Water Polo Taster
Head-up front crawl dribbling a ball and passing while treading water – a fun introduction to water polo skills.
- Stages
- Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Front Crawl, Treading Water
- Equipment
- Balls
- Age
- 8–16 years
- Group size
- 4–14 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Soft balls only; no contact; deep water only for confident swimmers.
What it develops
- Efficient front crawl over distance
- Combine aquatic skills in a sequence
How to run it
- Swim head-up front crawl with the ball between the arms, pushed by the head/chest wave.
- Stop, tread water and pick up the ball with one hand.
- Pass to a partner a few metres away.
- Swap and repeat.
Teaching cues
- Head up, strong kick.
- Ball between your arms.
- Tread, then pass.
Make it easier
- Pass from standing.
- Dribble with a float under one arm.
Make it harder
- Small-sided passing game keeping the ball moving.
- Dribble round a noodle.
Common faults
- Pushing the ball with the hands.
- Legs sinking when head up.
Corrections
- Kick faster, keep strokes short.
- Let the ball ride the bow wave.
Assistant / L1 role
- Feed balls back to swimmers and keep the game spacing safe.