One team looked outside the box in preparation for the 12 boys Football NSW state titles.
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Metro East’s secret weapon during the tournament was yoga.
The idea came about when Daniella Goldberg – who was in Griffith supporting her son, James Sloman – offered her services.
Ms Goldberg recently started teaching yoga to rugby league players back home in Coogee through her business Yogarama.
She thought her son and his team-mates could also reap the benefits of yoga.
“I used to teach kids yoga but most recently I’ve been teaching footballers yoga in Coogee,” she said.
“After that I did a bit of research and what the needs of footballers were.
“I thought it would be great to do it for young footballers too.”
After an outdoor yoga session at the Griffith Regional Aquatic Leisure Centre, Ms Goldberg quickly realised that towels weren’t going to cut it as substitute yoga mats.
As any keen yoga instructor would, Ms Goldberg spied out what Griffith had to offer.
A session at Riverina Yoga Studio followed where she met fellow instructor Janine Murphy.
When Ms Murphy heard of the conundrum she was more than happy to lend some mats to the yoga beginners.
“I think there's a really nice camaraderie with yoga teachers,” Ms Murphy said.
“It’s really nice to be able to help and also spread the word of yoga.
“I was really excited she was including it for the boys.
“At that age often we have trouble encouraging men to try yoga.”
Along with plenty of stretches, Ms Goldberg taught them breathing techniques to help calm themselves at stressful points in matches.
The exercises were a hit with the youngsters, according to Ms Goldberg.
The yoga looked to help with their performances too as Metro East finished the titles in second position.
Ms Goldberg was appreciative of the kindness of Ms Murphy and the overall hospitality Griffith provided during her stay.
“We’ve loved it here, Griffith has been amazing,” she said. “We loved driving past all the orchards and the canola, it’s gorgeous.”