It was though, I put so much pressure on myself throughout the entire Olympics and then I had a brutal game like that… I was devastated. Disappointed. Sad.

That was the ending of yesterday’s post! So here comes the continuation…

After the game, we were told that we will already face off against Korea the next day at 12pm. Let me tell you, it was a very long rest of the day after the quarterfinal, but good thing I had very good distractions. I was happy that I was able to talk to my family and many other close people in my life. By the time I hit the bed in the evening, I had a clear mind and was ready for the next challenge against Korea.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, the quote: “The lower you fall, the higher you’ll fly”, was reversed for us, well this time it only happened to me. The higher you fly, the lower you fall… In the morning of the game, I was asked to go talk to the goalie coach, where I was told I wasn’t going to dress for the game. The reason? He wished I would have made more saves in the quarterfinal……

I was devastated. Disappointed. Sad. Again!

It was a very difficult situation for me, I had to grin and bear it, for the team.

I made a decision for myself though, to get a really good weights, core and a bit of conditioning workout in. It felt great to sweat all my emotions out! It was actually during that workout, I experienced one of my Olympic highlights (later post)…

I felt great after, so much positive energy and excited for the last game for 5^th place. Before that was the case, we had another “off-day” with no ice. That was 2 days without touching the ice, that was quite special for me, as in a tournament 1 day is absolute max. I enjoyed a great off-day, got to discover a bit more of South Korea and recharge even more for the last game.

Finally, it was the day of the last game of these Olympics. I wanted it to be perfect! Even though we had a 4:40pm game, our schedule was packed before that. We had a 45-minute pre-game skate, two meetings, lunch and snack.

The pre-game skate felt terrible, after not being on the ice in two days, I felt rusty. I decided to continue all the same routines, did them more conscious though. Every movement I made was 200% conscious.

I decided to skip the cooldown after the pre-game ice and lunch in order to get more downtime and a 1-hour nap before the game. I had a tough time falling asleep for my nap, I was so excited for the game, I really wanted to get that 5^th place!

Eventually I fell asleep and felt better after the nap. After the meeting, the team was headed to the dinning hall for a snack, I ate a light lunch instead, before heading to the rink. Once at the rink, all my conscious movements continued. I felt better and better with every movement. Additionally, I followed my pre-game routine for warm-up precisely and the closer the game came the better and better I felt.

Good things don’t last, right? Haha well for the on-ice warm-up, I was thinking of telling the coach not to start me. I felt terrible, could not catch a single puck. Something didn’t feel right. I tried to pull myself together, thinking it’s just the nerves. Once in the locker room again, I did my usual mental preparation and all of a sudden I felt ready like never before.

The game itself was probably not the best game I was part of. We played well, but I felt like Japan had the better chances, I was determined though. I wanted to win this game, for me it was 5^th place or nothing. Good thing, we took the lead within the first 4 minutes of the game and never gave it up… 😊

Once the horn sounded after 60 minutes and we won the game 1-0, captured the 5^th place, I was so relieved. So much weight fell off my shoulders with that last win. I started crying, it was such an emotional moment for me…

Although we couldn’t confirm our bronze medal from Sochi and the MVP I was awarded, we won 5 games out of 6 games played! How sick is that?

A pretty strong finish to these Olympic Games… 😊

Xo

Florence

Due to the emotional roller-coaster called the Olympic Games, I have been slacking on writing my blog and sharing my experience with you all. So here goes a post about flying high…

After the historical game against a united-Korea, things got rolling for myself and the team. After a game off-day, we played against Japan. Although Japan outplayed us and were clearly the better team, we managed to get a 3-1 win, which meant that we already qualified for the quarterfinal. We were all so excited, as reaching the quarterfinal was our main goal. But we wanted more, we wanted to come in 1^st in our group, which meant we still had to beat Sweden in the last group game.

It’s great having an “off-day” after every game. To be able recover properly and refocus on the next opponent is great and I truly believe helps the competitiveness in the tournament. So with lots of new energy and a fresh mind, we faced Sweden in the last group stage game and yet again, won this game 2-1. What a ride!

For the first time ever, we came in 1^st in the group stage and won all the games in the group stage. Not bad, eh?

After the group stage, we had two off-days until the quarterfinal. February 15^th was for the first time in over 2 weeks, that we received an off-day from the ice. We still did an off-ice session. I was tired. I wish we would have had a full off-day the latest that day. We’ve been having a crazy schedule every day, even on gamedays. With such a schedule, the little down-time we had became even more important.

I needed some of the down-time to meet with my parents and just go outside of the Olympic premises and clear my head. Do some sightseeing and eat outside the dinning hall and so forth. It was very much needed.

