Ask the Water Polo Goalie

How should your lead hand finish a lunge? Is it pinky first or palm down first?

A hand-eye drill that can be used as part of a long warm-up or part of a conditioning session when you add a weight belt.

A shooting drill to work on quick hip and body transitions for shots out of the center and shots from the perimeter.

Original Write-up

You can't block what you can't see!

This is a progressive drill to train water polo goalies top keep their eye on the ball and follow it into their block.

The gear needed is a water polo ball and a fat black market to write capitalized letters on each face of the ball.

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The main differences between the classic M-Drop zone versus the newer Brescia Zone being run by national teams and professional teams.

Original Post

This week's question is one I answered on Reddit.

"I'm currently a goalie in junior year, starting to do things like email coaches trying to get recruited, and a lot of the field players on my team go to clinics like tony Azevedo, or Wolf Wigo's clinics, but these are pretty expensive and I was wondering whether these types of clinics were worth it for goalies to go to, what kind of value can I expect out of them? and would going to a clinic of a college coach help with recruitment? (eg Wigo)"

The question this week comes from Susan.

"I’d love some help and advice on how to be more vocal and directive of team mates as a goalie. Other than counting down the clock, and asking team mates to press or help defend (hands up), I am often not sure what else to say."

I'll discuss ways to start talking to your team as a goalie and then focus on what else to say to your team after the basics. I will even walk through an entire defensive possession and what I would say to help you discover what else to say.

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The 10, 10, & 10 framework is a way to think about your defensive possession. You're breaking the shot clock into thirds.

• 10 seconds in the initial change of possession & transition.
• 10 seconds with the offense in the frontcourt but not fully set up or in their preferred positions.
• 10 seconds of them really trying to attack the frontcourt for a goal or an ejection.

This episode will focus on the main ideas and goals you want to achieve in each section along with some common pitfalls you may encounter.

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Harper has this episode's question. "I want to become stronger in my legs, especially my eggbeater, but I find it hard to get pool time, especially on my own. What are some workouts on land, or what should my workouts focus on to build strength in the water?" I'll discuss how I dealt with limited pool time and how I was able to find space, the three categories of dry land workouts I would focus on regardless of pool time, and some other non-water polo suggestions.

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What are the nastiest type of shots to block from the goalie perspective and some do's and don't when making a highlight reel.

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Francis wants to know how does a shorter goalie stand out and play better than goalies who are much taller than him? How does a shorter goalie train to play at a college level?

I have some exciting life changing news to share and how this affects the upcoming water polo season for me. Then if your season is starting and you don't have a true goalie on your team what do you do? How do you find an effective solution to stay competitive and to help your team to keep improving?

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How to read a one on nobody or one on one shot. How to tell when a player will go for an of the water quick wrist shot or when they will drop their hips and rear back for a normal shot. Then after making your read how do you play the two situations.

Neutral Position Example

Which way is the best path to become the best athlete you can be? Should you be like Tiger Woods or like Roger Federer?

We have our first question from a listener. Megan asks what do you say to your team pre-game, mid-game, and post-game to get your teammates to force the weakest shooter on the opposing team to take the shot. Megan also asks how do you get into coaching and reffing and what you need to do to mentally prepare as a coach or as a ref?

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How do you block a penalty shot? In this episode, I'll run through all my tips and strategies to improve your odds of blocking a penalty shot.

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What water polo camps and water polo goalie specific camps do I recommend? And I explain the big benefit I see in going to a camp. Then I answer a question I get from high school coaches about what I look for in a goalie to see if they have potential at the next level?

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The most common question I get is "how do I get better at being a goalie"? I'll explain why this is a tough question to answer but then I get into the usual generic answers and expand on them. But I also talk about how to ask more specific questions and breakdown individual issues.

If you have a question about being a water polo goalie, coaching goalies, training, game situations, or anything else about water polo and being a water polo goalie you can send me an email at thewaterpologoalie@gmail.com or you can leave me an audio recording through the link below and I'll include it in an upcoming episode.

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In the very first episode of Ask The Water Polo Goalie, I'm going to answer my own question. How to keep my goalies in shape and improve their skills during coronavirus and the shelter in place orders?

If you have a question about being a water polo goalie, coaching goalies, training, game situations, or anything else about water polo and being a water polo goalie you can send me an email at thewaterpologoalie@gmail.com or you can leave me an audio recording through the link below and I'll include it in an upcoming episode.

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