Teams Review

So, there are some teams that I hate, and others that I L-O-V-E Madonna. Just joking, I don't really like love any teams, but there are some that I like way more than others. These teams are just a few out of the many that we play. So let's get into it (hehe I sound like the stupid beauty guru channels - jk I watch those like every day).

Kearns

Kearns has an A team and a B team because they are the hearth of water polo down in SLC. Their A team is pretty good, but their B team is pretty close to our level. Kearns is nice for the most part I guess, but their parents are the worst. They are so rude, and they think that they own water polo. They should probably use some of their annoying energy on an exercise bike instead of being rude to everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of friends on Kearns, but their parents need to take a chill pill.

This is what the parents look like - even the moms.
Photo Courtesy of : LA Times

Murray

In my last post, I wrote about our tournament in Cedar City and how we had that gold-medal game. That game was against Murray. I don't really have any feelings about Murray. They are pretty nice and good at water polo. They aren't even annoying. So ya...

Tooele

I actually really enjoy playing against Tooele because they are actually nice! Compared to Cedar City, they are like angels sent down from heaven.  Their team isn't that good (we beat them every time), but they have a really good goalie. She blocks a lot of our shots. One time at our last tournament, their goalie got two goals! Like what the heck - how does a goalie get goals? Well, she swam all the way out to half way and shot it top corner! It was pretty amazing

Cedar City

I thought I would save my least favorite for last. So Cedar City is so annoying. Basically we beat them every time, but they still think that they are way better than us. It's really quite confusing. We beat them even if half of our team is gone. After every game, they cry and cry and cry. Their coaches make such a big deal out of it. Apparently they want to beat us at state but that is NOT going to happen. This is my interpretation of what they look like in and out of the water :

Out of Water
Photo Courtesy of : Totally Top Ten

   

In Water
Photo Courtesy of : Andrew Hibbitt 

                                     













Okay well that's all I have to rant about today, but stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Wait... What?

So everybody knows that I have a huge problem with procrastinating and I really want to just get all my homework out of the way before the weekend. So then I was thinking "let's get this party started" and then it struck me. All of you non-water polo players have no idea what I'm talking about half the time! I mean I have never really explained the whole game rules and stuff. So that's why I have called this post, "Wait... What?" just to enhance what everyone is probably thinking when reading this blog.

Photo Courtesy of: Tails Doll

So I am basically just going to go through the game start to finish... At first, everyone lines up on their opposite walls, and the swimmer is the one closest to the lengthwise wall (I'm one of the swimmers on the team). When the ref blows the whistle he drops the ball right in between the two swimmers, everyone on either team swims towards the middle of the pool. The swimmer goes the fastest to try to get to the ball first, so they can have the advantage.  In higher level games, the ball will be placed in the very middle of the pool, on a magnetic ring.

Next it goes on like any other game, and the offense lines up in a D-shape. Look back at my previous post for a view on how the offense lines up. Your team has thirty seconds to get the ball into the net. A variety of passing and plays happen during this thirty seconds.

If the ball is shot into the net, the ref blows the whistle, and everyone lines up again; this time in the middle of the pool. The ball is given to the opposing team. If the ball misses, and the goalie gets it, then the previous defense switches to offense and attacks the opposite goal. If the thirty seconds has gone up, then the ball is turned over (this is usually a good time to swim as fast as you can).

Photo Courtesy of: Download CNet

Above is a picture of a water polo score board. There are four quarters with breaks in between each quarter and an even bigger break during half time. They are all 6, 7, or 8 minutes long, depending on the age of teams playing. The top number shows the time. The period (actually the quarter) shows what number out of four. The two numbers on the side of the period number are the goals scored for each team. underneath the goals scored are the T.O.L 's which are the ejections for each team. Finally, in between the ejections, is the shot time which counts down from 30. Here is a video (courtesy of YouTube) of the beginners guide to water polo (the video doesn't work on this site, but it will give you an option to watch on YouTube)

I hope you enjoyed learning what water polo is, and your time on this blog isn't just a whole lot of "wait... what?"'s. Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Game Day

Saturdays are my favorite days out of the whole week because Saturdays are game days! Without these special days in my life that only take place once a week, I would spend my weekends in my bed on Netflix. Oh wait, that's what I do anyway. Let's get to it.

Since it is the Fall League right now, every Saturday there is a game schedule that takes place at Kearns. The games start from 7:30 in the morning and go until 4:30 in the afternoon, and, surprise, I am there for that whole time on most days. You are probably now thinking, "This girl doesn't even have a life. Like, she spends her whole Saturdays at a small, humid pool in polluted Salt Lake." Guess what? You are COMPLETELY right.

Photo Courtesy of : Keep Calm O-Matic

Now since we have finished our introductions to this topic, I will go through a day in the life of me on game day.

First things first, I wake up at around seven in the morning. I get dressed (slowly) and make my way downstairs. Next I pack my bag which includes snacks, such as rice krispie treats, baguettes, more rice krispie treats, and another baguette; two game suits; two towels (depending on how many games I have); and some lotion because that pool makes your skin fried. After my bag is packed, I make some breakfast that usually consists of a pound of bacon, a pound of bread, and a pound of juice. You want to make sure that your breakfast has carbs, proteins, and fruits for a balanced meal :).  I also make sure that I bring a full water bottle to the games so I can stay hydrated. Once everything is packed and ready to go, we leave on a 45 minute drive to Kearns.

When I first get there, it is either my game to start getting ready for, or we are watching the high school boys team play. It usually depends on the day, but for this post we are going to start off with the high school boys. I usually film their games so their coach gets a better idea on what they need to work on at practice the next week. They usually lose (no offense) so then the girls team starts getting ready for their game. We stretch and do exercises on land until it is time to jump in and warm-up. For warm up we usually swim a few laps, egg-beater a few laps, pass for a while, and then shoot. When our warm-up is finished, we put on our caps and talk about our game strategy. When the 45-minute game is over, we talk in a circle about what we did well and what we could improve on. Since players usually have up to 4 games in a day, it is important for us to revive our bodies with water and food. If there is a lot of time in between games, we usually go out for some lunch or Jamba Juices. My favorite smoothie is Caribbean Passion... mmmmhhhh!

Water Polo Cap: I am usually #11
Photo Courtesy of : Olympics Time

After a long day of games, I go home, rest, and usually stretch out whatever I need stretching like a good athlete. Haha, just kidding! I am really not that good about my body, so I actually get a huge bowl of ice cream after dinner and finish it while watching my new favorite TV show, Grey's Anatomy.

Well I hope that you got something out from this post, and stay tuned for more coming soon!