Our second off-day we went back on the ice for a 70-minute ice session as well as some off-ice. On that day, the entire focus was on the next day, the quarterfinal against the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

I was extremely pumped to get the 12pm game, which meant we wouldn’t get an additional ice training to tire us out more. It’s nice to just get up and roll…

Everything was going so well for myself and the team, we were so excited and ready for the quarterfinal! The quote: “The lower you fall, the higher you’ll fly”, was reversed for us. The higher you fly, the lower you fall… We got outclassed by OAR, big time.

From my side, it was a weird game. I never felt good, throughout the entire game. Every puck on net felt weird, I couldn’t make a good save. The Russians did a very good scouting on me and never just put a puck on net, only when they had a legit goal chance. It was though, I put so much pressure on myself throughout the entire Olympics and then I had a brutal game like that… I was devastated. Disappointed. Sad.

The dream of another Olympic medal just shattered… It would be difficult to come back from that…

Xo

Florence

Hey everyone,

A lot of people over the years have asked me why I wear number 41 as my jersey number and I was always reluctant to tell them why. I felt embarrassed to tell people, but now I realized that it’s perfectly fine… 😊 So here you go!

Back in November 2004, I was part of the Swiss National Team travelling to Beijing, China for the Olympic Qualification Tournament for the Torino Olympic Games in 2006. On November 14th, 2004 we played an all or nothing game against China. The winner of this game would qualify for the 2006 Olympic Games.

The game was very tight and was only decided in the last 6 seconds (!!!) of the game when Claudia Riechsteiner scored the game winner (3-2) against China! With that, the Swiss Women’s Ice Hockey Team qualified for the first time in history for the Olympic Games!

Since that day, I created a countdown for myself, I wanted to be part of the Swiss Team that is travelling to Torino, Italy in 2006. The countdown started at 453 days!

So, long story short. 41 days before the opening ceremony I was selected to be one of the two goalies on the Swiss Team. I remember this day like it was yesterday… December 31st, 2005, we sat on the bus driving home from a tournament and I was asked to go talk with the coach and that’s when I was told that I made the team.

At this point I realized that my dream will become reality and with only 16 years old, I will be going to the Olympic Games. What a day!

Ever since that day, number 41 has been my jersey number and a good reminder of how fortunate I am to be able to represent Switzerland on the international stage! 😊

Xo

Florence

What a historical day it was yesterday.

With a rather late wakeup, we made our way to the rink for a pre-game skate around noon. It was a longer pre-game skate than I anticipated, usually it is 30 minutes, now it’s 45 minutes. Anyways, pre-game skate was good and you could tell that it was the day of the first important game. It was gameday behavior for many, which is different than a regular day. Much more focus, much more serious and much more quiet.

In the afternoon, we had quite some off time, which I used for a longer nap, it being two hours. I really needed those two hours though. The schedule has been tough and tight and I am still trying to catch up on the sleep I lost due to doping control.

After the nap, we had a team meeting and a snack/dinner before we drove to the rink.

It was during the drive to the rink where it really hit me about the significance of that game we were about to play. Along the streets on the way to the rink where hundreds and hundreds of people standing waiving the united Korea flag. I started getting nervous…

Once at the rink, I got into my regular pre-game routines and it felt really good. I was excited to play a game again, excited to play at the Olympics again. When it was time for on-ice warm-up and I saw all the people in the stands already, I got goosebumps. Warm-up went well and when I got back into the locker room, I had to refocus and get my tunnel “vision” going. It felt more difficult yesterday than it did in other games, but I knew I only had to focus on my game and not the historical part of the game.

Yet, that refocusing went well but I lost it again right when we were standing on the blue line before the puck drop. It was a very special atmosphere in the arena and the crowd was cheering really loudly. I got really nervous here.

Once I was in my crease, I went through my focus points yet again and knew right away, that now it’s all good. I’m fully focused on the game. It was a good feeling to finally get it and know that I won’t get distracted. When the game started the entire game was a bit nervous, but soon from our side we were able to put that nervousness down and just play.

I did not have much to do during that game, only 8 shots on net. It was my first time facing Korea, and I was very surprised by how good they played yesterday, especially their goalie that was absolutely incredible in net. She’s the backbone of that team and she stood on her head yesterday. We ended up winning the game 8-0 which was a great start for us. With that game being over, the focus switched to the Japan game that we play tomorrow.

After such an historical and late game, I had trouble falling asleep right away when we got back to the village at around 1:30am. I had a rather short night again, so I was happy that we had a relaxed day today. We went on the ice for a 70-minute practice and then the rest of the day we were off. I decided to go to the beach and just enjoy it there, it was absolutely beautiful. So nice weather, but very very very cold and very windy.

Now I’m excited for another gameday against Japan tomorrow!

Xo

Florence

Finally, here it is; my mask for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games!

Thank you so much to everyone for their great ideas and suggestions, I tried to take in as many as possible that would fit to me and my personality. Thank you again!

The center piece of the mask is a toque. The toque I was wearing on the picture I posted back in December when asking for ideas. This was besides the Swiss Cross and chocolate and all that, the most voted idea. I really liked this idea!

