Abingdon Canoe Polo coaching handbook

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ABINGDON CANOE POLO COACHING HANDBOOK

Benjamin Broadbent, Nick Case, Matthew Jones, Alex Oldham, Ben Simmons, Ed Spackman, Jake Wallis

Table of Contents Tactics .................................................................................................................................. 4 Attacking ........................................................................................................................... 4 Defending .......................................................................................................................... 4 3 and 1........................................................................................................................... 5 2 and 2........................................................................................................................... 5 Flat 4.............................................................................................................................. 6 All out............................................................................................................................. 6 Drills ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Coaching Section 1 – Coaching Canoe Polo ..................................................................... 7 Layout of a session ........................................................................................................ 7 Individualising your session ........................................................................................... 9 Practice structures ......................................................................................................... 9 Attack drills ...................................................................................................................... 10 Point and shoot drill: .................................................................................................... 10 Dribble, pass, pass shoot drill (+variations) .................................................................. 12 Clear out (overload) ..................................................................................................... 12 Splitting the wedge....................................................................................................... 13 Break drill ..................................................................................................................... 14 Shooting practice ......................................................................................................... 15 Screening..................................................................................................................... 16 Defence drills................................................................................................................... 16 3-man piggy in the middle ............................................................................................ 16 Possession .................................................................................................................. 16 Dodgeball..................................................................................................................... 16 Bulldog ......................................................................................................................... 16 Catching ball on paddle and bringing into body ............................................................ 17 Flick practice ................................................................................................................ 17 Lucky Pierre ................................................................................................................. 18 Sprinting .......................................................................................................................... 19 Fitness ................................................................................................................................ 20 On the Water ................................................................................................................... 20 Lactic measure ............................................................................................................ 20 Beep test...................................................................................................................... 20 Off the Water ................................................................................................................... 21 Cardio and strength routines without equipment .............................................................. 21 Gym routine ..................................................................................................................... 22 1|Page Abingdon School Canoe Polo

Refereeing .......................................................................................................................... 23 Key Signals ..................................................................................................................... 23 Key rules ......................................................................................................................... 23 Improving core skills............................................................................................................ 25 Passing ........................................................................................................................... 25 2 players ...................................................................................................................... 25 4 players ...................................................................................................................... 25 Lob/Long distance passing .......................................................................................... 25 Lob passes for moving players..................................................................................... 25 Pass and move ............................................................................................................ 25 Dribbling and Passing .................................................................................................. 26 Passing Race............................................................................................................... 26 Union jack ....................................................................................................................... 26 Passes under pressure.................................................................................................... 26 Shooting .......................................................................................................................... 27 Improving accuracy ...................................................................................................... 27 Improving distance/power ............................................................................................ 27 Dribbling .......................................................................................................................... 27 Basics .......................................................................................................................... 27 Dribbling at speed ........................................................................................................ 27 Paddling .......................................................................................................................... 27 Paddling technique basics ........................................................................................... 27 Boat skills..................................................................................................................... 27 Ergometer .................................................................................................................... 28 Coaching Section 2 – Canoe Polo Coaching Specifics .................................................... 29 Creating independent players ...................................................................................... 29 Coaching Styles in Canoe Polo .................................................................................... 30 Coaching an individual ................................................................................................. 31 Coaching a real world polo session .............................................................................. 32 Direct, Explicit Instruction in large sessions.................................................................. 32 Achieving success in direct, explicit instruction ............................................................ 33 Pre-planning of a coaching session.............................................................................. 36 Developing your own coaching .................................................................................... 37

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Tactics In Canoe Polo, there are several main attack and defence strategies. These strategies can be used to your advantage in certain game situations and their effectiveness depends on your team’s strengths.

Attacking When attacking, forming a strategy is key. For many players, the first attack they will learn is the 5-man star. In this attack, each player sprints in with the ball, then passes it around. This attack is effective against weaker defences because the defence will drift towards the where the first attacker runs in. This can then make a hole in the defence that another player can use to get a shot. This attack is shown in the image below.

There are many variations of the star, they all use the same idea, but some have either one or two players who get into the middle of the defence and try to drive a hole open.

Most teams will find an attack strategy that works well for the players in that team. For example if there are some very strong paddlers, they may try to split the defence apart and drive a gap open from the middle. Or alternatively some teams will play overload, where the majority of the attack is on one side of the pitch, which draws the defence, and one attacker can then use the space on the other side to get a shot.

The key to a successful attack is not shooting too early. Unless a shot clock is being used, most attacks last until either a shot is taken, or the other team intercepts the ball. These can both be prevented 1) by having precise passes – as in the core skills section and 2) not being greedy with the shot and taking it from a long way out or if there are paddles in the way. If there is no-one to pass the ball back out to, your team is not supporting you sufficiently.

Defending Defence in canoe polo is highly strategic and can be challenging to get right. There are several strategies which I will run through below.

