Kritik und Lob » w what the Championship

Under the bright Southern California sun, in the pool at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, 15 of the best water polo players in the U.S. are divided into three groups -- each group with one goalie and four field players. Three nets are set around the pool. The players take turns catching the ball with one hand, moving side to side into position and shooting for a goal .From the far goal, shouting erupts and a player leaves the group to swim laps on his own. If you hear them yell -- Club! -- that means they missed [the shot] and have to swim Russians, says Carling McMichael, the sports medicine trainer. They can get pretty into it. Any chance they have to get competitive, they really go for it.On this April day, the U.S. mens national water polo team is in the midst of a four-day training session that starts daily at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. This time together is important for their Olympic hopes -- both as a team and individually. In less than three months, on July 7, the 13-man roster for the Rio Games (Aug. 5-21) will be named.And after an eighth-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics -- a big departure from the silver won in 2008 --the U.S. is aiming for a podium finish in Rio. Its a two-week tournament, not one game, says 38-year-old goalkeeper Merrill Moses, who competed at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. You have to be at your best for the whole two weeks. You have to give everything to prepare and put yourself in the best possible situation. Its the biggest stage in sports and you train for four years for those two weeks.For now, though, its about avoiding the collective shout of Club!Yes, thats a yawn from defender Nic Carniglia. Its an early start for the 20-year-old and his teammates, who start the day in the gym. After the morning meditation, each player gets to choose a 20-second exercise or stretch for everyone before moving onto more strenuous exercises.With only 100 days out until the Rio Olympics, the teams focus is evident. Attacker Alex Bowen, 22, finds space outside to complete his morning dryland exercises. After about an hour-and-a-half in the gym, the team makes its way over to the pool for the rest of the day.Despite the seriousness of the teams training, there is also a lightheartedness to their interactions -- and the camaraderie is visible. A joke between goalkeepers McQuin Baron and Merrill Moses shows that. (Left to right: Moses, with back facing camera; John Mann; Baron; and Drew Holland)During circuits, the team is broken into three groups and three different stations. One group throws a medicine ball against the wall, one does side-sit-up toe touches and one performs sit-ups with overhead weights.Attacker Bret Bonanni works with a Thera-Band on resistance exercises. These exercises are an important part of building a well-rounded player by targeting muscles groups that are needed for both strong play and injury protection.Everyone jumps, dives or steps into the pool at the same time to start the pool workout. This first session lasts three hours. It begins with a swimming warm-up and moves into a passing warm-up.Once warm-up is done, various drills are performed to improve strength and agility. This group treads water while moving weighted balls quickly from side to side, tied to the edge of the pool with resistance bands. When finished, they move onto the next station.The mid-morning break divides the two back-to-back morning sessions, and the smoothies the team trainers prepare are one of the highlights.These players have each others back. And the sunscreen of choice? Coppertone Water Babies. Some use an even thicker skin-toned sunblock for their face, creating a mask to protect from the suns reflection off the water.The team is divided into offense and defense, and they go about running the set plays. When the coach wants to make an adjustment for the offense, the defensive players are asked to go underwater so they cant hear.Toward the end of the week, players, including defender Alex Roelse here, take turns describing the set plays to each other. With so little time together as a group between now and the Olympics, the coach and the captain stress the importance of this activity. These plays are then put into action in the second pool session.Moses, 38 (in forefront), is the oldest member of the team. He balances the national team, assistant coaching for the water polo team at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and family life as he heads to his third Olympics. I say Im like a fine wine: I just keep getting better with age, the California native says. I can say that when I turn 39 at the Olympics games, Ill be in the best shape of my life.Baron explains that this afternoons torture for the three goalkeepers involves a water jug. He fills it with water and raises it upside down above his head, treading water as the jug empties. Our position is all legs, so we have to train differently, says Baron, Class of 2018 at USC. Some bottles you can swirl and it empties a little faster -- theres nothing you can do with this one. Its just horrible.Mann stands ready for the final challenge of the day against his teammates: 100-meter freestyle for time. Theres a particular challenge with team sports, Mann says. Learning to work with all of these different personalities, learning to control your ego and emotion and to sometimes lessen some of your own personal success for the betterment of the team to achieve your goals. Im not just playing for myself.In the lunch room, Carling McMichael, responsible for the teams sports medicine, helps the guys to sort out aches and the pains. Here, attacker Bonanni receives a massage while the others guys eat their lunch.Next stop for defender Jackson Kimbell? The dentist. He cracked his tooth during one of the scrimmages. While these players are training together for the Olympics, they often play against one another for their college or club teams and scrimmages can get just as physical as a game.At first glance, water polo might appear to be a low-contact sport, but theres plenty of contact above and below the surface. My face has scars everywhere, Mann says. Ive had probably 40 or 50 stitches in my face, teeth going through my lips -- been stitched on the side of the pool deck in Croatia with no anesthetic. It was like fishing line and moonshine on my face. Its a brutal sport.As the sun sets on a long day in the pool, Bowen sits out with a suspected dislocated rib. He remains attentive to the play and uses it as an opportunity to study from outside the water. The coaching staff, which includes head coach Dejan Udovicic -- former head coach of the Serbian national team -- is constantly giving the players feedback.The first pool session of the day is done. As soon as I get out of the pool, its all about recovery, Kimbell says. He will get a 30-minute break before returning to the pool for the second morning session.The second pool session of the day is done at 1:30 p.m., with the third session beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 7 p.m. Before they depart to run errands, take a nap or relax between sessions, the guys head to the breakroom. The small portable at the edge of the pool serves as a meeting room for the coaches, a physical therapy space and a spot to eat lunch. Fake Vans Shoes . 