by Melissa Soligo former Scotties champion and an Olympic Bronze Medalist

Being a 'distinguished member' of the media entourage covering the Scotties this week in my hometown has have left me with some thoughts of what lies ahead for the playoff bound teams.

The first phase of the Scotties is now over, and we enter into the sudden-death portion of the show.  Four teams remain (B.C., Quebec, Saskatchewan and Team Canada) and each with one goal in mind, the one we have talked about all week, winning the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

For the fans, the excitement and anticipation is building.  As I watched the tiebreaker game between Canada and P.E.I, the word 'electric' comes to mind. This part of the week is awesome!

The fans start to play a huge role in what happens on the ice.  New alliances are being made for the remaining provinces, new cheers are being created and new noisemakers are being invented.

With only one sheet in play, there is an ability to hear everything - either from the players on the ice or from the fans (so be careful what you say).  The fans have been great all week and their inspirational roars will continue to guide the teams along their way. Just a quick reminder to all, that etiquette is the be-all and end-all of being an excellent fan. 

For the players now, it is all about the pressure, and ensuring they use all the skills they have and all the accessible resources to help manage the added anxieties.  All the top competitors know that with pressure comes along some extra stress and it now comes down to stress management, and who handles it the best. 

The elusive sleep:  I am sure everyone, like me, has experienced a bad sleep.  There is nothing worse than tossing and turning, and attempting to turn off the mind that won't turn off.   Now, add the enormous pressure and emotion of the STOH sudden-death playoffs, the possibility of going for a world title or the ultimate opportunity to get to the Olympic trials and advancing to the Olympics!  Do you think you could sleep?

Enter the coaches and why they are paid the big bucks.  Whatever schedules and routines teams had are now being revamped.  In the playoffs, everything is different, and the faster a team makes the adjustments, the better they will fair.  Each coach will create a team blueprint that they believe will be vital to success and it will be followed to the letter.

There are so many crucial components to success.  Nutrition is vital, just as it has been all week.  Rest, both mentally and physically, is at the top of the list.  A perfect balance needs to be created between maintaining appropriate activation levels and ensuring mental recovery.  As a team that has been active for eight straight days already, it is not the time to laze around and enjoy the views of the inner harbour.

And finally the game begins.  The singing of O Canada becomes much more meaningful.  The parade of athletes becomes that much more momentous.  As the only game out there, more and more watchful eyes are on the players.  Any miss is magnified.  Resilience should be a player's middle name.  Any strategy discussion will have the influence of thousands of fans (although I can bet the players won't listen to us).

It is all about the fight.  It's about sheer determination.  It's about the huge shots, the incredible sweeping, the impeccable draw weight and the controlled hit weight.

There is no time to give up, and no time for "I can't".  Regardless of the outcome of the game, it is about having no regrets at the end of the day. If everything isn't left out on the ice, then you didn't try hard enough.  Win or lose, a champion will be completely spent after a sudden-death game.

Let's take a quick moment to celebrate the week.  Congrats to all the teams.  To those that are no longer playing, enjoy your reign as provincial champions and to those still playing, enjoy what comes next.