Thu, Sep 03, 2009 page18

• DEAFLYMPIC TAIPEI 2009: Deaflympic champs shedding kilos in pursuit of gold

  FEELING THE HEAT The Great Britain soccer team arrived early in Taiwan to acclimatize to the hot weather — but still face a grueling schedule to retain their Deaflympic title

  • By Dave Carroll / STAFF REPORTER
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  So what is the key to successfully defending a Deaflympics title and picking up those coveted gold medals?

  Great Britain’s men’s soccer team head coach Phil Gardner believes preparation is vital.

  “I live by the motto ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail,’” Gardner said.

  The British team were the first to arrive in Taipei on Aug. 26, a full week and a half before the start of the Games.

  “The last Deaflympics [in Melbourne] we arrived early, because we needed to get used to the heat there and it was really worthwhile,” Gardner said. “It really made it possible for us to play good football. So we thought, Taiwan, different sort of environment [from Britain], it’s humid, so we probably need to arrive early here, too, to make as much use of that as we did in Melbourne and it’s really paid off. It’s been really beneficial.”

  The team were put through their paces during a tough warm-up match against Taipei City FC on Saturday and Gardner believed it was the ideal preparation.

  “We did our homework. We did some research on that team,” Gardner said. “We looked at their Web site. We realized nationally they were the 11th-ranked team, so we were prepared to play a team that was ranked 11. We did what we wanted to do, we did well. It was a good game. I think it was a good game for them as well. I think it was a useful experience for both of us.”

  Goalkeeper John Atkinson, known within the squad as “The Legend,” also considered it a good workout.

  “A little bit tired, to be honest. I’m going to go straight to bed,” Atkinson said. “Overall, fantastic. Our performance was pretty hot. We played well. Considering the weather, I think we adapted well. There are areas of the game we still need to improve, tactics, we also need to work on our fitness for the next few days, before the Japan game.”

  There were a couple of injuries to players before and during Saturday’s game, however, and that was a bit of a concern for Gardner, with the competition due to begin tomorrow.

  “Yes, obviously. I’ve worried about that for months and months and months to be honest,” Gardner said. “We’re back into the football season back home and there have been a high number of players who’ve experienced injuries. We were ready to move people into the unfit category a couple of times, but most of the players are match-fit and as a result they’re ready to start when the competition kicks off.”

  The soccer matches are being played every day at 9:30am and 2:30pm at Yingfeng, Taipei. With a match every other day, it’s a tougher schedule than a World Cup or European Championship and Gardner and his coaching team are learning fast.

  “We’re on a really steep learning curve to be honest,” Gardner said. “We need to be careful. Our players have already lost a lot of weight. Before today [Saturday], there is a player who has lost 8kg. Now, 8kg in two days, training, that’s a lot. That’s very serious indeed, so we need to pay attention to that. We’re prepared. We know what’s coming and we have our own training sessions in the afternoon so we can get used to the players working at those times in the morning and the afternoon.”

  Team captain Johnny Evans said the players need the extra time they have in Taipei to adapt to the conditions.

  “Really, it’s a big change for us [the players], from what we’re used to back in England” Evans said. “In time, we’re getting used to it. If you compare today with the first day we got here, it felt like we were in an oven when we first got here, but now I would say we’re more acclimatized and I’m sure by the time the Games actually start, it’ll be heaps better.”

  Atkinson is looking forward to the competition.

  “Oh, yes. Big time,” Atkinson said. “It’s a massive challenge for all of us. Definitely.”

  So far for the players it’s been working on their fitness, acclimatizing and training, with no chance yet to get out and about in the city and see the sights.

  “We haven’t been out much,” Evans said. “We’ve only been here three or four days, so we haven’t had much time to look around at any of those big buildings. We can see them [from the Grand Hotel], of course, but we haven’t actually been in them.”

  With no language barrier, as the players all use international sign language, camaraderie is a big part of a Deaflympics tournament.

  “After a big international tournament, the relationship that builds between the other teams and ourselves is good compared to hearing teams. I’m not sure they would get on as well, communicate as well,” Evans said.

  So who are the main challengers to Great Britain’s Deaflympics men’s soccer title?

  “It’s difficult to say really,” Gardner said. “In the build-up to Taiwan, we had six international competitions. We didn’t get to compete against the strongest team. I would say that Iran is probably the strongest team. Also, Ukraine could be a threat to us as well, but we’re prepared for everybody. I’m happy to keep a low profile at this point and see what happens. We’ll pass over the favorites tag to someone else.”

  Atkinson picked out some other possible European contenders.

  “Am I allowed to say?” Atkinson said. “I guess our biggest threat, France. Germany, possibly. Iran for sure. Definitely Iran. There are some new teams, like Japan, that we haven’t really seen before. That could possibly be a challenge for us.”

  The Great Britain team are in Taipei despite receiving no funding from the British government and after having to raise £3,000 (US$4,900) each, a different scenario to the Melbourne Deaflympics four years ago.

  “UK sport funded 50 percent of what we needed for the trip last time,” Gardner said. “That was great. This time, however, we received no funding. The players have moved on with it, we’ve got past that and we’re here and we were desperate to be part of the Deaflympics. GB Deaf Sports has a high profile and it didn’t stop us.”

  So, despite the lack of funding, the difficulties adapting to the climate and the odd injury worry, the British team are here and desperate to do well again.

  “We worked at it and we achieved what we wanted, which was to come here,” Gardner said. “Of course, it was all terribly frustrating and disappointing not to be recognized in the way that we were previously, and, to tell you the truth, I still can’t grasp why they [the British government] didn’t do it, but we’re here.”
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