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Fake Vans Slip-on . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate.Sebastian Polter had a tough grounding under Felix Magath at Wolfsburg, bonded with the fans at Union Berlin and is now making the breakthrough at Queens Park Rangers under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Adam Bate met up with him at the clubs Harlington training ground to get the story so far... There are those at Fulham still recovering from their Felix Magath ordeal. The German drill sergeant, a coach-cum-torturer with a penchant for emptying his players water bottles, isnt for everyone. And yet, one man among Saturdays opponents relished the experience. But then, QPR striker Sebastian Polter never has been afraid of hard work.I had a good manager at Wolfsburg in Felix Magath who made me very strong when I was young, Polter tells Sky Sports. We always worked hard with him. Some in England know that now! I enjoyed it though. Indeed, it was under Magath that Polter made a spectacular start to life in the Bundesliga. Felix Magath looks on as Sebastian Polter is introduced for Wolfsburg at Hannover The young forward caused a stir in coming off the bench to score winning goals in his first two home games against Stuttgart and Cologne. But a subsequent move was a disappointment - I wasnt so lucky in Mainz - and it was a loan spell at second-tier side Union Berlin that earned him a summer switch to QPR. Its a move that Polter had craved.My wife and two kids are over here and were enjoying it, he says. Even when I was a little boy I was always looking to England for the football. That was the most important thing and I always wanted to come and play here. It wasnt any specific team, it was just the style of football that I like. Its up and down and Im a striker who will fight for every ball. It suits me. Polter had a good relationship with the supporters at Union Berlin Even so, the challenge of adapting to life in a new league has still been a difficult one for the 24-year-old. The Championship is very different to the leagues that Ive played in before, he adds. Its more physical here and there are a lot more games. In Germany you just have to worry about position and maybe wait for a counter-attack.Its more tactical and its about knowing those tactics. Do we go high or do we press? Here, its run, run, run, defend, defend, defend. Fortunately for Polter, thats something of a forte and hes now scored four goals in his last seven games, winning the supporters over with his work rate - just as he did in Berlin. Polter has big shoes to fill after Charlie Austins departure. Can he do it? Ive always had a good rapport with the fans because I talk to them, he says. The supporters are important. That was especially the case in Berlin. All the family, together with the fans, would go away on a trip in January. There were 500 to 1000 fans with us and you just talk to them.It sounds straightforward but Polters time in England has not been without its communication problems. Under Chris Ramsey, he made only two starts and both of them were in the Capital One Cup. He took to Twitter tto express his frustration at making a slow start to life at QPR and acknowledges it was a tough start to life in a new country.dddddddddddd Polter found the net on his first start against Yeovil but had to wait for his chance I always worked hard but in the first four months I was not happy, he admits. The first four months werent the best for me, everybody knows that. But something has changed. We have a new gaffer and I am on the pitch. While its taken time for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to turn results around, for Polter the transformation was immediate.He believes in me but hes pushing me as well, he explains. Its not a case of believing in me and letting me do what I want to do. He wants me to work hard in training and in the games. He was a striker himself and he knows what I can do for the team. He has done one-on-one stuff with me and thats important for me. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has helped transform Polters fortunes at QPR Hasselbaink wants Polter to become more selfish in front of goal. He said that to me. Sometimes I will see my team-mates in a better position but Im a striker so sometimes I have to be more selfish. But with a new partner in Conor Washington, the support is there and with it some renewed optimism.QPR are unbeaten in five games and while draws continue to be an issue, Polter feels fresh enough to take advantage as others fade. The German is doing without a winter break for the first time but having sat out the start of the campaign, he doesnt need one and is instead eyeing a march up the table. Theyre currently 11 points off the play-offs. Polter has scored four goals for QPR in his last seven appearances Weve gone two games without conceding a goal so we have a good defence thats winning us points as well, says Polter. The most important thing is to be together as a team every game. The training is a little bit harder under the new gaffer and the results will come. Weve seen this since we changed it a bit. .The first half of the season was not good. Everyone was looking to us and wondering how QPR would do in the Championship. We didnt do so well but now were doing better and better. The thing Ive taken from the Championship is that its very strange and crazy. It can change quickly. Now were turning it around, why cant we make it to fifth or sixth place?There are so many games and there are a lot of players from different countries who maybe dont know what the Championship is like. By now, maybe theyre running on empty a bit and thinking that they need a breather. Theyre thinking that 30 games is enough for them. Ive not been playing 30 games like some of the other guys so I can give it everything. Maybe nows the time we can take points off the big clubs as well. You can see that theyve been dropping points because they think theyre in a comfy position. Maybe theyll lose points here and there. Its important for us to know that. But we just have to work hard and step by step get closer to them. I know if we play as a team we can go higher and higher.So with a contract at the club until the summer of 2018, whats next for Polter? I dont look too far ahead, he says. We just need to keep getting points. Our plan is just to get as many points as we can and my aim is to play as many minutes as I can. Of course, I will play as much as I can for QPR. If we dont go up, then well go again next year.I will continue to do hard work but thats not enough. You have to do hard work every time. Its the mantra that Polter returns to again and again. In fact, its almost as if this appetite has been drilled into him. One senses that somewhere, his old boss Felix Magath would surely approve. Also See: Watch the Championship goals Queens Park Rangers 1 Ipswich 0 ' ' '