By Owen Pilson Capital Wave U19 Team / Coach 14U To those of you that don’t know me, I’m Owen Pilson. I’ve been playing with Capital Wave for 5 years now. I’ve also been coaching with the club for 3 years as of now. It’s been a long journey. I try and say that I’m a person that lives in the moment and most of the time enjoys the moment. I used to swim at Brewer Pool from the ages 10-12. It was a once a week swim session called Power Swim. It wasn’t much, but [...]

Capital Wave Coaching Staff Ottawa is a great city. I can rhyme off all the usual things that make a great city - green space, transportation, entertainment, fantastic lifeguards, outdoor pools. Ottawa has just about got all those areas covered. But one new development stands out for me as Ottawa continues to shine - massive tunnels designed to hold 50 or so Olympic swimming pools worth of unmentionables. The  Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel (CSST) was completed in November 2020 and will help prevent huge amounts of unwanted material going into the Ottawa River after a [...]

By Rodrigo Rojas, Head Coach The first annual Wave-A-Thon is over and in the books with over 166,000 metres swum and close to $24,000 raised. Congratulations to everyone who took part - it was a great success on so many levels! Capital Wave relies upon fundraising as well as membership fees to be able to deliver its programming throughout the season. For the past few years our traditional fundraising  event has been leaf raking.  Well, no more! We can all put down those rakes! Let the leaves just rest where they fall and we’ll save those [...]

  Fraser Anderson Competitive Boys Coach I have a secret. Despite my love of water polo and swimming, nothing gets my sporting attention as much as watching boxing. The moments before the opening bell of any title fight my palms are sweating and I am quick to silence anyone in the room who speaks.  That’s probably why I like the opening swim-off so much - it’s a tense one-on-one battle! The commitment to physical training from Floyd Mayweather, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Bernard Hopkins are legendary and to be admired. But, what about their mental commitment? [...]

Capital Wave Coaching Staff You’ve spent countless hours in the pool, powered through many early mornings, and committed yourself to the great sport of swimming. The water has shaped your body and your mind and made you a better person. But, as with many swimmers, the medal count eventually starts to slow down and qualifying times get more and more out of reach.  This is nothing new. It’s by design. That’s how the sport of swimming works. As you get older, the level of competition gets higher and fewer swimmers qualify for those top events. [...]

Rodrigo Rojas Head Coach Water polo players that do not have a competitive swimming background are at a slight disadvantage. While this may not be a popular opinion among some in the water polo community, let me explain my thinking. The strokes used for water polo do not focus on streamline, flexibility, or attaining a feel for the water - three goals that are a part of any competitive swimming program. Water polo strokes concentrate on moving as fast as possible over 2 -3 metres (getting to a ball) and over 15 - 20 metres (swimming [...]

Fraser Anderson Capital Wave Coach, PLAY! Water Polo Program Sometimes, when the practice may not be going exactly as planned, that little voice in my head asks, “Why? Why are you doing this? You could be at home right now, feet up, enjoying a glass of the best that Scotland has to offer. Instead, you’re here at a pool where it’s loud, hot and noisy.” That’s usually when I look out at the young water polo players in the pool, try to find one that probably isn’t having the best day of their young lives (don’t [...]

Fraser Anderson Capital Wave Coach, PLAY! Water Polo Program I don’t think I am alone when I say that “London Bridge” is a song that I never want to hear again. It was a staple song at my daughter’s swim lessons for a couple of years when she was learning how to swim. And I am sure it’s still being sung to this day. Fall already! Pack the bridge up and move it to Arizona. I’m done. But that was not all that was uncomfortable about my child’s swim lessons. What really got to me was [...]