Ice Baths in Windsor Clinic

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!

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!”