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Nobody put his knee down on pushups after
Coach Tom Atwell barked out to one player,
"Get your knee up!" They had to hold
the position for a while at
end of practice.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
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"Have you killed the guys off yet?"
"No, they came back today," answered Tom Atwell, La Jolla High boys water polo coach.
On the second morning of tryouts, Tues., Aug. 6, he was putting his "guys" through a demanding finish to the 7:30 a.m. workout.
To invoke peer pressure, as any effective coach or teacher might, the 19-year coach--himself holding the posture while he barked instructions--was having all hands on deck maintain the pushup position for an extended time while the morning's late arrivals sat on the deck in front of them, inactive.
"Don't put your knee down," the Viking coach, leader of one of the elite high school programs in the county, called out before the "peer pressure" punishment began. One of the poloists on the south side of the pool quickly pulled his leg up.
The plank-like position was only part of a conditioning finish to the 90-minute workout. Team candidates swam laps, jumped out of the pool to do knee bends while already winded, then back into the water for more wet exercises.
It was Atwell at his finest: "You may not want to hear it, but I got up at 2:30 this morning, ran, went to a yoga class at 6 a.m., and I still got here on time." He continued to hold the pushup position, his arms steady, not shaking. His disciples were spread across the deck near the student stands, gritting their teeth.
"If it's your family getting you here late, let them know how this feels," the coach said.
The morning workout followed an evening practice the night before, stacked on top of the first day's morning practice. Some swimmers had to be gagging, soreness setting in. Maybe the mental agony is harder.
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