We recently interviewed Tony Chanove, who is currently coaching the water polo team at Patriot Aquatics out of Irvine CA.
Tony Chanove has done a lot during the current pandemic to ensure his son, who he coaches, as well as his other teammates stay focused during these unprecedented times.
Read on to learn a little more about Tony and how a variety of NZ Manufacturing products are at the cornerstone of his current resistance training regimen for the 14-year-old boys that he’s coaching.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I currently coach my son’s water polo team, Patriot Water Polo based in Irvine, CA. We’ve had to really get creative when it comes to training during COVID and the NZ Manufacturing products have allowed us to do just that. I’ve been coaching my son for years and feel strongly that using the resistance bands allows young athletes to get a much superior workout compared to free weights. In fact, these bands allow kids to get reps in a safer, more consistent manner than with just weight training.
Why do you like incorporating resistance training into your workouts?
I really like the dryland equipment because you’re really able to get more consistent and specialized reps, especially on the throwing side. In addition, these bands are great for exercising internal muscles to help build resistance and reduce injuries. I’m an old swimmer who grew up in an era where we would normally swim 16,000 yards a day. Today, thanks to advances in things like resistance training, athletes typically won’t swim more than 2,500 yards a day and still are in great shape and are less prone to injuries. I have a lot of shoulder injuries that I think could have been prevented if I would have started introducing resistance training into my workout regimen back when I was 13-14 years old as opposed to going straight to weight training.
How has your training regimen changed due to COVID?
In some ways it’s actually helped. We’re far more structured now. We have to get more strength training in and early on we couldn’t get in the water at all. This meant that we had to do workouts using just bands. I want these kids’ muscles to start developing internally, especially in the shoulder area which is prone to injury. I’ve created a stretching and band program where we do roughly 12 different warmup exercises and 6 strength training exercises all incorporating NZ Manufacturing products. This really allows us to isolate and figure out how to train while also keeping the kids motivated with the sport.
What specific NZ Manufacturing products do you use for training?
We’re currently using a variety of StretchCordz® products for training including the Original StrechCordz® with Handles as well as other dryland training and in-water resistance training equipment.
How can we learn more about Patriot Aquatics?
We’re thankful that Tony Chanove took time out of his busy schedule to tell us a little bit more about his coaching style, as well as how his team has adjusted to training during COVID. If you’d like to learn more, you can always visit the Patriot Aquatics website at www.patriotaquatics.org.
