Keeping Up With the Martlets
Team Journal
Wednesday, August 26th, 2015
Preseason has officially started!! We’re so excited to welcome back returning players as well as a few new faces to the Martlet Field Hockey team!
Preseason has officially started!! We’re so excited to welcome back returning players as well as a few new faces to the Martlet Field Hockey team!
The
Martlet Preseason is an intense two-week training period consisting of two
practices a day, a fitness practice in the morning, and a field practice in the
afternoon. These two weeks are by no means a gentle introduction to the season,
and even those who trained all summer are left exhausted and sore by the end. Needless
to say, it’s only Day 3 of Preseason and we’ve already been whipped into shape
by Coaches Laurent Fayen and JP Turpain.
One
of the most important things to remember during this period is health and
recovery. This means drinking tons (and we mean TONS) of water, replenishing
electrolytes, eating properly and frequently, and taking care of our bodies to
the best of our abilities.
Today,
the Martlets participated in a team ice bath to help reduce muscle soreness and
inflammation. The McGill Windsor Clinic has two ice baths available for use by
athletes. The team helped fill one of the large metal tubs with ice and cold
water until the water reached a temperature between 5°C and 10°C (41°F -50°F). When the baths were
nice and freezing, players took turns lowering themselves into the tubs in
groups of three.
Players submerged their legs and lower torsos
in the ice baths for only 7 minutes, but those 7 minutes crawled by like 7 icy
and painful minutes of pure hell. It proved to be a test of emotional endurance
as much as a physical rehabilitation.
The Martlets never back down though! The team
discovered that the best method of lasting through the entirety of the ice bath
was belting the lyrics to our classic childhood anthems to distract from the
pain. Yes, ladies and gentleman, that means the timeless classics of the
Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCartney, and Beyoncé to name a few of our featured
artists. Erin and Alice impressed
everyone by singing every single lyric to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” while
everyone else fizzled out somewhere after the early chorus (“You get sprung!”).
To anyone who walked into the Windsor Clinic this
morning (and there were a few), this group of girls huddled together in towels
and shamelessly belting the music of the 90s might have looked ridiculous. And,
in truth, we did. It wasn’t long before rookies and returners alike found
themselves laughing and smiling in spite of the freezing water. There’s nothing
quite like collective suffering to bring a team together.
Memorable Quotes:
Alison: “Jesse’s gettin me through the pain.”
Breeshey: “Same, I have a beautiful soul!”
Tania: “Low key dying but still smiling!”
