Pareto Polo: Shooting Cross Cage, Mid Game talks, Making it Fun
Welcome back to the Pareto Polo weekly Blog post. Today we will talk about the Player skill called Shooting Cross Cage, the Coaching Skill of Mid Game talks, and the Business skill of Making it Fun.
Player Skill
Shooting Cross Cage:
One of the first and best ways to score in the water polo game is the Cross Cage Shot. As a right-handed player, your cross-cage shot is in the upper right corner if you are on the left side of the pool(best shooting angle). The opposite is true for the left-handed player, your cross-cage shot is in the upper left corner if you are on the right side of the pool. The reason that this angle works best is that it is a straight line from your hand, at the release point, to the cross-cage upper corner. It is more important to shoot cross-cage when you are on the “weak” side of the pool. If you are on the right side of the pool and are right-handed that is your “weak” side because of the poor shooting angle. To maximize the opportunity to hit a Cross-cage shot from the weak side, the ball should be released more over the head with the body leaned toward that corner. Please watch the quick video below to show an example of shooting angles.
Coaching Skill
Mid-Game Talks:
As a coach, there is limited time to talk to your athletes. It is best to maximize that time. You have 3 min between the 1st and 2nd quarter, 5 min at half time, and another 3 min between the 3rd and 4th quarter. This is the maximum about of time. In high school games and smaller club tournaments, you will get less time. So what can we say and how much can they take in?
They get ⅓ to relax, drink water
They get ⅓ to talk to each other
You get ⅓ to talk to them.
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So that gives you about 1 to 2 min to chat. It may seem like almost no time at all but during the game, there are not many changes that can be made. Big changes or adjustments should be made in practice. You can talk to your assistant during the first ⅔ of the time about what to focus on for the ⅓ that you get. Here is a good way to maximize your 1 to 2 min.
Focus on no more than 3 things
Make sure the most important of the 3 things is last
They will only remember the last thing you told them 9 times out of 10.
Give this a try and let me know how you do!
Business Skill
This week's business skill is to make sure athletes are having FUN! This is important for any business but for sports it is essential. If the athletes are not having fun with water polo then they may find another sport where they do have fun.
You can still achieve the goals that you want for your club and make it fun. Winning is fun and making practices challenging is fun.
But you have to see, ask and listen to your athletes. The younger ones will straight up tell you if they are having fun. You might have to read between the lines with your older athletes.
If you have any questions please reach out via email: [email protected]
I am also a success coach for a company that specializes in Making Money Coaching Sports. Email me with questions about our program where coaches are making 10-20K monthly with their sports businesses.
