CALGARY -- That the decision was painful was evident, as Dan Church was in tears by the end of the conversation. Youth Pacers Jerseys . His stated reason for abruptly resigning as head coach of Canadas Olympic womens hockey team was he felt there were doubts about his ability to coach the team to Olympic gold in February. "If there isnt confidence in what Im doing, I need to step aside and let the team move on," Church told The Canadian Press in a phone interview Thursday. "Im heartbroken, to be honest, about the whole situation. Im sad I cant finish this journey." Church didnt specify whether it was players or Hockey Canada who doubted his competence as a coach. "Just discussions Id had over the last few days made that apparent, in some meetings Id had with leadership," Church said. "I think it was just difference of opinion on the direction we were headed. "In the end, I just decided if Im getting in the way of where the team needs to go, I need to step aside and let them continue on in the process." That bombshell comes less than two months before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Church was expected to announce his 21-player Olympic roster before the end of December. Church left Calgary on Thursday morning without addressing the players and flew to Toronto, where he lives with his wife Regan. Canada hosted the U.S. women in Calgary at night. "I was in shock. It was unexpected," veteran forward Caroline Ouellette said. "I appreciate Dan. I always have. I have a lot of respect for him. I think hes done a lot of great things for our team since 2011 when he took over as head coach." The Canadian women will attempt to win a fourth straight gold medal in Sochi after victories in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Church coached Canada to a womens world title in April, 2012. The 40-year-old from Toronto was rewarded with a two-year contract to coach for the 2013 world champions and the Winter Olympics. When asked if Hockey Canada tried to convince him to stay or reverse his decision Thursday, Church replied, "No, they did not." "Dan has decided to resign for personal reasons," Hockey Canadas chief operating officer Scott Smith said at news conference Thursday. "Hes put a tremendous amount of work into this and we respect the decision hes made." Assistant coaches Danielle Goyette, a former national team player, and Lisa Haley will co-coach until a new coach is named, Smith said. "Time certainly is of the essence," Smith said. "This decision came upon us in the last few hours and were going to react as quickly as possible. Melody Davidson coached the Canadian women to Olympic gold in both 2006 and 2010. She became Hockey Canadas female head scout and serves in a general managers role for the national team. Davidson was adamant Thursday she would not step into the breach. "I stepped down in 2010 for a reason," Davidson said. "I left because it was time to be off that bench and Im comfortable in the role I can play off the ice." "I think theres some real good candidates there who can help us and bring a different voice than mine. Ill definitely support whatever direction we go in, but its not going to involve me as part of the coaching staff." The reality is the pool of Canadians who have experience coaching international womens teams is shallow. Davidson says she could identify with Churchs feelings as she nearly quit when Canada lost the 2009 world championship final to the U.S. prior to the 2010 Olympics. "The Olympics is overwhelming at times," she said. "Sometimes you get caught up in that. Maybe Dan couldnt feel he could envision something different." Davidson didnt think Church was in over his head as head coach of the team. "Definitely not," she said. Haley says she did not question Churchs decisions. "In my opinion, Dan has done and said everything with the intention of this team winning a gold medal," Haley said. "I trusted his decisions all along when Ive gotten the chance to coach with him over the years. "Hes gotten a lot of things right. Right now, what we want to do is trust this decision that this is whats best for the team and hopefully we can win him that gold medal." Church and Davidson invited 27 women to try out for the Olympic team. Theyve been training full time in Calgary since August. Church cut forward Jenelle Kohanchuk and defenders Tessa Bonhomme and Brigette Lacquette in November. Two more forwards and a defenceman will be released when the Olympic team in named. The Canadian women lost 3-2 to the U.S. in the final of this years world championship in Ottawa, but were on a three-game winning streak against their archrivals until Thursday night. With Goyette and Haley behind the bench, Canada lost 5-1 to the U.S in the third exhibition game between the two countries this winter. In their previous meeting at the Four Nations Cup in November, Canada doubled the Americans 4-2. Canada went 4-0 to win that international tournament. The women were 10-11 against male teams in the Alberta Midget Hockey League and have played 31 games since September. "All I can say is I gave 100 per cent effort in everything I did this year," Church said. "I worked tirelessly. "I put in all the hours to be successful and I believe we were moving in the right direction as a team. We had reached all the benchmarks at the times we had wanted and winning all of our games against the U.S., winning at Four Nations. "While we had struggled a little bit with the midget results, wed played with a lot of injuries to our lineup and a really tough November schedule. "Its disappointing to not feel theres confidence in what youre doing." Hes coached the York University womens hockey team for nine seasons. His father died of cancer in January at age 70, but Church said his decision was not related to health or family