Water polo..??

Question

What kind of swimming is involved in waterpolo?

I have never played waterpolo, will that mean I cant get into junior varsity?

How is it played?

advice please!

I'm thinking of trying out for my school's waterpolo team and my friends say its fun, but hard work. It looks like the sport for me because isn't it like volleyball/soccer in water? It sounds fun.

What should I do to prepare myself?

What kind of bathing should I get for the tryouts on Monday?

Answer 1

You swim head-up free style to get up and down the pool (although if you're beat on defense, you may want to swim head down to catch up).  When you're stationary, you doe eggbeater kick to tread, which is kind of like breaststroke kick, but one leg at a time.

Basically, there are seven players on each team, including one goalie.  Strategy-wise, it's much more like basketball, not volleyball or soccer.  Each team has 1 Hole set, which is kind of like a center.  Basic water polo strategy involves getting him/her the ball in front of the goal.  He/she will ideally either shoot or draw a foul.  The other five players can either take outside shots or drive (swim towards the goal) to score.

To prepare yourself, make sure you're prepared to swim a lot.  Also, go to wikipedia and search water polo to get some more basic knowledge.  Also, waterpoloplanet.com has a lot of articles about the game, including the most basic stuff and more complex strategy.

As for your suit, I recommend TruWest.  Speedo also makes water polo suits, but TruWest has more options.