Feathers and Moksha

Who is this Feathers I speak of? It is my partner Chaim, his new nickname is feathers and it has suck in the greatest way possible! He was bragging about incline bench pressing 70's and Ray asked "70 feathers?", the rest is history.

Feathers has unfortunately partially dislocated (subluxed) his left shoulder diving for a ball and will be out for a bit. He will be taking an MRI scan on monday and hopefully we will know by tuesday wether or not he will be able to compete in the near future. We are scheduled to leave for the the Cayman Islands in no less than 13 days so cross your fingers and don't laugh when you see him in his silly cast with an outstretched arm. Hopefully he hasn't torn any ligaments or done any serious damage to his shoulder cause our season is weeks away and Chaim and I have been playing superbly as of late!

And Moksha. Wow, how have I not discovered this sooner! It is a pre-set yoga series in a heated room and it is the greatest yoga practice I have done! Incredible series of stretches, vinyasa's and balance poses which leave me limber, drenched, exhausted yet completely revitalized and energized! I seriously sweat 2 to 3 litres of water in a session so I am convinced this is the best way to acclimatize to our competition environments as classes run 60 and 90 minutes long in the tropical heat.

I am currently practicing at Moksha Yoga Uptown on Yonge St. and St.Claire and they have a few studios scattered around Toronto. A few of the other beach guys have come and together we have agreed that it is an AMAZING way to increase flexibility and detoxify while toning muscles and focusing on controlling your breath/heart rate throughout exercises. I had never heard of it on the west coast (maybe I lived in a bubble) but if you are reading this and want something extra in your life, this is it. Once or twice a week will certainly change the way you feel and will leave you glowing and radiating positive energy!!

Ray and I played yesterday while Feathers saw the doctor and we played well. Should Chaim not be able to travel, Ray and I will spice things up again for some Redheaded Productions so maybe look forward to that. Ray and I are always a force when paired up as we have a tight bond that few other duo's have.

Regardless of my teammates, I am feeling incredible and am just entering the zone I know I can play in.

Excellence all round here in Toronto.

Much love,

Martin

End of a great week

Today was KILLER!! We had 8 athletes and a solid training session over some competitive drills. As a team we are starting to pretty consistent ball and we are all pushing each other for the top spot.

Chaim and I played quite well throughout this week and I am looking forward to the next three weeks of more competition based training before flying to the Cayman Islands. Christian Redman and Rich Vonhuizen are playing well and I am hoping we will be able to play a few test matches against them next week to start our video analysis. Our coach still hasn't commented on specific team strategy details and through taping our matches and going over the footage with him, it will allow us to adjust our team play prior to our first competition.

Our next two months are shaping up to be full of events, here is our travel itinerary:

March 12th - 22nd NORCECA Grand Caymans
March 23rd - March 28th NORCECA San Salvador, El Salvador
March 29th - April 5th NORCECA Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
April 6th - April 12th NORCECA Guatemala City, Guatemala
April 13th - April 19th Training in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
April 19th - April 25th FIVB Open Brasilia, Brazil

So that is our tournament schedule for the next little while and it will most certainly keep us busy!

I can't wait to get out of the cold north to catch some rays and play on a real beach! Indoor beach volleyball just ins't as satisfying and the sport is far superior when you have to deal with heat, wind, sun, humidity and a stadium full of fans!

Have a great weekend,

Martin