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3 and 1 This is the most seen defence – it is easy to set up (with good communication) and can be highly effective against most attacks. The bows of the two outside players at the back need to be pointing inwards very slightly. This will help to deflect anyone coming into the defence and just push them out to the side. The middle player will support which ever side player is getting the most pressure and help to resist the attack on that side, whilst ensuring that a hole doesn’t open up.

The top man has a simple but important role in this defence. Their job is just to deflect anyone sprinting in at speed – to reduce their speed and to make them change direction, so they don’t just go straight down the middle of the defence.

All the players should be within the 6m line, which will mean there will be little space between the goalie and the defenders.

2 and 2

2 and 2 defence works very well against some attacks, and it can work well to switch between 2 and 2, and 3 and 1. This can force the attack to change their strategy to use the sides or middle of the pitch more. 2 and 2 requires strong communication to ensure that just one player deals with an attacker unless the defender needs support.

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Flat 4

Flat 4 can be effective against weaker attacks. It also sets the defenders up for an attack as all the defenders are facing the right way to attack.

All out If your team is down by many goals in the second half, most teams will adopt the all-out defence. This is where every player on the defending team marks a player on the attacking team this then makes intercepting the ball more likely, which then leads to a break and potentially a goal. The aim is to put a lot of pressure on the attack so that they make a mistake and you can quickly score more goals. This relies on good communication and trust between players ensuring everyone is marking their opposite man.

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Drills Coaching Section 1 – Coaching Canoe Polo In this section we are going to go through some basic ideas surrounding coaching theory to help you formulate a coaching session. These techniques are mainly taken and adapted from the British Canoeing coaching awards.

Layout of a session There are many different ways to layout the teaching of a new skill or technique. A simple one to remember follows the IDEAS model.

I – Introduction · · ·

What is the purpose of what we are going to do?

Needs to be concise.

Are there any safety points or ground rules to consider?

D – Demonstration · · · ·

Correct!

Silent Real time Framed

If you are coaching a core kayaking skill then it is easy for you to do a demo which is silent and real time. If you are coaching a polo drill then this is much more difficult as it is likely to involve 10 different people/boats all doing different things. In this situation you can demonstrate the activity/drill using magnetic model boats like the ones below

E – Explanation ·

Simple and correct

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· · ·

Contains key words for the things to remember Needs to relate the I and the D! Might involve a deeper explanation using the model boats.

A – Activity · · ·

Lots of it, this should be the biggest section.

Should be enjoyable.

Needs to have a purpose.

S – Summary · · ·

Feedback and reinforcement Praise to encourage the students who are learning.

What will the next steps be/how does this link?

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Individualising your session As you get more familiar with the students you are coaching it will become necessary to individualise your coaching more to the needs of specific students. In order to do this the “wasp” model might be useful to consider.

W – Watch · ·

Watch what the paddler is doing.

Make sure you spend enough time watching that you can consistently observe the same thing.

A – Analyse · ·

Analyse the thing you have observed whilst watching the paddler.

You may need to consider how a particular technique is broken down into more detail or the things that feed into achieving success in a particular technique.

S – Set goals ·

Reflect with the student and set some goals for what they wish to achieve.

P – Practice · ·

Implement some practice structures which will help the student to achieve their goal.

Consider different types of practice structure and varying these over time.

Practice structures Within your coaching sessions you are likely to want to vary the types of practice that your students are undertaking so they can not only reliably repeat key skills but also apply and vary them to suit the requirements of a particular situation.

Blocked practice In a session you focus on one particular part of a technique, repeating it over and over again until the paddler can reliably do it. For example using turning strokes to go around in circles.

Varied practice This involves the practicing of a technique once it has been learned at a basic level to develop its use into a variety of situations. For example using turning strokes to turn left/right, tighter or shallower turns.

Random practice A random selection of previously learned techniques are practiced in a session. For example one week you might focus on edge control and the next week on core rotation.

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Distributed practice Learning a skill which involves drawing together several different techniques might be best done with small sections of practice which are alternated with rest. For example at the start of a session each week you practice turning on the spot and develop and vary the way this is done over time.

Whole – part – whole practice Initially the student attempts to complete the whole task in one go and the coach identifies which bits require further development and focuses the practice on these particular aspects.

For example a dip turn where the coach identifies that the paddler needs to focus on edge control.

All of these practice structures are valid and can be incorporated into a coaching session at a particular time in order to develop and particular skill. Random practice has been found to be more effective because it stimulates the use of a technique in a more real world applied situation. However you could not do this until you have used blocked practice to introduce a new technique and enabled reproduction by rote.

Attack drills Point and shoot drill: This is a drill to improve shooting accuracy and power. For this drill you need a goalkeeper, a feeder and someone standing behind the goal as well as at least 10 to 15 balls for it to work well.

