Waterpolo: playing hole set, what fakes do you use? What's the most effective shot or aim?

Question

Just wondering what your favorite move/shot/aim is. I find it more difficult to score when I have to improvize on the spot after receiving the pass, instead of having thought up my move in advance. What's your experience and what's your winning option??

Answer 1

I like to do one of two things when the ball comes to me in hole set.  

1) as quick as I can, I'll sweep to the top right corner (I'm a righty) before the goalie and Hole-D can really do anything - I'll start the move to sweep when I see my teammate getting ready to set the ball and try to catch the pass in the air if I can.  

2) I've got some monster legs, so I'll just grab the ball and fake sweeps, dunks, and backhands until the goalie gets tired (usually about 3-5 seconds), at which point their reflexes are much slower.  I usually go with a high dunk to the lower left corner at that point.  Make sure you don't drop the ball or the ref will call a foul and you can't shoot.  

Back before I got very good, I used to play hole set on JV and often used a good fake where I would fake a sweep shot and roll my hand to the back side of the ball and fire a backhand shot to the upper left corner.  Its not the fastest shot and anybody who doesn't overplay the fake sweep should be able to stop it, but it works enough to be a good weapon, especially if you establish that you can score with your sweep early.

Answer 2

ball side release a.k.a. turn spin seal