Going into the little details, on the chin, there is the Swiss Cross which all of the 6 goalies (women and men) of the Swiss team have. This displays a common appearance of all the Swiss goalies. Around the Swiss Cross, there is my jersey number, 41. I wanted this to be small, as the Olympic Games are, my opinion, not about the individual athlete but the country that athlete represents.

On the sides, underneath the toque, is a gondola. A gondola is very common in Switzerland with the many mountains we have. Also, it is a childhood memory when my family went skiing around Christmas time. Right under the gondola, you’ll see the Matterhorn mountain. The most famous mountain in Switzerland!

Off the Matterhorn, there is a typical Swiss train but with the extra of a steam locomotive. The steam then would create another Swiss Cross.

On the back plate, there is yet again a Swiss Cross, filled with chocolate, a cowbell, swiss cheese and a watch. All symbols of what Switzerland stands for. The watch in the middle also represents “the time is now”, time for the 2018 Games to start, time for the hockey tournament to start, time for us to show what we’ve got, and lastly time for me to show my performance. The Swiss Cross has angle wings on the left and right. These wings are now called the Swiss wings, hopefully making us fly far during these Olympic Games.

Also, there are Edelweiss flowers all over the mask, a representation of a typical and common Swiss flower.

Lastly, and this is the most important part! There are approximately 364 little stones, representing the most important people that have brought me to where I am today as an athlete, but also as a person. The list is long, my parents, family, relatives, coaches, teachers, teammates and many more are in there. On that list, there are also people that I don’t personally know and they might not even know who I am, but they have inspired me at one point in my life.

With that being said, a huge thank you for everyone that has supported me throughout my life as an athlete and as a person! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Let me know if you have any questions about my mask, I’d be more than willing to answer!

Xo

Florence

Today was the first gameday here in Korea. After only two ice practices and being here two days, we faced off against Canada in a pre-Olympic friendly game.

The day started quite early, with breakfast at 7:30am and the bus going to the rink right after. The bus ride to the rink takes approximately 30 minutes one way, so it is quite far away. Once at the rink, we got changed and started with our warm up routines before going on the ice.

Usually this warm up takes around 30 minutes. First blackrolling a bit, then dynamic mobility followed by quick feet, some jumps and I always finish off with a couple of core exercises.

Pre-game ice practices are always 30 minutes long (it’s very short!). It’s all about getting your legs going and getting a good feel for the puck and all that before the actual game later on. Usually, we leave the rink 1 hour after we get off the ice. So time to cool down and shower. You can see, the time required for such a short ice practice is tremendous. 1 hour of driving, 1hr 30 min for warm-up and cool down and just 30 minutes practice.

Anyways, after we came back to the hotel, we had lunch. I literally inhaled the food, so I could go to my room and get a 30 minute nap before we had the pre-game meeting and were headed to the rink again.

At 15:40 local time, we faced off against Canada for the first time again since the semifinal game of the 2014 Olympic Games. I was really excited for this game, I always think that playing against Canada, the best in the world, is very special. Today was rough though…

Shortly after the game started, it was 1-0 Canada… But it stayed that way for the entire 1st period. It was during the second and third period, that we got killed with the score being 6-0 after the 2^nd and 10-0 after the 3rd. ☹ Yes it was rough!

We got off with a black eye – it was an exhibition game! I got off with a black eye – literally! During the first period, I received a high stick right to the top of my eye. Quite painful and not pretty!

I’m headed off to bed now, another full schedule tomorrow aaaaaaand the revealing of my mask on the Olympic Channel!!!

Stay tuned!

Xo
Florence

Hello from Goyang-Si!

Today was the first full day in Korea and I’m excited to share a bit with all of you!

As luck has it, my slowly adapting to the Korean time totally worked out and I was able to get a very well good night sleep last night and was full of energy all day today. It was a rather busy day with lots to do, but it feels good.

The day started with breakfast at 9am followed by a quick team meeting and then we were headed to the ice rink. We didn’t go on the ice in the morning, instead did an off-ice session where I got a bike interval in as well as some mobility. After the training, we went back to the hotel for lunch before we had a bit over an hour free time.

During that time, Nico Bullo, Monika Waidacher and me took a stroll in the city of Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do… This is where we’re staying at right now by the way. It was very nice being outside and going for a walk, although it was really cold. We made our way to a Starbucks where we warmed ourselves up with coffee and hot chocolate before heading back to the hotel again for another team meeting.

Team meetings are usually tactical meetings where we would look at how we should be playing through theory and looking at videos from previous games. Additionally to team meetings, the special teams (Powerplay and Penalty-Kill) have more meetings, of which I am not involved. After the meeting, we had a quick snack and then went to the rink for a 90-min ice practice. It was a good, good energy and it was nice to get the legs going again.

The day finished with a nice dinner, another team meeting and finally physical therapy for me. Now I’m headed off to bed, tomorrow we have the first exhibition game against Canada! 😊

Xo

Florence