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Smiling while treading water
The tread test
The second phase of SEAL training is the water phase, and one of its most feared tests is called the tread. Each candidate spends five minutes in the pool wearing twin scuba tanks and a weight belt, with no fins and both hands held out of the water. The only realistic way through it is like sprinting on a gym bike to full muscle fatigue and holding it there.
The water polo player
One officer candidate in the class, a water polo player from the University of Tennessee, had already blazed through the brutal pool competency test on his first try. In the tread he used the eggbeater, the most efficient way to tread water, which water polo players have mastered. He joked around after his test and treaded as if this were his domain and he could do it all day.
Water polo is played while treading. The Navy's studies have found two backgrounds with the highest success rates in BUD/S: wrestling at any level, and water polo.
Why is the eggbeater kick so efficient?
The eggbeater moves the two legs in alternating circles, one clockwise and one counterclockwise, so one leg is always pushing water down. That produces steady lift instead of the bobbing that a scissor or frog kick creates. The torso holds a constant height, which leaves both hands free to pass and shoot. Lifeguards and artistic swimmers use the same kick.
Why do water polo players never touch bottom?
A water polo pool must be deep enough that players cannot stand, roughly two meters under international rules. A match runs four quarters of eight minutes, and the clock stops for fouls, so players tread for far longer than the playing time. They lift their upper bodies out of the water to pass and shoot over defenders. Players are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool during play.
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