GAIL WHITE-STICKLES, OWNER OF MOUNTAIN YOGA STUDIO, DEMONSTRATES THE WARRIOR POSE FOR MCHS VARSITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS. “COACH” STICKLES DID ALL THE PRACTICE SESSIONS IN FULL FOOTBALL GEAR. The beginning of football season brings to mind the crash of helmets and pads, grunts and groans of exertion and the impact of a hard hit. It doesn’t exactly lend itself to deep breathing, focus and control.

That is, unless you are a Mariposa County High School varsity football player this season. There is a whole new set of terms in the playbook. Phrases like “down dog,” “frog,” and “breathe” now are part of every day football practice.

When the Grizzlies took the field for their first official practices last week, there was a new twist to the arduous double days. Their first session of the day, and now subsequent practices, begin with yoga.

MCHS Head Coach Bob Kelly said bringing yoga to football is a perfect match for his team. “Last year, we spent too much time stretching and warming up, and it got us a bunch of pulled muscles. By the end of warm up,

PLAYERS AND COACHES SINK INTO THE “SUN GOD” POSE AT FOOTBALL PRACTICE. was about to blow my top. There was no focus, and the kids were regularly pulling or straining muscles,” he said.

The coach went to an expert for help. He enlisted the services of Gail White- Stickles, owner and instructor at Mountain Yoga Studio in Mariposa. Stickles volunteers her time at practice, and at a number of others schools in the Mariposa County Unified School District.

Stickles jumped at the chance to help.

Coach Kelly gets it,” she said. “He understands the benefits yoga will give his team.” In fact, Kelly has been using yoga to deal with recurring back pain for years. He figured it could help his team, too.

“We’re undersized this year, and we’re going to have to really hustle and run to be competitive,” Kelly said. “We’re going to have to condition like maniacs, and if we’re going to do that, we’re going to need to stay healthy.”

Enter “Coach” Stickles.

“This group of young athletes is so open, willing and eager to learn that it’s incredibly rewarding as an instructor to teach them,” she said.

Kelly was a little apprehensive about how his team and assistant coaches would receive yoga as an idea. Implementation quickly showed him.

“The kids and coaches have been better than I could have imagined,” Kelly said. “Right off the bat, they realized she was as serious as we are. She took control, and she’s Coach Stickles now.”

It’s a role that the long-time yoga instructor relishes, especially since she knows the benefits it can have. “It trains you to focus and concentrate, so you can perform at your peak,” she said of yoga practice. “It helps to avoid injury and speeds up recovery. Yoga improves flexibility, breathing, oxygen intake and increases strength and muscle tone. It also instills balance and body control.”

Stickles continued, “I know it will improve their performance,” she said of the incorporation of yoga and football. “The benefits are overwhelming.”

To be sure she understood the limitation of their gear, Stickles wore full pads to conduct the practice. She tailored a practice to the team, taking what Kelly saw as needs and joining them with appropriate poses.

“I like the idea of focusing and learning to control breathing, and I hope that can help us sharpen and keep our head and stay focused in the middle of all the craziness of a game,” Kelly said.

Stickles agrees that what the team is doing will help with those issues. “I want our Grizzlies to have the advantage,” she said. “It can give them inner strength and confidence.” She knows that the benefits won’t end when the season is over. “Yoga can be a valuable tool that they can use for the rest of their lives,” Stickles said. She hopes other coaches will incorporate similar ideas into their practices.

Kelly said his team is already seeing and feeling the results. “Now, we’ve just got to win some games,” he said.