Roanoke, Va. – During football season, Ashley Wills is up to her eyeballs in high school football highlights and scores. Saturday in Radford, she will be over her head in ice cold river water. The weeknight news producer is one of WSLS-10′s Polar Plunge team, braving the icy waters to benefit Special Olympics.
The 10 Sports team wanted to make sure she was ready. So we turn to Rail Yard Dawgs assistant coach and Minnesota native Cal Miska for some helpful tips on how to handle the cold.
“Well you want to be warm going into it, so I mean you wanna wear long socks, your sweatshirt maybe a couple layers of long-johns,” (before the plunge), Miska said.
“Are there any tips or moves I need to do to stay warm?”(after the plunge) Wills inquired.
"Maybe just go for a run right after to keep your body warm from getting shock. Being from Minnesota you know, I’m big into ice fishing myself, so if you get wet I mean it’s a constant battle on how to stay warm until you get back to a heated area, " Miska explained.
Wills and her teammates will be making the Polar Plunge in matching penguin outfits. To complete her training, Wills worked on increasing her agility and comfort where penguins are most comfortable -- on the ice. The preparation drills Wills worked on included the Penguin slide, the ice angel, the Penguin flop, the Klondike skate and of course, the ‘icy groove’.
The WSLS-10 Sports team of Brooke Leonard, Eric Johnson and John Appicello wish Wills the best on Saturday, and we hope she thaws in time for football season in the fall!