A day in the life

CATHERINE JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior
driver Jon Puffer takes a few moments before
morning practice to joke around with his teammates. CATHERINE JUN
and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Puffer
prepares to drive the ball into the net during the team’s
afternoon practice. CATHERINE JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin
Senior Staff Sasha Saylor, a third-year and
student athletic trainer for the men’s water polo team,
massages Puffer’s right shoulder, which he injured in a
scrimmage. CATHERINE JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff

By Catherine Jun and Daniel
Wong
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

A day in the life of a water polo player is far from
glamorous.

Jon Puffer and his teammates start their day at 8 a.m. with a
two-hour workout in the Sunset Recreation Center pool. During
practice the team swims 3,000 yards and then works on fast break
and shooting drills.

After practice, Puffer and some of his teammates head down to
the Cooperage for breakfast, where they get a chance to unwind and
enjoy a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Breakfast is followed by physical
therapy for Puffer and junior goalkeeper Brandon Brooks. Afterward,
he returns to his Westwood apartment for a quick nap.

Barely having time to relax and step away from the hectic life
of UCLA water polo, Puffer heads back to campus at 1 p.m. where he
continues to rehabilitate the shoulder that he injured a few weeks
ago during a scrimmage.

Afternoon practice runs from 2 to 5 p.m., after which Puffer can
finally escape the rigors of his water polo life.

Unlike sports such as football and baseball, water polo does not
have a professional league, there are no seven-figure signing
bonuses or multi-million dollar endorsements contracts for water
polo players. The few that continue with the sport can vie for
spots on the national team or take up coaching, but for most
players, the end of college marks the end of their water polo
career.

So why would anyone want to spend their days training and
dealing with injuries and weekend matches and tournaments with few
future job prospects resulting from their hard work?

For Jon Puffer the answer is simple: “We play for the love
of the game, the camaraderie … We have a lot of fun playing with
each other.”

CATHERINE JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff CATHERINE
JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Finally, time to relax
in the Cooperage. CATHERINE JUN and DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff Practice includes lap swimming as well as shooting and
passing drills.