Interview with Annie Espar
home / Interview with Annie Espar
For this interview, we talk to World and European champion and Olympic silver medallist, Annie Espar. She was preparing for the upcoming Olympics in Toyko before the lockdown was put in place in Spain. Annie also works for world renowned waterpolo manufacturer Turbo – https://turboswim.com/en/
Take a look through her interview with Eoin Bridgeman as she gives advice in making a daily routine, what fitness pages to follow and recommendations for younger players to develop in the sport.
EB: Annie, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. First of all, how are you dealing with the current situation and keeping yourself fit?
AE: For any athlete this is a very difficult time and a very rare situation. But my advice is to adapt to every situation. You never know what can happen in a competition or even in a training camp, so we need to accept the situation how it is and get the best out of it.
So far, I am doing very well on keeping fit. Here I give you a couple advices:
- Get into a routine. Get used to waking up at the same time of the day every day, and have a schedule that will help you (in my case, I prefer to do the hard training in the morning (around 11 am, as I’m used to doing with my club team). This training is usually a cardio session (I will give you a few tips in a second), or a weights session (be creative, I do not have any weights at home but I use water bottles that range from 1,5 kg to 8kg, and if combined with packs I’ve got like 20kg- more than enough to keep fit!) and then some afternoons I do a yoga, Pilates or stretching class to keep the body moving.
So here a few ideas for training. For Cardio I really like the videos online from “Les mills”- you’ll find them on YouTube. Also there are plenty of apps that will help you keep fit these days like NTC- the Nike app for training.
Instagram is also a very good tool these days because many people are doing free classes, but don’t spend too much unnecessary time there!
Here I’ll give you a few accounts that I like for training these days and I picked the English spoken ones that I use so it will be easier for you to follow:
@slizotte- she has different training posted in her stories and will do some classes through the zoom app. https://www.instagram.com/slizotte/
@wellness_dani- she is a Pilates instructor currently living in Australia and I love her classes! Will make your muscles burn. I try to do her classes a couple times a week and it feels so good afterwards. https://www.instagram.com/wellness_dani/
@anniespar_ – and of course, you can follow me on my personal account. Sometimes I post some exercises in my stories or IG profiles that I like, and you can also ask me anything you like there and I’ll be happy to help 🙂 However, as I said, I try to use these days to be productive and not spend too much unnecessary time on social media. https://www.instagram.com/anniespar_/
- Control what you eat and weight yourself.You don’t need to follow a strict diet, but it is good to control your weight to make sure you keep staying healthy. Do not get overwhelmed with it.
- Keep in touch with your teammates(it will help you get through this faster). Maybe one call per week so you guys can catch up or even do a session together once a week. I really appreciate these calls with my team 🙂
EB: Some great information there for players, and as you say it is important to keep the team morale up and keep your motivation! So, how did you start playing waterpolo and what players were your heroes when you were younger?
AE: I started swimming when I was a baby in C.E Meditarrani, and at the age of 11 they asked me if I wanted to try water polo, and I loved it right away!
My heroes as a young player were basically the older girls on my club team. They were my referents and, in a few years, they became my teammates, and it was a very big privilege to play next to players that had been my heroes since I was a young girl. Players like Jennifer Pareja, or Ona Meseguer that played with me later on in the 2012 London Olympics.
EB: That takes us nicely to our next question, what was your favourite or most memorable tournament that you played in?
AE: I’ve had many important tournaments from which I have good memories but the most memorable one was the London Olympics. It was the first time that the Women’s Spanish National team was qualified, and it was an amazing experience. Everything related to it. From the training previous to the moment we got into the village and qualifying for the Olympic Final. It was really a dream that became true.
EB: Some great information there for players, and as you say it is important to keep the team morale up and keep your motivation! So, how did you start playing waterpolo and what players were your heroes when you were younger?
AE: I started swimming when I was a baby in C.E Meditarrani, and at the age of 11 they asked me if I wanted to try water polo, and I loved it right away!
My heroes as a young player were basically the older girls on my club team. They were my referents and, in a few years, they became my teammates, and it was a very big privilege to play next to players that had been my heroes since I was a young girl. Players like Jennifer Pareja, or Ona Meseguer that played with me later on in the 2012 London Olympics.
EB: That takes us nicely to our next question, what was your favourite or most memorable tournament that you played in?
AE: I’ve had many important tournaments from which I have good memories but the most memorable one was the London Olympics. It was the first time that the Women’s Spanish National team was qualified, and it was an amazing experience. Everything related to it. From the training previous to the moment we got into the village and qualifying for the Olympic Final. It was really a dream that became true.
EB: What advice would you give to young players looking to improve their game?
AE: The most important one is to love what they do. Do everything with passion. For me, loving this sport so much and going to practice every day so happy is what makes it crucial to be able to become a better player.
Then, I would say sacrifice is also important. Always give your 100%.
And finally, know that repetition is the key. Make your brain get used to the same action, day after day, and it will end up happening without you noticing. It is something I try to tell the young girls I’ve had the opportunity to coach for a day. It might not look perfect today, but if you do it 100% every day, you will improve for sure and you will end up doing it right.
EB: Have you had any experiences with Irish water polo or ever been to Ireland?
AE: I’ve never had any experiences with Irish water polo, but I would love to have one. Maybe one day when all this is over, we can do a masterclass together or your team can come to Barcelona to train against my team 🙂
I’ve been to Ireland before, just once and loved the experience. I came with my family when I was younger and was able to visit Cork and Dublin. It was summer, and I remember it was very rainy, haha.
EB: That sounds about right! One thing that we are asking in all the interviews, is to recommend games for younger players to go back, watch and learn from. Would you recommend any in particular?
AE: This is a very good question. And something very important. It is true that we are not at the pool training our physical condition. However, it is the perfect time to improve other skills. So, it is a good moment to work on video sessions or mental preparation for big games.
About games, I would recommend to watch any game they have recorded from themselves, and analyse it (what could I’ve done here to help more my teammate, or wow, that was a nice goal but maybe I had a free pass to the other side and it would’ve been a nicer goal- analyse yourself and be critical.
And then of course, they could watch international games that will help them to look up and dream. This is a very good idea. I don’t know which are the preferences of these girls but if they like the Spanish team, I would love them to watch the Olympic final in London. Or also a very good game was the semifinal, also in London against Hungary. This is very good water polo, and also, they will get a glance of what is to compete in high elite.
Also, the games from the US team are good games to watch because all the players have really good technique.
EB: Annie, thanks again for being so generous with your time and answering our questions. I’m sure our younger, and hopefully older players will enjoy reading what you said and learn something from you!
AE: I hope these answers help and please, let me know if you need anything else. Best regards and stay healthy!
As recommended by Annie, this link shows the 2012 Olympic women’s final at 1.53. Enjoy!
