At the bottom of the pool, a flurry of fins and curved sticks fight over the possession of a puck. This is a common sight for junior Shayla Duong, who has been playing co-ed underwater hockey since seventh grade.
“The point of the game is to stay at the bottom [and] parallel to the pool floor [while] pushing a three pound puck with a short stick to … [the] metal goal,” Duong said. “We … wear a water polo cap, scuba mask, snorkeling tube [and one] glove to protect our hand from the bottom of the pool.”
There are six players for each side, typically three forwards and backs.
“[It’s] similar to offense [and] defense,” Duong said. “[There’s] one person [called] the center forward. [Their] job is to swim as fast as possible to get to the puck when the … whistle [blows].”
In addition to playing underwater hockey for the San Francisco Sea Lions U19 team, Duong is a part of Aragon’s varsity swim team. She started swimming when she was a few months old and participated in club swimming until middle school. As an experienced swimmer, Duong can apply those skills to underwater hockey.
“[Being] able to use my fins [and] … quickly navigate around the water [by] twisting [and] turning … was really helpful,” Duong said.
Duong first heard about underwater hockey when she was swimming with her cousins in the summer. Her parents encouraged Duong and her older sister, Kaitlyn Duong, to try it out.
Even with her experience as a swimmer, Duong had a lot of trouble adjusting to the sport upon first exposure because she was immediately put in a game with older, more experienced players.
“I hated it,” Duong said. “[The coach] didn’t realize that [my older sister and I] were … complete newbies. I didn’t touch the puck [and] … had my legs [and arms] bruised.”
However, the situation improved when Duong and her sister were placed into the youth games. She currently switches between center forward and left forward.
“I felt like there was a position for me where I could really help the team … because I was on the smaller side,” Duong said. “It’s easier for me to go between a bunch of different players and … push the puck through them.”
In contrast to constantly coming up for air between strokes while swimming, underwater hockey players are required to hold their breath for an average 30-45 seconds. Athletes must learn to persevere despite losing oxygen.
“[When] you’re down there, … [you] don’t think [you] can hold [your] breath for that long,” Duong said. “But when you see the puck and there’s just a bunch of people from like the other opposing team surrounding you, you’re like, ‘I need to hold on to the puck for longer, just until my teammate can get down.’”
Another physical challenge is withstanding the pressure in the nine-feet-deep pool.
“[My ears] used to hurt but you just gotta pop them [and] it’s like swallowing,” Duong said.
Sometimes, getting into the water in the first place is a challenge in itself.
“I don’t always feel like getting in the water,” Duong said. “There are days where … I’m cold, [but once] … I get in, I’m ready to go [and] … I always feel so accomplished. I’m always happier and it’s stress-relieving.”
Players are also prone to injury, especially when they are not prepared with the proper gear.
“There are times when I’ve been kicked in the face with fins,” Duong said. “[There] was one game where [my sister] wasn’t wearing … her water polo cap [that] has the plastic thing over your ears. The puck got flicked into her ear so … there was like a small tear in [her eardrum].”
During practices, the team warms up with swimming on the surface and then performs drills and practices techniques like kelp dives.
“[Kelp] dives are to help us get down to the bottom of the pool quicker and more efficiently,” Duong said. “Instead of diving down with your arms first, putting our feet down first helps us stay more parallel to the bottom. [If] you’re not parallel to the bottom, someone can push the puck or steal the puck from under us.”
“When … [the] opposing team [surrounds] you, you’re like, ‘I need to hold on to the puck for longer, just until my teammate can get down”
In addition to individual technique, underwater hockey requires especially strong team chemistry because there is no way to clearly communicate with teammates in the water.
“[There] are times when I’m like, ‘She likes the puck passed more forward, whereas he likes it passed this way,’” Duong said. “[You need] to know that aspect of … every one of your teammates.”
In February 2019, a little over a year after joining the sport, Duong went to her first Battle @ Altitude tournament in Denver, Colorado.
“It was so nerve-wracking because we were playing with girls [who] had been to worlds,” Duong said. “But … the girls [who] we were playing with … were so welcoming. [When I play now,] I’m not as nervous because I know they’re right by my side.”
In November 2019, Duong’s team attended a tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., the most memorable one yet.
“We had been there since seven in the morning, getting ready [and] warming up,” Duong said. “[We] had to wait for another team to finish. By the time they finished, it was like 10. [The] other team asked us if we wanted to just forfeit, and we were all like, ‘We have been sitting there for hours and hours on end just waiting to play [so] absolutely not.’ [It turned] out [to be] the best game that we played the whole day. I [think I] scored three goals.”
Although Duong temporarily stopped playing underwater hockey in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport and its unique combination of skills from both land and water sports will become a part of Duong’s life again after the swim season ends.
