USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program

Transcription

1 USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program Overview Purpose The Olympic Development Program will serve as a forum to identify and develop athletes to represent USA Water Polo throughout domestic and international competition. The foundation of the program is a systematic approach to athlete development through a training program that focuses on both the technical and tactical components of water polo while placing a premium on overall physical fitness. This program will also provide a forum where coaches and referees are provided with professional development and to the vision of our Men and Women s Senior National Team coaches. Objective Change from a short-term focus on competition to a long-term emphasis on improvement through a training program that will increase the development and performance of athletes, coaches, and referees. Goal The goal is to identify and develop athletes at the USAWP club level and then integrating them into national team pipeline via the Olympic Development Program. ODP Adjustments The new ODP model will have significant changes as compared to the previous ODP program that dates back to The new ODP model being presented in 2014 is one of the major programs that will ensure that USA Water Polo (USAWP) remains the best in the world. In This Document The following section is an outline of the topics that will be covered throughout the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program. The topics include: Topic See Page ODP Mission and Operations 2 Goalkeeper Program 10 Key USAWP Calendar of Events 12

2 Olympic Development Program Overview USA Water Polo has revised the Olympic Development Program infrastructure to be more effectively streamlined in terms of communication and operations. The new infrastructure will provide a direct line of communication from senior team coaches, zone coaches and administrators back to the High Performance Director. The ODP system will involve 13 geographic zones throughout the country. Each zone will be managed and operated by a zone head coach, which is a new position in the new ODP model for These zone head coach responsibilities will include coaching, programming, and administrative duties in their respective zones as a liaison to USA Water Polo ODP.

3 Olympic Development Program ODP Zone Locations A national ODP staff provides guidance and interface with the USA Water Polo Men and Women's national teams. Each zone will have an ODP Zone Head Coach and two age group coaches for each gender. ODP Training Zones Midwest Northeast Southeast Central California Hawaii Pacific Coastal California Pacific Southwest Southern Pacific Mountain Pacific Northwest Southwest Great Lakes (Michigan, Ohio and Western PA)

4 Zone Age Groups Age groups will be determined by birth year: 1 st age group born in nd born in rd born in 2001 and younger Athletes will have an opportunity to move up age groups, if selected by an ODP coaching staff. Example: 99 player can be selected to play with 97 group by ODP Staff. Note: Age groups are categorized based on age guidelines that qualifies the athletes for World Championships, Youth and Junior World Championships, Pan Am games, etc. Zone Head Coaches Zone Head Coach: Each zone will hire one head coach per zone per gender. These coaches will be the main point of contact for ODP in that zone area, and will also coach the youngest age group of Olympic Development in their respective zone. These coaches will also be responsible for selecting coaches for other age groups in their respective zone. A zone head coach will also have the responsibility of communicating to clubs in their zones and ensuring clubs have the proper information regarding ODP, training dates, etc. USA Water Polo strongly believes that this process will encourage collaboration within zones.

5 Zone Camps ODP Zone camps will be utilized as a forum to display the ODP system of play. Both national team coaches and staff from USAWP will work directly with local staff and athletes to build an effective program in order to select local zone teams. Each zone will have two ODP zone camps per year, which are open to any USAWP Gold member. Athletes can attend their own local zone camp or attend in other zones if desired. The hybrid format of the zone camps will be a tryout and training session. Zone camps will be operated and administered by zone coaches, USAWP national team staff, select national team pipeline coaches, national goalie coaches, and the zone head referee. The local staff members will also be responsible for logistics and operations of the zone camps. The zone staff will report back to the USAWP national office on dates that best maximize participation within the zone. The two zone camps will have different focus areas, allowing for a variety of opportunities to learn and train. All athletes are encouraged to attend both camps. Price structure: Any USAWP Gold Member within the age groups may attend zone camps. - Camp fee is $195 for a weekend camp (outside CA) and $160 for a 1 day camp (in CA) Coach and Referee Clinics will be also held in conjunction with zone camps. These clinics will be offered once per zone per ODP season. Details will be worked out with ZHCs and communicated online.

6 Zone Team In order to be selected to the zone team, an athlete must attend at least one zone camp. An athlete can participate in any zone camp. If an athlete attends a zone Camp outside of their respective zone, they are evaluated for their respective zone Team and not the zone team that the camp is geographically located. The goal is to have an athlete evaluated by both local and national staff members for selection. Athletes will no longer be cut or removed from the camp. After attending a zone camp, an athlete may be selected by zone staff members and national team coaches to join the zone team. A format will also be in place in order for club coaches to be able to recommend or nominate athletes to national team staff members. All USAWP gold athletes are invited to participate in ODP zone camps to further develop and improve their skills, even if they do not intend to participate on the zone team. Team Layout: The top 14 athletes in each zone (from the camps) will form the zone teams. Larger zones will have a 2 nd team ( B team) based on the number of athletes in those areas. If selected for the zone team, the charge to train and be a member of that team will be $450. This fee includes participation at the national championship event, on site accommodations for the event (hotel and transportation at the event), and additional zone training. Team gear carries an additional cost to the athlete. Financial aid is available for athletes that make the zone team. Applications are available online on the ODP section of the USAWP website.