issues. Church coached the Canadas under-18 womens team to a world champoinship in 2010. He was an assistant coach to Ryan Walter on the womens team that took silver at the 2011 world championship. With Church behind the bench at the 2012 world championships in Burlington, Vt., Canada suffered a worst-ever 9-2 loss to the U.S. women to open that tournament, but rebounded with a 5-4 overtime win in the final for the countrys first world title since 2007. The U.S. has won four of the last five world championships. Canada and the U.S. will meet again Dec. 20 in Grand Forks, N.D., Dec. 28 in St. Paul, Minn., and Dec. 30 in Toronto. Aaron Holiday Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts. Pacers Jerseys From China . The Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Nashville Predators goaltender highlighted Mondays waiver transactions, with Calgarys Chuck Kobasew and Edmontons Philip Larsen also being placed on waivers. http://www.cheappacersjerseyschina.com/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night.With Canadas Fed Cup team ready to take on the Slovak Republic next week, Blainville, Quebecs Aleksandra Wozniak - who played in February against Serbia in her first Fed Cup tie since 2011 - sets the stage with her personal blog on RDS.ca and TSN.ca. --- Before starting this column, Id like to thank the people whove supported me since my return to the circuit. I read your comments and thank you for continuing to encourage me. In addition to fans, theres also a whole team behind me and a great Canadian delegation, as this will be the case at the Fed Cup on April 19 and April 20 in Quebec City. These people behind the scenes may say little, but will give me a boost for the entire week of competition - and also for the rest of the year. Theres André Parent, our fitness coach whos responsible for conditioning both the pros and the young developing players at Uniprix Stadium. Hes worked with us for a long time and on Wednesday he was appointed chief physical trainer for the Fed Cup. Hes one of the most important people in my career, helping me return to competition after my shoulder injury and avoiding surgery. Also, Marlene Nobrega has been our physiotherapist for more than 20 years - both in the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup - along with massage therapist Samantha Cox. In addition to André Barrette, who deals with the administrative aspect of our program, theres captain Sylvain Bruneau and coach Simon Larose. Not to mention so many other volunteers who are involved. The big difference playing elsewhere compared to Canada, as was the case in Serbia in February of 2011, is that we had the crowd against us. With our team on our side, its as if we brought some of our supporters with us outside our home. Not underestimating our opponents This will be the second time were participating in the World Group play-offs, but weve never managed to take the next step forward so its an opportunity for us to make Canadian history. Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantuchova wont be taking part, but Magdalena Rybarikova is still an excellent player. Jana Cepelovas confidence will be high after making the Family Circle Cup final last weekend. I dont know Michaela Honcova well, but with Anna Schmieedlova (65th in the world), the Slovak Republic will have three players in the Top 80. Cheap Pacers Jerseys. So it will be very important for us to showcase our best tennis. While Cibulkova and Hantuchova arent there, we should not underestimate them. Facing little-known players, well need to adjust our training accordingly and continue to properly train and prepare mentally. Well also benefit from a week together before the tournament to build our team spirit. After all, this isnt an individual competition. Well do things as a team and keep encouraging each other. This is a big opportunity for us - especially playing here in Quebec City - and we know well have the support of 3,500 supporters at the new Amphitheatre at PEPS, Laval University. A boost of energy Whenever I had a serious injury in the past, the Fed Cup arrived at the right time and the tournament gave me that boost of confidence. And after the competition, I returned and carried that renewed confidence to other tournaments. I havent used my protected ranking since the Indian Wells tournament, but I think going through qualifications has had its advantages. Since my return to the game, Ive needed to build up matches. It gives me set benchmarks and confidence and it also allows me to refine my work on the court. As a result, Ive beaten 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki and have also won against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Urszula Radwanska. And it was difficult after missing so much action. Ive now had 23 matches under my belt since January and its allowed me to bring my game to its highest level. My service has also notably improved. Over the last six months, Ive found more power but Im still working on my consistency. There are several factors which still have an effect on my shoulder, such as playing altitude, temperature, or even the type of tennis balls Im using. But Ive found a certain level of stability despite the changing game conditions. When I started to play after injuring my shoulder, I was 288th in the world. Now Im 153rd and have made good progress over the last three months. But I want to be even better. I feel great in my workouts and I just have to concentrate on doing the right things and continuing to climb up. Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys Cheap Texans Jerseys Cheap Ravens Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Titans Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Colts Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys ' ' '