By Dr. Terry Schroeder, Westlake Village resident and head coach of the U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team, which trained for several months in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks.

The Beijing fog has returned. The weather report says that it is supposed to rain tomorrow and then be a nice clear day for opening ceremonies.

I am feeling it now. That anticipation, that urge to get things started. I watched "Miracle" for the 100th time or so since I took over this job. It is a great movie and every time I watch it I shed a few tears. I am touched and inspired.

When I was playing with the national team in 1980 and we were getting ready for the Moscow Olympic Games - our entire team was able to sit together and watch the USA-versus-Soviet Union game.

Obviously, the game stirred a great deal of emotion in us all. We were preparing for our opportunity at the Games (not sure if we were going to boycott or not) and to watch our young college kids beat the powerful Soviets was very motivating.

As I watched the movie today, two things came to mind.

The first is family. A good team is really so much like a family. In the movie, the players protested when Coach Brooks brought in a player from the outside because he had not been a part of the family.

Every good team becomes a family. I believe that we have become a family over this past year. This team is close - they believe in each other, they trust each other and perhaps most importantly they have learned to respect each others differences. They are willing to sacrifice for each other.

That leads me to the second thing that really hit me as I watched the movie. At the end of the movie, Coach Brooks told the audience what his favorite part of coaching the Olympic team was.

Here is what he said, "Seeing 20 guys from so many different backgrounds come together as one team and seeing those 20 guys willing to sacrifice so much for the unknown."

This is the epitome of what it is all about. The Olympic Games are so much different than any other sporting event. This is an opportunity that comes along once every four years. It is especially true in our sport like water polo. This is what we train for, what we sacrifice for and what we live for - a chance, an opportunity to be the best in the world - perhaps more importantly - an opportunity to be your best as an individual and as a team.

There is the unknown - there is certainly no guarantee of a gold medal or even a medal of any color and yet these guys give so much of themselves just for the opportunity.

The USA Olympic Committee has adopted the tag line "amazing awaits." I certainly believe that amazing does await for this team over the next two weeks. They are ready to put it all on the line and "test" themselves against the best teams in the world.

I believe that we have become one of the so-called best teams in the world. We will be tested and we will find out. Regardless, amazing has already happened for me. It has been amazing being a part of this journey. Watching this team come together and witnessing their growth as a team. I have come to love this family and I believe in these guys with all of my heart.

Amazing Awaits...

See you at the pool!

Coach

Wayne Bean is a local supporter of the U.S. Men's Water Polo Team. He has been posting blog entries for Coach Schroeder while he is in Beijing.