Nothing marks water polo season like high temperatures, grueling practices, and players pouring milk in their eyes.

The players claim the trick combats the prolonged chlorine exposure amidst lengthy tournaments. For the Monarchs, these multi-day tournaments are a firm test for the players’ mental and physical grit, and they demand an immense concentration in order for the team to excel.

Swimming tens of thousands of yards non-stop is precisely how the season begins for the team. Known as “Hell Week,” this first week of physical endurance is how the team gets back in shape for all their grueling tournaments. The week mostly consists of building up stamina and muscle through swimming and working out, with few moments where players actually get to touch the ball. This season, the team’s two silver finishes mainly came from two key strategies within the tournament: communication and relaxation.

When the sun is beating down on your eyes and there are bodies all around you splashing, it is extremely hard to see. Water Polo requires constant movement and coordination so intense communication is necessary between the team to score goals. When asked about how vital communication was, Senior Luke Lajeunesse said, “You’re not running on the ground, you can’t look over everything…it helps guide us to where we need to be, where we need to go, where we need to throw the ball.” The coaches try to build this discipline from day 1 by in their practices. The players have to be continuously talking or else they’ll be “punished,” with pushups or another task. A new season means a fresh set of players and a lack of familiarity and cohesion early on. The ultimate goal is for each player to know what their teammates are going to do before they even think about it, and this is why communication as the season starts is essential.

Of course, with all the effort and focus required during tournaments, relaxation outside of games is equally crucial for the team’s success. The first step towards relaxation is cooling down: the team swims around 200 yards to let their muscles loosen after a game. This is especially important if the team has another game later in the day, as the players want to avoid having sore muscles while in the pool. With these practices, the players are able to feel mildly refreshed and ready for the next game.

Another factor that promotes relaxation during a tournament for the team is eating together. Junior Gordon Vernooy said, “Usually if we have a longer break we’ll go get something to eat, and we’ll hang out and just decompress after a game.” Often, the team finds a lunch spot to rest or goes out to get food at a nearby restaurant. Lajeunesse said that the team has preferred to go to Fire Wings or Crumble Cookies in recent years. As a result, players are able to grow closer each other and find momentary joy and relaxation through spending time with teammates.

While stretching out and sharing meals are important to do between or after tournament games, the mental aspect should not be ignored. An activity that provides mental relaxation despite its physicality is the team’s tradition of surfing after tournaments. Senior Wolfgang Foldenauer’s favorite tournament moment was when he and some other players went surfing in Santa Cruz after a tournament in the area. Through surfing, the players are able to relax and have fun after an intense few days of competition, resulting in consistent levels of effort and success over the course of the season.

Due to the team’s emphasis on communication and relaxation, they have already found success early in the season. In its first tournament, the Mitty Men’s Water Polo team finished with a 3-1 record to earn second place out of eleven schools. The players showcased their skill and endurance, constantly communicating and coordinating on the way to a silver. As the season progresses, the Monarchs will continue to prioritize these two aspects of the sport so they can build upon their successes and end the season on a good note. Maybe with some cookies and a glass of milk, but with the milk far away from their eyes.