Just a few days before the start of a pre-season camp at Evian-les-Bains’ French spa resort, August 2019, Liverpool’s players were told to gather in one of the meeting rooms at their hotel.
Jurgen Klopp, manager, introduced Sebastian Steudtner (German surfer), who spoke about his passion for surfing and how it drove him to move to Hawaii as a teenager to chase the best waves.
Steudtner showed them video clips of him riding the tallest recorded motorcycles, especially off Nazare in Portugal. But there was also footage that captured moments when he came crashing down and was left gasping for breath, in danger of being pulled below. He said that he was able to resist panic attacks and keep calm under pressure.
He led the players to the hotel swimming pool where they were asked to hold their breath for as long as possible. The majority of the players came back, gasping desperately for air, in less than 20 seconds.
Steudtner stated that people need to see it in a different way. He advised them to stop focusing on breathing and instead to concentrate on their bodies. They were soon able to stay under for as little as 30 seconds and sometimes even for over a minute.
He assured them that they could still do more, even when they believed they had reached their limits. It was up to them to prove that.
Each player had increased his endurance by the end of each session. Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana Mohamed SalahAll of them made it past the three-minute mark.
