With less than three months before its first exhibition matchup, the San Diego State women’s water polo team has started training in preparation for the Spring 2014 season.
Last Friday, head coach Carin Crawford, who is entering her 16th season, did something with her team that she had never been done before.
Crawford brought her team to Associated Student’s Mission Bay Aquatic Center on a misty Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. to do standup paddleboard yoga, also referred to as SUPcore Yoga.
With the number of new freshmen on the team this season, Crawford explained the importance of team bonding early along with doing different outdoor team activities in the offseason beyond just practicing in the pool.
[quote]“It’s that time for our team to really come together and for us to get to know each other … to figure out our roles,” Crawford said. “We have a lot of new freshmen, so it’s really important to spend a lot of time to familiarize all the new players with the way we play. Also to come together socially and to do things outside of the pool that will help us come together as a team.”[/quote]
According to the Mission Bay Aquatic Center website, the purpose of the SUPcore yoga class is to challenge individual edges of flexibility, focus, strength and balance on standup paddleboards. No prior experience is needed, as the SUPcore yoga class is open to anyone.
Before the Aztecs paddled away from shore, sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell explained her biggest fear before attempting SUPcore yoga for the first time.
[quote]“Falling is. Personally, I don’t like the ocean or the bay because I’m kind of afraid of fish,” Mitchell said. “I’m sure there’s fear of falling in, especially since it’s so cold, but everyone is really motivated to get their balance very set … it should be fun.”[/quote]
Junior driver Kelli Boling couldn’t agree more with her teammate about her fear of falling, but emphasized how she thought paddleboard yoga could benefit the entire team.
“I feel like yoga can help you get through tough things that happen through the week … it’s a stress reliever,” Boling said. “It helps you with your balance because you need it in water polo, such as having to shoot the ball … you need balance. In terms of the core, doing the poses will help, but definitely it’s a big balance thing, especially since we need that in the water.”
Although the water polo season is months away, Crawford hopes putting SUPcore yoga into practice now will benefit her team down the stretch. She believes combining SUPcore yoga and with water polo is a fantastic match.
[quote]“I think, clearly, the physical dimension, flexibility, and stretching, but more than that I think the way yoga emphasizes awareness to be aware of what your body is feeling is to be aware of your breathing,” Crawford said. “We’ve done things like rock climbing, we’ve done beach workouts in the fall where we do different ocean swims, but this is definitely something new to us … it seems like a lot of fun that will have lasting benefits.”[/quote]
SDSU water polo’s first invitational of the 2014 season will be the Cal Baptist Invitational in Riverside on Feb. 1.
Photo by Adriana Bush, Sports Editor
