Emily Marshall overcame her first major water polo injury with a triumphant return to the pool and the sport she loves earlier this month.
Marshall, 15, suffered a hairline fracture to her left radial bone during the final game of the under-19 Saskatchewan water polo team’s National Championship League (NCL) tournament victory at Regina’s Lawson Aquatic Centre in early November. The injury prevented the budding water polo star from competing with the 16U provincial team at an NCL tournament in early December, but a dedication to overcoming the setback and continuing her training allowed the former Estevan Shark an opportunity to get back in the water with the 16U club for an NCL tournament at Calgary’s Talisman Centre the weekend of Jan. 12 to 15.
In five games with Team Saskatchewan, Marshall saw time in the hole set position while also playing a role as a driving force on offence and defence. The squad went 3-2 at the competition with Marshall contributing two goals including a second-quarter marker in her first game back against the Edmonton Thunderbirds.
“It felt really good just to know that I could still play because my biggest fear was it was going to alter the way I plan,” said Marshall. “That (goal) was a big confidence booster because of the fact I could still score and I could still play.”
Marshall moved to Regina in late August to participate in Water Polo Saskatchewan’s High Performance Program giving the athlete an opportunity to train 14 hours in the pool and three hours in a strength and conditioning workshop each week. In order to do this, the Grade 10 student chose to leave her friends and relations behind transferring to Regina’s Campbell Collegiate Institute and moving in with a family friend.
Suffering the injury in her first tournament of the season didn’t bring Marshall’s training to a standstill, but it did alter the program. The fractured arm forced Marshall to wear a cast meaning she had to wear a cast bag in order to exercise in the pool.
“It was essentially a giant oven mitt, so it looked like I had a flipper,” she said. “I basically just swam laps until I got the cast off and then I had a brace so I was doing basically goalie drills instead. So, lots of legwork and no contact whatsoever.”
The recovery wasn’t complete by the time of the 16U tournament, so Marshall had to tape her arm before games to avoid further injury. She said her play in the first two matches at the competition was very cautious, but once she discovered the tape held and the arm didn’t hurt it was all in.
“I just got more confidence up and I played like there was no injury,” said Marshall. “The hardest part was the tape in that it’s a constant reminder that I’m hurt.”
Cyril Dorgigne, head coach of the 16U Saskatchewan female water polo team, said Marshall is a goal scorer, but the injury limited her swimming power and performance. He said they attempted to give her shorter shifts to try and ease her into action to help her adjust only to see her role and desire to be in the water force her back into the pool.
“During the five games, actually her level of shape and conditioning improved,” said Dorgigne. “It’s pretty encouraging for the next tournament that will happen in Edmonton in February. If she keeps going and training like she’s been doing she should start to be close to 100 per cent by then.”
Marshall said the plan is to compete with both the 16U and 19U provincial teams at the Feb. 17-18 NCL tournament at Edmonton’s Kinsmen Centre. She helped the 16U team to a silver medal in the NCL Western and National Championships and the 19U club to a gold medal and silver medal in the Western and Nationals competitions, respectively, last season and her goal is to do that again this year.
“Our 19U team in the tournament that I broke my arm, we won all our games,” said Marshall. “We’re a strong team. We work well together and I feel like we can go far with that team. As for our 16U team, as long as we keep improving, I feel we’re almost guaranteed to at least qualify for Nationals if not win the whole thing.”
