Even in Vancouver’s warmest months, the water at the mouth of False Creek remains pretty brisk by most people’s standards: 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) on average in midsummer, with occasional spikes like the one that’s nudged English Bay’s current levels up to about 19 degrees C (66 F).

Those are wetsuit conditions for all but the hardiest of swimmers or surfers. Sebastian Berhalter and his Whitecaps FC teammate Giuseppe Bovalina have gotten comfortable with the discomfort, though, enshrining an early-morning dip into their pregame rituals, accompanied by some meditation and mindfulness.

“It's something we do every gameday-1, home and away,” Berhalter explains in the latest episode of Breakaway, whose film crew accompanied the breakout midfielder around Rain City ear

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