Developing Water Polo Power

Coaches know it is extremely important to use correct terminology. A major problem with most sports training content on the internet is the loose standard for terms used to describe training effects. The term “strength” refers to the application of force independent of time or distance. Strength is used correctly for events requiring the maximum application of force to complete one action, such as a barbell bench press, but it is not the correct term to use when referring to one athlete overcoming the abilities of another athlete in a timed event.  Usually, “arm strength” is used when explaining an athlete's ability to throw a ball at a high velocity. But, as a water polo ball always weighs the same, about 13 ounces, an increase in maximal force does not necessarily move the ball quicker (generally; this doesn’t even address the specific muscles that must be trained to improve shooting). This article continues on WaterPoloPlanet.com

Performance Based Interval Training for Water Polo

PBIT might be considered an overarching term for training that includes USPRT for swimming and USWPT for water polo. PBIT can also be used for run training but very little personal research has been conducted or applied to running in this instance. This article will focus on PBIT in terms of resistance training or performing bodyweight exercises. This article continues at Water Polo Planet

The Future of Water Polo Conditioning - USWPT

Ultra-short Race-pace Training (USRPT) is a set of swim training principles researched, developed and articulated by Dr. Brent Rushall during his decades-long career coaching swimming and performing scientific studies. The results of dozens of tests are posted in his database "Swimming Science Bulletin" and I would refer you to this short article as a primer, "The Mechanisms of Ultra-Short Training". If this is not adequate in depth I would advise the longer, "Swimming Energy Training in the 21st Century". These methods have been proposed for water polo before (Water Polo Training Based on Game Metrics) but had previously failed to incorporate the optimal development of the players' energy systems and the reduction in performance-degrading fatigue. Now, a true scientific conditioning system is ready to be unleashed on your players. (Just in time for the season!)

This article continues at Water Polo Planet

Developing Your Head-Up Water Polo Technique, Part 2

Now that you have mastered some of the basic head-up drills in Head-up Water Polo Technique Part 1 you can start training your transitions. In a water polo game you will perform a water polo transition from swimming to eggbeater, or vice versa, at least two times each possession.

From your defensive end, you will perform a water polo start and swim to the offensive end where you will transition back to eggbeater. You may catch a pass early in the counterattack and then pass and swim to another position. You may also initiate a drive in your half-court and end the drive by kicking-up to catch a pass and score a goal. As you can tell, transitions are extremely important to work on. Fast transitions allow you to: 1) play mobile defense 2) counterattack quicker 3) pass and shoot from a stable and high eggbeater position 4) save energy.

Let's try some transition drills that will help you get in shape for the season.

Transition technique 121 is a simple drill to add to your water polo conditioning. Instead of swimming laps and starting and stopping on the walls, begin and/or finish each lap with some eggbeater. On an eggbeater start, make sure you are balanced with your hands out of the water and explode into the swim position with a forward breaststroke kick lunge. To finish, work on getting your knees up quickly and eggbeatering hard to the end of the lap.

Transition technique 122 adds some game situations to the eggbeater transition. If you start eggbeatering at the beginning of the lap you are in a shot-blocking position with one hand up and your palm facing the shooter. Knock down the shooter after a few yards and explode into your swim with a breaststroke lunge. If you finish the lap in the eggbeater position you should transition to eggbeater about 7 yards out and move forward high in the water with a shooting hand up looking for a cross pass. Finish the lap with a high shooting motion. If you eggbeater before and after the swim you should be sprinting head-up the middle 10-14 yards of the pool.

Transition technique 123 is a variation of technique 121. Here you will start from various positions and facing different directions. Face left, right, backwards and forwards. Start with your legs pointing in different directions as well. Each direction requires different explosive movements. Finish the laps with hard eggbeater for 5-10 seconds and at least one vertical lunge. It is up to you to make this drill harder and harder. 8x15 yards head-up sprint with 5 seconds of eggbeater at the end and 2 vertical lunges is a pretty good set! Take 20 seconds of rest between each rep.

Transition technique 124 shows you three types of water polo turns. Remember, when training for water polo you should never start with wall pushes or do flip turns. Save those for swim season. The ankle turn involves lifting your foot and leg out of the water and spinning. Notice that if you spin clockwise you will be pushing your right foot out of the water. Keep your legs high in the water and get proficient at turning both directions. The knees-to-chest turn is straightforward; just pull your knees up as high as you can and fall backward into a swim position. The hip turn is hard to master but is a very quick transition move. Watch the video and practice these turns until you feel comfortable. Proper turns will help you conserve energy in a game!

Building a Water Polo Captain

"Because there are no predetermined solutions to problems, [sic] leaders must adapt their 

thinking, formations, and employment techniques to the specific situation they face. This 

requires an adaptable and innovative mind, a willingness to accept prudent risk in 

unfamiliar or rapidly changing situations, and an ability to adjust based on continuous 

assessment."

 - Foreword, Army Leadership ADP 6-22

Many of coaches talk about the delegation of responsibility they give to their team captains: 

"When a captain tells you to do something he speaks for the coach"

But, when do your captains actually speak with your vision? Usually, this is the last expression of delegation a coach will ever give to players. As a coach you should be delegating a portion of your practice to be run by your captains. Your captains need opportunities to practice their leadership skills every day. Coaches should provide the guidance, tools, and feedback necessary to build daily improvement. This will pay dividends in games when your captains are authoritative in executing your plan. 

