Water Polo Tip
Presented by Genai Kerr, Camp Director
Nike 5meter Winter in the Tropics Water Polo Camp
Nike 5meter Water Polo Camp Tip: Goalie Tips With Olympian Goalie Genai Kerr
Come join USA Water Polo Olympian Genai Kerr and get better this summer!
Olympian and Nike 5meter Water Polo Camp director, Genai Kerr provides some tips for water polo goalies looking to improve their skills in the cage:
Improve Lateral Movement: The best way to improve lateral movement are side to side drills which will help to improve your core strength including your oblique’s. This will also enhance your balance, as well as range of motion by increasing flexibility for the groin and hip flexors. Side to side shuttle drills on both dry land and in water are both simple and effective ways for a goalie to improve their lateral movement.
Improve Leg Strength: There is always room for improvement in a goalies leg strength to create a higher base position in the cage. The best leg strengthening drills are all done in the water. I wasted numerous years focusing on weight training, which does not correlate to a person’s ability to eggbeater in the pool. While focusing on eggbeater drills, it is important to maintain a realistic body position. Even though extremely heavy medicine balls seems like a good idea at the time, you want to make sure to keep yourself at a true blocking position and not leaning on your back.
Improve Reaction Time: Quick touches to the top bar will help with reaction time as far as velocity, quickness, and speed. As far as tracking the ball with hand/eye coordination I found that one of my favorite drills is to be on dry land, in the squat position, and have someone throw tennis balls from behind and react to the ball as it bounces off the wall. It is important to not focus on the one time vertical jump, but to maintain balance in the cage, making the shooters earn the perfect high corner shot rather than giving up a shot around their halo.
Nike 5meter Water Polo Camps
Look for more great water polo tips from USA Water Polo Olympian, Genai Kerr, a coach, mentor, and true ambassador of the sport. Genai was a member of the United States Men's National Water Polo Team for 12 years and played in the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2003 & 2007 Pan American Gold Medal games, and multiple World Championships. For more information regarding Nike 5meter Water Polo camps and clinics please visit: https://www.ussportscamps.com/waterpolo/