A Beginner’s Guide to Water Polo A resource for the Wasatch High School Water Polo Program Evan Bee Brady Tree Marissa Tree Table of Contents HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE 1 Audience 1 Application 1 Introduction 2 OVERVIEW OF WATER POLO 3 Objective of Water Polo 3 Game Organization 4 Physicality and Skills of Water Polo 4 THE HISTORY OF WATER POLO 5 Overview 5 Origins of Water Polo 5 Evolution of Water Polo 6 Popularity/Prominent Polo Players 6 Water Polo Myth or Fact? 7 WATER POLO EQUIPMENT 8 Overview 8 Water Polo Ball 8 Water Polo Caps 9 Water Polo Goal/Cage 9 Water Polo Pool Specifications 10 Water Polo Suits 11 WATER POLO TERMINOLOGY 12 WATER POLO SKILLS 14 Overview 14 Eggbeater 14 Head-up Freestyle 15 Passing 16 Shooting 17 WATER POLO OFFENSE 18 Overview 18 Offensive Objective 18 Offensive Rules 19 Offensive Numbering System 20 Offensive Plays 21 WATER POLO DEFENSE 26 Overview 26 Defensive Objective 26 Defensive Rules 26 Defensive Skills 29 Defensive Body Position 30 Defensive Numbering System 31 Defensive Plays 32 SPORTSMANSHIP 34 Coach Tree’s Thoughts on Coaching 35 Conclusion 35 Works Cited 36 Images Cited 37 Pictures 37 Figures 38 1 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Audience This beginning guide to the sport of water polo was created as a resource and a study companion for the Wasatch Water Polo Program. Furthermore, this guide is for team members of the Wasatch Water Polo Program as well as their friends and family who are interested in learning more about the physically and mentally challenging sport of water polo. However, even though this guide was created for a specific audience, its contents are available to anyone. Application There are two primary purposes for this guide: 1. To provide a study companion for members of the Wasatch Polo Team, and 2. To serve as a reference guide for friends and families of team members. Members of the Wasatch Polo Team are expected to study from this guide regularly. Players will be expected to read entirely through this guide before they are allowed to practice in the water. Moreover, during the season, this guide will be referred to often. At least once a week there will be a dry-land practice where each player is required to bring this guide, since we will be referring to it and discussing the skills and strategies contained in it. In addition, the offensive plays (pages 21-25) and the defensive plays (32-33) contained in this guide are specific plays created by Head Coach Brady Tree. Furthermore, friends and families of Wasatch Water Polo team members are greatly welcomed and appreciated. This guide provides a basic understanding and simple explanations regarding the various parts of water polo. A basic overview of the game can be found on pages 3-4, the history of water polo on page 5, and a brief description of the equipment used on pages 8-11. In addition, like many other sports, there is some terminology that is specific to the sport of water polo. Consequently, a table of terms and definitions can be found on pages 10-11. 2 Introduction This Beginner’s Guide to Water Polo has been created with a specific purpose in mind. Its main purpose and use is as a resource for the Wasatch Water Polo Program. However, the contents of this guide will not be limited to members of the program only. It may also be used by family and friends of water polo players who wish to gain a basic understanding of the sport of water polo as well as anyone else with the same desire. For reader and user convenience, we have divided our guide into eight main sections with each main section being divided into subsections. The primary purpose of the first four sections is to give our audience (Wasatch water polo players, family, and friends) a basic understanding of where the sport of water polo came from as well as the basic set up and parts of water polo. (1) We begin with an overview of water polo which includes the objective, game organization, and physicality and skills of water polo. (2) We then proceed with the history of water polo which includes the origins and evolution of water polo as well as the popularity/prominent people of water polo and a fact or fiction section. (3) Next, is our water polo equipment section which includes information on standard water polo balls, caps, goals/cages, pool specifications, and suits. (4) Moreover, we also included a water polo terminology section with a table of common terms and definitions. The purpose of the next two sections of our guide is to provide a basic overview of the skills needed to play water polo as well as how the offense functions. (5) The skills section gives an overview of eggbeater, head-up freestyle swimming, passing, and shooting skills used in water polo. (6) Furthermore, the offense section provides details on the offensive objective, rules, numbering system, and plays of water polo. Finally, the last two sections of our guide serve to provide information about the defense and sportsmanship of water polo. (7) The defense section includes details about the defensive objective, rules, skills, body position, numbering system, and plays of water polo. (8) Last, but not least, our sportsmanship section serves to explain the ethics of sports in general. In addition, this section includes Coach Brady Tree’s thoughts on coaching. These sections are not meant to be extensive, but are rather meant to build a basic understanding of the sport of water polo. Moreover, this guide is meant to serve the Wasatch High School Water Polo Program as a resource and study companion. Henceforth, each of the eight main sections in our guide were included in an effort to establish these purposes. 3 OVERVIEW OF WATER POLO Picture 2: (Image taken from water polo website). Like most sports, water polo’s main purpose is simple: score the most goals in order to win the game. However, the strategies used to score the goals are much more complex. In addition, water polo is a team sport that requires working together rather than individually to succeed. Consequently, in this section of our Beginner’s Guide to Water Polo we will expound upon the objective of water polo, the game organization, and the various physical aspects and skills of water polo. Objective of Water Polo The main objective of water polo is similar to most team sports. According to World of Sports Science, “The object of water polo is to throw a ball into a net defended by a goal keeper and six teammates who use physical means to hinder the offensive team’s attack. The ball is advanced using passing plays and other offensive tactics” (“Water Polo”). This may seem simple, but remember all this needs to be accomplished while treading water. 4 Table 1: Water Polo Game Organization Game Organization PLAYERS A team consists of seven active players and subs. Six players play in the field and one player, the goal keeper, guards the goal/cage. SUBSTITUTION Players are generally substituted between quarters and after goals. DEFENSE When a team does not have possession of the ball and they try to prevent the other team from scoring. OFFENSE When a team has possession of the ball and they try to score. QUARTERS “Game is divided into four time periods each of which is called a quarter” (“Water Polo Planet”- Figure 1.1 Water polo Glossary). Each quarter lasts for seven minutes. referee standard uniform (Image taken from water REFEREES There are generally two referees; one that watches polo website). the inside and one that watches the outside of the happenings of the game. Water polo referees wear all white as opposed to stripes like most referees of other sports. See figure 1.1 for standard uniform. Game Organization Physicality and Skills of Water Polo The sport of water polo requires a lot of physical stamina and determination. It is considered to be, “one of the toughest, most physically demanding sports in the world” (“Water Polo”). This is due in part to the fact that water polo combines various aspects of other sports. For example, swimmers need to be good at swimming and soccer players need to be good at passing and working as a team, but water polo players need to be good at not only swimming, but also passing and working as a team. Furthermore, Picture 3: (Image taken from website). water polo players need more than the basic swimming skills (“Water Polo”). Being able to tread water when one’s arms are free and no one is attacking you is completely different from treading water only with one’s legs while someone is trying to get the ball away from you. (These skills are explained in more detail in the skills section of this guide). 5 THE HISTORY OF WATER POLO Overview The origins of water polo began in England, but the sport itself has evolved overtime. In addition, the popularity of water polo has continued to grow as well as the number of prominent people associated with the sport. Therefore, in this section we will expound upon the origins and evolution of water polo as well as the popularity and prominent people associated with water polo. Furthermore, we will conclude with denouncing the common myth that the origins of water polo began with horseback polo. Origins of Water Polo Although many people have not heard of or do not know much about the sport of water polo, it has been around for over a hundred years.