College coaches are not exempt. Your captains and seniors are moving into the real world. These skills are not only essential but will benefit your players the rest of their lives. If you, or the assistant coach, are running warm-ups, conditioning, or basic drills by the second week of practice you are wrong. Coach staff should be correcting individual technique and coordinating team strategy. Captains should be enforcing proper repetition and pace. If ROTC college seniors are qualified to lead men into combat your players can run the first 45 minutes of practice.

First, establish a precedent for your captains. Give them a few orders to execute such as organizing team stretching and having everyone in the water at a certain time. If players are still on the deck, pull the captains out and hold them accountable (usually push-ups, make it hurt). Show the rest of the team that the captains are the conduit between the coach and the rest of the team. Essentially, the captains should be doing the heavy lifting, and yelling, during the mundane portions of practice.

Second, bring your captains into the daily planning of the the practice. Have them stand with your assistants as you disseminate the plan for the day. What is the conditioning plan, what is the major focus of the practice? Are there any recommendations from the captains based on play the previous game? Let them feel their input is important in building the team.

Third, talk only to your captains. This is the hardest step. Stand over your captains and give them the next drill. No yelling, no loud talking, just a normal conversation. If players are lost when the drill starts pull the captains over and ask why. Are they leading the drill or expecting inexperienced players to know what to do? Captains should be vocal and learn to relay any information you give to them. Again, this will pay dividends in crucial game situations. In ROTC, the leader is given 10 minutes to accept, develop, and disseminate a formal operations order to their subordinates prior to leading a 90 minute mission. Your captains will be fine.

My leader expectations are straightforward: 

• Communicate—up, down, and laterally; understand the practice
• Build agile, effective, high-performing teams 
• Empower subordinates and underwrite risk (playing creatively)
• Develop bold, adaptive, and broadened leaders 

Your captains will thrive with the latitude you have given them. I usually transition my next year's captains/seniors the last week of season to give the current seniors a chance to focus on enjoying the end of season. This also gives the juniors a taste of what is to come.

I have trained men who have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Building water polo leaders is easy but still equally rewarding. Many players have committed significant portions of their lives to play water polo and, as a coach, you should enable them to lead men in this short profession as well. Your captains will never resent you because you let them lead.

"The fastest learning occurs when there are challenging and 

interesting opportunities to practice leadership with meaningful and honest feedback 

and multiple practice opportunities. These elements contribute to self-learning, 

developing others and setting a climate conducive to learning."

- Page 9, Army Leadership ADP 6-22

Creating a Water Polo Practice Plan, Part 2

Previously, we looked at creating a daily water polo practice plan using backward planning based on identifying a tactical goal for the practice. In this post we will look at the other two parts of overall planning by creating a mid-term (operational) and seasonal (strategic) plan. Refer to Creating a Water Polo Practice, Part 1 for guidelines and terminology.

Your weekly plan should take into account your total available pool time, dryland time assigned to the week, and games scheduled. Let's look at three common situations: Hell-week, pre-league weeks, and league weeks. Create tactical goals that will build throughout the weeks and can be supported by your pool schedule and player experience. Sessions can be broken down into conditioning, water polo skills, dryland, weightlifting, scrimmaging, and any smaller combination of these parts.

Hell-Week 1: Usually 5-6 days of practice with 1-2 sessions each day.

1. morning: weightlifting, evening: conditioning
2. dryland, conditioning
3. conditioning, water polo individual skills
4. weightlifting, conditioning/individual skills
5. conditioning, group skills
6. group skills, center-based offense

H-week 2

1. weightlifting, conditioning
2. individual skills, zone-aware offense
3. conditioning, press defense
4. group skills, zone defense
5. counterattack, scrimmage/6-on-5

Now lets look at a non-league week. This will usually consist of 5 practice days and 2-3 morning sessions. It can also include a non-league game or Friday/Saturday tournament.

1. conditioning, set offense
2. counterattack, zone defense
3. conditioning, 6-on-5/5-on-6
4. game warm-up, zone-break offense, after-goal situations
5. Game/Tournament

League weeks usually are the last month of the season and are broken up with two games separated by practices days. This creates a challenge to build a consistent plan but also allows coaches to make adjustments after games to build on skills for the next game. A sample week includes:

1. conditioning, defensive schemes
2. league game
3. counterattack, offensive schemes
4. league game
5. individual and group skills, after-goal situations

The end of the week is a good time to reinforce fundamental skills. Players are tired and more focused on the weekend. Drilling individual and group skills depends less on tactical thinking and more on mechanics and a limited number of actions. If your players are broken-down from the week their performance in team skills and scrimmages will probably be poor and inefficient, frustrating both players and coaches. Know their limits and plan recovery days that allow for mental recovery.

Water Polo Creativity in an Uncreative World

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the USAWP Coaches Clinic in Riverside, CA and was honored to have lunch with the coach instructor, Dante Dettamanti. We discussed many topics over the 2-day clinic including offensive and defensive schemes, practice plans, and good-old polo stories. But, most importantly, we discussed creativity.

Read the rest of the article at: Water Polo Planet