Canadian softball head coach Lori Sippel, right, is pictured congratulating outfielder Alison Bradley. The Canadian Senior Women's National Softball Team has lofty goals of winning a medal at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing. (Photo courtesy of Softball Canada)

It's easy to claim Canada is a country that excels at the Olympic team game. Of course, you might have to limit your discussion to a single sport. You guessed it… ice hockey.

This summer in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics, Canadian teams have gained entry to a number of tournaments requiring a full roster of athletes to work in unison over the course of the Games. There are five such squads so far with the possibility of men's basketball being added to the list.

The thing is, the Canadians who will represent their country in women's softball and soccer as well as men's field hockey, baseball and water polo, have their work cut out for them in order to erase what has become a record of relative futility in team sport at the summer Olympics. It won't be easy.

Canada's last medal in a traditional, team sport came at the 1936 Games in Berlin. The men's basketball team claimed silver and that was the first podium finish by a Canadian team since the 1908 Olympics in London where the "All Canadas" captured gold in lacrosse. Prior to that there were gold medals in St. Louis in 1904 for the Winnipeg Shamrocks lacrosse team and the Galt Football Club that took the men's soccer championship.

For a country that fancies itself as a nation obsessed with team play, there have been many Olympics in succession where the "Red and White" has come up empty. When it comes to team sport, at the summer spectacle, Canada is in the midst of a major drought.

"It always seems that we are on the bubble when it comes to winning a medal," says Canadian softball head coach Lori Sippel. She pitched for Canada at the first Olympic tournament for her sport in Atlanta in 1996 where the team fell just short of medal play by losing to Australia. The fifth place finish doesn't sit well with Sippel to this day.

"We are sick and tired of the tradition which has led to us being fifth or sixth best. The current team members and the coaching staff unanimously believe that this is not acceptable," Sippel emphasizes. "I am proud to say that Canada is one of the only teams to have qualified for every Olympic softball tournament. We have some challenges this time, however, we are a young team and we also have some players wondering if this is their swan song. There is no time for seasoning. It's the real deal now."

With the likes of proven performers Alison Bradley and Lauren Bay in the lineup, the Canadian team has the goods to deliver a medal effort in Beijing.Still, there are other questions swirling around the sport. It has been dropped from the Olympic roster of events for the next games in London in 2012 and that has cast a shadow over this upcoming appearance in China.

"Distraction control is important and the only way we can help the cause to bring softball back is to do what we aim to do in the first place," Lori Sippel reckons. "There is no more important feeling than that which you get when you realize that you represent something greater than yourself. The Maple Leaf is something that we take with us when we travel internationally. We must have pride in who we are and what we represent. We must also have a deep desire to have others respect what we can do and accomplish."

No illusions of medals for some teams

While the Canadian women's softball team has lofty goals, the men's field hockey squad is being realistic.

"We could get on an incredible roll and finish eighth," says Mike Mahood, the starting goalkeeper. Mahood will be playing for the second time on the Olympic stage. He also saw action in Sydney, in 2000, where the Canadian team was tenth out of the twelve countries that qualified.

While there are no illusions of a medal for this group, there are victories that will be scored in other ways by just making it to the first face off at these Olympics. Most of those wins have to do with growing the sport of field hockey against a diverse Canadian landscape.

"We are the United Nations team," Mahood concedes. "Our team combines a new generation of Canadians with those whose ancestors have been here for many, many years. It's the classic example of our Canadian society working."

Indeed, an examination of the team's roster reveals a mosaic of players whose backgrounds have been, East Indian, European and Asian as well as North American. It is the Canadian reality at work and it all came together at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro last July as the group defeated longtime rival Argentina in a shootout to win the gold medal and gain Olympic entry in Beijing.

"You want to go and try to win a medal," Mike Mahood admits. "But to be truthful this may not be possible. So we need to use our appearance at the Games to spread interest in field hockey in our community. We need to make a jump to the top eight for this to happen. This is about growing the sport in our country. You can't miss the opportunity to help the infrastructure of your sport when the Olympics are done."

There are different goals for different sports but the beauty this time around is that Canadians have a number of teams to pull for. On the Olympic level, it can be a unifying force and give spectators a focus over the course of the competitions. If it's true that the people in this country consider themselves to be team players, then it stands to reason they'll get behind every participant on every Canadian squad who dons a uniform in the People's Republic of China.

Just listening to those who are determined to put an end to our team sport dry spell at the summer Olympics, you get more than a little inspired. They are playing games other than ice hockey, but games that unite the country nonetheless.

"When you play or coach in the United States, as I do, there is always something missing," Lori Sippel explains. "Every game begins with the national anthem but it's not my national anthem. I respect it, but I long to hear my own and that's what drives me and I know it drives my players as well."

As for the "other" hockey players that Canada is sending into the Olympic fray, there is a subtle resolve.

"You have to go through a battle that gets you over the top and into a major competition. The Olympics is THE major competition," stresses Mike Mahood. "To share this with this group is huge. Speaking selfishly, I want to be part of the group that leads the young ones to the Olympic realm. Someone did that for me. Now it's my turn to do that for others."

Strange, but it all sounds so familiar. While it is true that we're not talking about hockey, our national obsession, we are talking about young men and women who will fly this country's colours on the international stage half a world away. When the Olympics in Beijing begin you can bet that everyone who watches will relish the thought that Canada truly is a nation of team players, first and foremost.