Water Polo Movement – swimming activities

Quick starts, stops, turns and changes of direction in the water.

Activities

• 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.
• Ball Push Dribble – Head-up front crawl with the ball pushed along on the bow wave between the arms – the basic water polo dribble.
• Breaststroke Head-Up Travel – Head-up breaststroke with a quick, narrow kick and small arms – an easier way to move while watching play, and a bridge to head-up front crawl.
• Counter-Attack Swim – On the whistle, defenders switch to attack, swimming head-up to the other end to receive a long pass – practising quick transitions.
• 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.
• Drive and Receive – An attacker swims a quick 'drive' towards goal to get free of a defender, then turns to receive a pass – learning to create space by moving.
• Head-Up Crawl Spotting – Head-up front crawl while watching the teacher's hand signals – swimmers must keep their eyes up to see which way to go, just like watching the ball in a game.
• 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.
• Pass and Move – In a marked area, small groups keep the ball moving with short passes and every passer must swim to a new space – teaching support play.
• 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.
• Sideways Eggbeater Travel – Travel sideways across the pool using eggbeater with the body upright and hands sculling – the movement used to stay in front of a goal or a player.
• Space Invaders – The pool is split into zones; attackers score by receiving a pass in an empty zone – teaching players to look for and move into space.
• 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.