Heather has been a valuable member of the Club for several years now and is a member of our Senior women’s Squad. She left New Zealand in 2020 to attend Salem University and is now at Mount St Mary’s University in Maryland playing Water Polo and studying.

We spoke with Heather recently about her time abroad and what life is like for her as a student athlete. The Women’s side have just begun their pre-season which Heather describes as being pretty intense. “The majority of pre-season is conditioning which involves a lot of swimming, legs, circuit work, jugs and even more legs!”.

Heather has now been overseas for 2 years and has really enjoyed her time in which she has been lucky to be able to travel around and see a lot of the country. Throughout this time, she has met some amazing people and has learnt a lot not only about Water Polo but about herself as well.

When asked about how Water Polo is different in NZ compared to USA Heather says “it is completely different, over here you eat, sleep and breathe Water Polo. It is the next level up and it is a completely different style of play when it comes to training and tactics. There are so many more people playing here which means there are far more competitions and teams to play against.”

Playing overseas in a new country comes with both highs and lows. Some of the highs are making new friends from all around the world and experiencing the sport you love with some of your closest friends. The challenges that come with being overseas are, “being away from home is mentally and physically tough. However, from a water polo perspective, the most challenging thing is always being mentally and physically tired. You have to keep pushing. If you aren’t training you’re in class or doing homework, when you aren’t in class you’re at practice. All of this training and hard work pays off when you accomplish the goals that you and your team have set at the beginning of the season”.

This happened for Heather in one of her Highlights of the experience when her team won back to back WWPA Championship Titles at Salem University and went to the NCAA’s.

Finally, we asked Heather what advice she would give to younger players who are interested in going overseas to play Water Polo.

“Be open-minded about the whole experience and anything is possible when you have the right mindset. You don’t have to be the best player in the team, you just have to be able to do your job”

Thank you, Heather, for speaking with us and giving us an in-sight into your student athlete life, we wish you all the best for the up-coming season and look forward to having you back playing with Harbour one day in the future!

Check out below a schedule of a typical day for Heather in her Pre-season. Days consist of 7 am wake up – 5 pm to 8 pm finish.

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Wake up - breakfast
• 1st Class
• Homework time
• Water Polo Practice
• Fuel Station (protein shake and food)
• Homework time
• Lifting Session
• Own time stretching/recovery
• Home time - dinner

Tuesday & Thursday

• Wake up
• 1st / 2nd class
• Water Polo Practice
• Fuel Station
• Homework time
• 3rd/ 4th class
• Own time stretching/recovery.
• Home time – dinner

 

 

 

September 2020