7 National Championship Tournament Each zone team will compete in the ODP national championship tournament. The tournament will be comprised of 16 teams from 13 zones. Each zone will enter one team and the larger zones will enter two teams. The tournament will start with bracket play comprised of four brackets of four seeded teams, conducted by the USAWP national staff and the USAWP HPD. While the ODP national championship will be centered on competition, another major component will also focus on athlete development and experience as well as coaching and referee development. Therefore, ODP and national team staff will use the ODP national championship tournament as a forum for professional development for coaches, referees, and athletes. Locations: The first inaugural championship (2015) will be in California. Evaluations: All athletes participating in the ODP National Championship will receive a formal evaluation from their zone coach within ten days of the conclusion of the tournament. National Team Training and Selection Camp: At the National Championship, USAWP will select athletes to move on to the National Team Selection Camp by USAWP coaches, staff and support members. National Team Staff will select the top 48 athletes at the youth and cadet age group. The top 70 athletes will be selected at the development age group. A minimum of 1-2 athletes per ODP zone will be selected for the youth and cadet NTSC, while a minimum of 2-3 athletes per ODP zone will be selected for the development NTSC. If there are junior national team camps in the year, then athletes for that specific camp and age group will be invited to attend.

8 ODP Pipeline System Below you will see the ODP pipeline system and how it feeds towards the national team programming:

9 National Team Program National teams will train and compete domestically and internationally. The key value of connecting the USAWP ODP program with the national team system is to streamline the requirement of going through the ODP in order to be selected to a national team.

10 Goalkeeper Program Goalkeepers participating in the ODP program will receive specific goalkeeper training from experienced goalkeeper coaches through the guidance and leadership of National Goalkeeper Coach and Olympian Sean Nolan. Each and every zone camp, ODP national championship, and the national team selection camp will have one or more of the national goalkeeper coaches in attendance. They will assist the national team pipeline coaches with the selections of the goalkeepers for the zone teams. In addition to working with the athletes, the national goalkeeper coaches will work with the zone coaches in order to improve their knowledge base and coaching skills for the goalkeeper position. Coaches and players will benefit in a variety of ways, through access to the following materials and resources: ODP Goalkeeper Coaching Manual Videotaping and video review with athletes and coaches. Classroom and on-deck coaching demonstrations and clinics. Position specific camps (for certain Zones only). In-water breakdown of goalkeeper fundamentals, such as: Base position, triangle positioning, the lunge and throwing dynamics. Demonstration and dissemination of goalkeeper specific drills. (Including DVD of drills and skills). Each zone camp will have a different emphasis and learning opportunities. During the first zone camp, national goalkeeper coaches will focus on the technical skills of being a goalkeeper. For the second zone camp, the emphasis will shift to the tactical skills that are needed to become a more complete goalkeeper. The role of the national goalkeeper coaches will be to implement the technical and tactical skills developed by the national goalkeeper director, to aid in player selections, and to be a strong ambassador for the goalkeeper position to our ODP participants.

11 Referees The USAWP Referee Association, under the guidance and leadership of National Director of Officials Jim Cullingham, will provide referees for all ODP events and trainings. Each Zone head referees (or their designee) will officiate scrimmages at zone camps, zone trainings, and national competitions. These activities will serve as valuable training and professional growth opportunities for USAWP Referees across the Country. Referees will be appointed to officiate a specific age group at the National Championships to better focus on Referee education, growth, and development. To further enhance the experience, the USAWPR will provide on site evaluation and mentoring at each of these activities. The Director of Officials will also select referees, with the endorsement and input of the ZHR, to attend National Team Selection Camps where the Referees will have the opportunity to work with National Caliber Athletes and Coaches and have an opportunity to learn the specific instruction given to Athletes from National Team Coaches. This will provide a forum for Coaches and Referees to dialogue on connecting the teaching of technical skills to how the game is being called at the FINA level.

12 Key ODP Calendar of Events Zone Camps September 2014 through January 2015 Zone Training California Boys February 22, 2015 California Girls March 8, 2015 Outside of CA TBD by Zone Staff National Championship Boys February 27 March 1, 2015 Girls March 14-16, 2015 NTSC (Selection and Training Camp) National Pipeline Team Trainings & Competition Boys March 27-30, 2015 Girls May 1-3, 2015 Boys April through August, 2015 Girls May through August, 2015 Contacts: ODP Operations Manager - Anne Laurence - alaurence@usawaterpolo.org (All operational and logistical questions) ODP Technical Administrator - Marcelo Leonardi mleonardi@usawaterpolo.org ODP National Goalkeeper Coach Sean Nolan granolan@me.com USAWP Director of Officials Jim Cullingham jcullingham@usawaterpolo.org USAWP High Performance Director John Abdou jabdou@usawaterpolo.org