became the team to beat.
Leading up to the 2002 Olympics, the Canadian squad had lost quite a few consecutive exhibition games to the Americans, who were favoured to repeat as Olympic champions.
Pounder told me that one of the important events in selecting the team was the fitness test. She said it was difficult, extremely difficult. It was so difficult that some of the players gave up. In the end, she said, nobody passed the test.
Then she revealed the secret. The coaching staff had designed the test so nobody could pass. The test was designed to measure the hearts of the players when faced with impossible odds. The coaches felt that in order to beat the Americans, they would have to assemble a team where nobody would ever give up, no matter what the circumstances. Those who gave up too easily were not considered worthy of being on the team.
Against a strong American team, the Canadians hung on to win the final game 3-2 and the gold medal.
There are times in our life when we may be facing something like the fitness test the Canadian women were put through. Just like them, the experience may be simply a measure of our heart to push on when others would give up, so that we can eventually meet destiny head on and come out the winner.
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