INNISFAIL -- The Innisfail Hurricanes' water polo season is quickly coming to an end and some of the athletes are wondering what the coaches are planning for the final game.
The water polo season for the local Hurricanes starts in the second week in September and continues until the end of March.
Water polo is considered a fun and exciting winter sport in Innisfail. The local team has kids from the ages of six to 15.
Almost all of the Innisfail Hurricane team members think this is a great time for the coaches to jump in and join in the fun with the players. The coaches have not joined the Hurricanes in the pool yet this season as the players have been working hard this year working on skills and in tournaments every two weeks.
The local team usually holds all of their tournaments in Innisfail. Sometimes members of the team choose to go to Calgary where they play in pup festivals or city league tournaments.
The Hurricanes have played against teams from Edmonton, Strathmore, Okotoks and Calgary. Usually in October the Innisfail club holds a tournament that attracts teams from Edmonton, Calgary and Okotoks.
In order to prepare for these tournaments the Hurricanes work hard during practices on Monday and Wednesday nights from 5 to 6 p.m. for the younger players and from 6 to 7 p.m. for the older players.
Sometimes players can get hurt during practice. Recently a player was taken to hospital to be checked for a possible concussion. That same night another player was kicked and accidentally held under the water. Water polo is fun but it is also a rough, aggressive sport. It is not so rough for the younger players.
This kind of rough playing can sometimes lead to penalties called by the referee. A penalty means the players swim to the sidelines and cannot play for a full 30 to 45 seconds, depending on their age.
Fouls are called when a player pretends to get pulled underwater by an opponent. The referee blows the whistle and then the ball cannot be taken away from the player until after the next pass.
To start a game of water polo each team lines up against the wall by their own goalie or net and waits for the referee to drop the ball in the middle after the whistle is blown. The strong swimmers then race for the call to gain control of the ball. Players try to score on each other’s nets by passing and swimming fast. Each time a goal is scored the players must line up at the centre and start again with the ball starting with the team that got scored on.
Each practice starts with a warm-up of 300 metres of laps, including freestyle stroke and backstroke. Players practise passing the ball, catching the ball and shooting on net. Water polo improves a swimmer's ability to swim quickly as it is a very fast game.
The players on the Hurricanes team are wondering what will happen on the last night of this season.
When asked if he thought the coaches would come into the pool during the last water polo game, team member Isaac Thibault said, “No, I think they will have a parents versus kids game instead. They haven’t been in the pool yet this year so I don’t think they will.”
The team is also wondering if there is going to be tournament in the middle of the summer.
Last year the Hurricanes team held a clinic in the first week in August. A clinic is where members learn new skills and practise old skills to brush up for the new season.
Sometimes the coaches bring in Olympic players from Team Canada to teach the team new skills, like better throwing or scoring ideas. During the final hour the club held a tournament game for all players.
“I do not know of any tournament this summer, but if the athletes are interested I could probably make it happen.” said Mika Eggink, an assistant coach with the team.
A parent of a Hurricanes team member, Crystal Thibaut, does not think there will be a summer tournament.
“As a parent, I do not know if there will be a tournament this summer. I would suggest a parents versus team members water polo game. That was super fun in the past seasons," exclaimed the delighted parent.
Aaron Yofonoff is a Grade 8 student at Innisfail Middle School who successfully completed his one-month-long journalism class and project.
