Fake and Pass
Pump-fake one way, pass the other – a simple way to move a defender and open a passing lane.
- Stages
- Water Polo – Stage 10
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Skills
- Ball Handling, Passing, Game Awareness
- Equipment
- Water Polo Ball
- Age
- 9–99 years
- Group size
- 3–15 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- No contact; defenders use hands only to block the ball.
What it develops
- Accurate passing under light pressure
- Simple attacking ideas: space, movement and support
How to run it
- Groups of three: passer, receiver and a passive defender standing between them slightly to one side.
- Passer raises the ball as if to pass one way, the defender reacts, then the passer passes to the open side.
- Rotate roles after five passes.
- Progress to an active (no contact) defender.
Teaching cues
- Make the fake believable.
- Watch the defender move.
- Pass into the space they leave.
Make it easier
- Fake without a defender, then pass.
Make it harder
- Two fakes before passing; receiver must move to get free.
Common faults
- Tiny fake that fools nobody.
- Passing into the defender's hands.
Corrections
- 'Sell it with your shoulders.'
- 'Look where they've gone.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Play the passive defender role for one group, reacting to fakes as the teacher instructs.