MARKHAM, Ont. - Heartbreak has fuelled Canadas water polo teams for the better part of four years.Both the men and women narrowly missed out on playing in the 2012 London Olympics — the women by virtually the smallest of margins — and they havent forgotten.Its pretty much a constant thing, said mens goalie Robin Randall, who, at 34, has experienced the lows and highs of competing for Canada. Any time youre in a rut and you need to dig yourself of bed, and get in the car and go to practice, thats something you can think about. . . most of the time it adds to the fire thats already inside you.Canadas teams opened the UANA Cup on Wednesday night at the ATOS Markham Pan Am Centre, which is the water polo venue for this summers Pan American Games, and what the players hope will be the backdrop for a happier Olympic qualifying story.At the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara, a gold medal would have meant an Olympic berth in London, but it wasnt to be for either team. The men lost 7-3 to the U.S. in their final. The womens loss was a more heartwrenching affair, an epic final that is believed to be one of the longest games ever. After ending regulation tied 8-8, followed by a scoreless overtime period, the U.S. edged Canada 19-18 in a penalty shootout for a 27-26 victory that left the Canadian women distraught on the pool deck.Its still motivation for me, said veteran Krystina Alogbo. It is hard, but all these moments bring that passion, that feeling that you still want it. We did come a hair short from qualifying, and its just that feeling of almost having it just gives you that extra feeling like you want it, you want to go get it.So looking back at small details (in the loss), thats the little things that coaches will give us, details in practices and you try to not to let that happen ever again.For the men, a victory at the Pan Am Games, July 10-26, would put them into the Rio Olympics. Failing that, theyll have a second-chance qualifier.I think we definitely are more prepared than we were (in 2011) to do what will be required to get a gold medal at the Pan American Games, said Canadas captain Kevin Graham, who plays professionally in Hungary. So, yeah, losses are really disappointing but they can be learned from and used as motivation to get the job done the next time.The women have to travel a tougher route to win one of the eight Olympic spots through a one-shot qualifying tournament in the spring of 2016.Canadas men will play Argentina and Brazil in this weeks UANA Cup, which is the Americas qualifier for this years world championships and a test event for the Pan Am Games. The women will play only Brazil after Puerto Rico withdrew.Both both squads its a chance to get accustomed to the $78 million, 2,000-seat seat Pan Am facility just northeast of Toronto.I think its a bit of a psychological edge, Randall said of a hometown Pan Am Games. Everybody else has to travel, everything is pretty familiar to us, we have normal food that were used to, everybody speaks the same language as us, and fans are going to be cheering for us. It will be good.Canadas men finished 11th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which was the teams first appearance at the Games in 24 years. The Canadian women were fifth at the 2000 Sydney Games, then seventh four years later in Athens. They didnt qualify for Beijing or London. Custom Nike Atlanta Braves Jerseys . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. Custom Nike New York Yankees Jerseys . 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He signed a four-year deal with Schalke.OAKLAND – The following is a question this writer did not expect to type this season: where would the Blue Jays be without the contribution of J.A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. Efficiency has been an issue for Happ during his time in Toronto. Hes acquired a reputation as a five-inning pitcher, driven prematurely from outings because hes plodded along to 100 pitches far too soon. Its gotten late, often, far too early. Something has changed. Suddenly, in more starts than not, Happ is working deep, positively affecting the result. When he returned to the rotation on May 5 in Philadelphia, Happs future was being determined on a start-to-start basis. The leash is now longer. Since being acquired from the Astros in July 2012, Happ has been a starter and a reliever; hes been injured, first with a fractured foot two seasons ago and then with head and knee injuries last year, the result of a horrifying line drive off his skull on May 7, 2013 in Tampa Bay. His back flared up in spring training, resulting in a horrible March that cost him his spot in the rotation and landed him on the disabled list for opening day. There have been periods of self doubt, he admitted to TSN.ca. "I certainly would be lying if I said no to that," said Happ. "Last year there was a point where I tried to talk to (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) one on one and was just like, What have you got? I know Im capable of more and Im willing to do whatever it takes to get over the hump. I never thought I was far away but I just couldnt quite get over the hump for whatever reason. It comes and goes and it still does." Happ is a quiet guy. He doesnt say much, at least not when media have access to the players. Nobody would accuse Happ of seeking the limelight. He laughed in spring training, after he was away from the team for two days to deal with the back problem, when it was pointed out to him that a guy so quiet couldnt seem to avoid controversy. Hes heard the talk and hes read the articles. He knows he has his critics and his doubters; hes been one himself. Happ isnt bitter. "I think you write what you see and if thats what you see then thats your interpretation and understanding," said Happ. "Thats how this thing works. I cant be mad at anybody for what they feel like or whatever. I just know what I knew, or know, Im capable of so thats why I try to defend myself in situations where Im maybe not in a position where Id like to be." Happ has allies in two of important places: the managers and coaches offices, where John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker reside. Gibbons has consistently defended his left-hander, quick to point out Happs ordeal last season and confident that a slight arm slot adjustment ultimately would pay off. "Ive always been a fan of the guy," said Gibbons. "Ive always known what hes capable of, but the bottom line is hes got to go out and do that. Hes had his ups and downs along the way but eeverybody in the game at this level, I mean, very few guys take this game by storm year after year.ddddddddddddquot; "I think hes comfortable in that slot right now," said Walker. "Its not as high as it used to be and its not as low as he first started when we dropped him down. Its kind of that in-between slot and I think hes really comfortable throwing there. I think hes in a good place physically and mentally he looks forward to that ball every five days." Happ has been told to attack the strike zone. Hes been told to pitch to contact. Hes been told to more aggressively use his fastball. Hes doing both. Consider this: in his start against the White Sox on June 26, a 7-0 win in which he went 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball, Happ threw 124 pitches, 111 of which were fastballs. The relationship with Walker is an important one to Happ, forged when he joined the Blue Jays two years ago. Walker was the bullpen coach at the time. Happ was a reliever who believed he should be a starter. The two meshed. "Hes a guy that I always felt like he felt that I was capable of more and expected more and kind of knew that it was in there," said Happ. "I know thats kind of part of his job and he probably does it to everybody but hes very good at individualizing things and I always felt like he kind of had my back and I felt the same way about Gibby too. Maybe thats the reason why Im still here." There will be future outings when Happ struggles. The aim, of course, is to turn those into the exception rather than the rule. That June 21 start in Cincinnati, for example. Happ got rapped for seven earned runs in four innings. He bounced back with that gem against the White Sox and a strong start against the Brewers. The doubters who believed Happ, version Cincinnati, was the real guy were forced to reconsider. So if this is the real Happ, what happened? Why did a left-handed pitcher with a mid-90s fastball lack mound presence? Why did it appear that he didnt trust his repertoire? "Any answer to this is going to sound like an excuse and thats the last thing I want it to be," said Happ. "I let myself get caught up in a situation, playing on a team that wasnt very successful and I allowed that to affect me mentally as much I tried to not (let it). I think I probably got into some bad habits." Those bad habits were both mental and mechanical. Success, however, breeds confidence. Happ has had some success. His body language on the mound projects confidence. Maybe Yogi Berra was right when he suggested that 90 per cent of baseball is half mental. "Youve got to believe and youve got to really believe that you guys have got a chance out there in order for it to happen," said Happ. "You cant just wish things to happen in this game. They just dont. Youve got to go make it happen. I had a tough couple of years trying to kind of find myself and who I think I should be and I feel good about getting in a place where my body feels good, my mechanics feel good and Im just a little more free in everything. I felt like I had to be perfect for a lot of the time for things to go right and thats just not the case." ' ' '