Ball handling
(I think a Hungarian is the source for this, but I don’t know who)
Ball handling skills are essential to playing good water polo. Motivate
players to spend time working with a ball in the water and on land until
they can really handle a ball. It’s a good idea to use a smooth ball
not a new one. Handling a slippery ball really helps you develop better
skills.
Some ideas:
- Keep the arms straight and tap the ball back and forth between fingertips
while moving arms up and down. Do the same movement moving right or
left in a circle.
- Take the ball and squeeze it off the fingertips going from hand to
hand or off one hand several times and then shifting it to the other
hand. This can also be done moving right or left.
- Put both arms out straight off the shoulders and pass the ball over
the head; at first do it watching the ball but try to work up to passing
it while looking straight forward.
- Throw the ball up and over with either the right or left arm and spin
or draw 180 degrees and catch it with the same arm.
- Throw it up and spin or draw 360 degrees and catch it with the opposite
arm. If you get good, go for 720 degrees.
- Start the ball on the back of the hand and flip the ball up to the
palm of the hand working both the right and the left hand. Then when
you get the ball up over your head try to spin the hand around the ball
going both right and left.
- Get the ball spinning on a finger and draw 360 degrees and keep it
spinning transfer it to the other hand and draw around the other way.
- Get the ball spinning on a finger and then run the ball across your
arm and chest to the other hand and throw it back to the hand you start
with.
- Get it spinning and have it run down the arm and across the neck and
to the other arm and then back.
- Balance the ball on the bridge of the nose. Bounce the ball off the
head. Bounce and spin the body around or get a partner and bounce it
back and forth.
- Take the ball around behind with your right hand and arm and grab
it with the left hand and push it to the right arm and do it again then
go the other.
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