Water polo: difficulty changing direction

Has to stop or stand to turn, or turns in a wide, slow arc.

Activities that help

• Back-to-Front Roll and Go – Swim backstroke or tread on the back, then roll quickly onto the front and sprint head-up – the change used when a defender becomes an attacker.
• Defend the Line – One-to-one practice of staying between an attacker and the goal line using position and movement – no holding allowed.
• Dribble Slalom – Dribble the ball around a slalom of floats, changing direction without losing control.
• Noodle Tag Eggbeater – A deep-water tag game where players move only with eggbeater and sculling, and the tagger tags with the end of a noodle – no hands-on contact.
• Shadow Partner Swim – One swimmer leads with changes of direction and stops; the partner shadows them a metre away – like marking a player in a game.
• Stop and Go Squares – Swimmers move around a marked square, stopping to tread on command and sprinting off again in a new direction – builds the stop-start movement of water polo.
• Swim, Turn and Receive – Swimmers swim away from a passer, turn quickly on a call and show a hand to receive – combining direction change and receiving.
• Whistle Turns – Head-up swimming that reverses direction on every whistle, teaching quick turns without stopping or standing.