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Setup The goalkeeper should be in their position with the shooter nose to nose with them. The feeder should be off to the side and the pointer behind the goal as shown in the image below.

The person standing behind the goal will point to an area of the goal (the top right corner, centre, middle left etc.) and the shooter must shoot at that spot. The feeder will continuously feed balls and this drill is designed to be done as quickly as possible to improve both the goalkeepers and shooters ability. You could then rotate the positions to give everyone a turn.

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Dribble, pass, pass shoot drill (+variations) This drill works well with at least six people and could work with up to twelve or even more.

You need a full-size polo pitch, a goalkeeper and two feeders. The goalkeeper is in goal at one end with the two feeders spaced as show in the image below.

The first paddler dribbles a ball down the centre of the pitch and passes to feeder one who passes back to them. They then pass to feeder two continuing to move down the pitch and feeder two returns them the ball. Finally, they take a shot on goal and return back to the start around the side of the drill after collecting their ball. This is a rolling drill so as one paddler has their ball returned to them by feeder one the next paddler should go.

This drill can be varied by moving the feeders into different positions such as putting feeder two in the corner of the pool to create a later pass and an angled shot making the drill tougher

Clear out (overload) This drill mainly focuses on practising an attack however can help with defence too as it requires defenders to do the drill properly. It works best with four or five players per side to replicate a game scenario. The drill requires half a pitch including a goal at one end. The players must be split into two teams one to attack and one defending.

The attackers line up roughly along the half way line facing the defenders goal. If they decide to attack on the left hand side then the second most left player starts with the ball. The player further along paddles in and as they do so the ball is passed to them. They dribble towards the defenders on one side and just as they are about to hit the defenders they pass the ball to the next player along (who started with the ball). This player also paddles in 12 | P a g e Abingdon School Canoe Polo

behind the first player who is now pushing the defenders across the pitch. The third player paddles across and the second player passes to the third before helping to push the defenders with the first, creating a gap to the side of the goal.

The third player passes to the fourth before paddling into this gap where they then receive the ball again before attempting to shoot.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PZRdNWr9z91j99cf3jA4FFplNEUBid1E

The attack is successful if the attackers manage to create space and the third player is able to have a clear shot at goal. The defenders offer some resistance depending on how well practised the attack is and generally there is no goalie however one can be put in.

The drill is then cycled through with the attackers in different positions and practicing on both left and right a few times before swapping over the attacking and defending teams.

Splitting the wedge This drill is like clear out and requires good teamwork and strong paddling to be effective.

The outside attacker starts with the ball and passes it to the middle player as he moves forwards. They will then pass it to the other middle attacker and continue to paddle forwards as fast as possible and drive the central defender out of the way. The other central attacker will then pass the ball to the next attacker and clear out one of the two outer defenders. This should result in the two attackers having crossed in an X pattern in the middle and a large hole in the centre of the defence. The man with the ball can then pass it to the guy who started it all who should be paddling through the middle of the hole. He can then shoot and score and the drill can restart.

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Initially you should have the defence be very passive and they should allow themselves to get pushed around and shouldn’t try to get the ball. Once the attack is happy with how to do the drill you should rotate them so the defence can learn it to. Then when both sides are happy you could move into a more fluid game scenario involving the drill to show where it excels and where it falls short.

Break drill Practicing breaks is important in polo as often that is where the game is lost or won. Being fast and attacking on a break can get you easy goals and defending them is important so they can’t score the easy goals.

Not sure if this bit should be in the drills section but I will let someone else move it if necessary What a good break should look like- When the defenders get the ball a number of players should sprint up the pitch however not everyone should go all the way up to the goal. A chain should be created with different link men in place. For example the keeper will often be the distributor as they will usually be in the position to see the whole pitch. There should be one player relatively near to them on one of the sides to provide a short option if an attacker is putting pressure on the keeper. 2 other players should be moving to sit around the middle of the pitch area (however they may want to carry on moving just slower). They then receive the ball and throw it to the top man who (if father enough) should have an open goal and an easy shot.

Designating who does what beforehand can be helpful, for example giving the fastest player the job of going straight to the other end of the pitch (however this shouldn’t be rigid as players may not be able to get to their position fast enough).

How to defend a break-There isn’t as much structure to defending the break. The main aim is to get in front of the attackers slowing down their attack so that you can set up a regular 14 | P a g e Abingdon School Canoe Polo

attack. Two important things to note however: When attacking beforehand be wary of losing the ball and there being a break. In this respect don’t overcommit with everyone as turning around and getting out of the jumble of players can be hard. The first player out should focus on getting back rather than going towards the ball. However obviously different situations require different choices for example if you set up as keeper it may be a better decision to go toward the attacker with the ball to put pressure on (This all depends on the situation).

The actual drills: There are a number of ways you can practice this 1. Quite an easy way to do this drill is by playing a match however when the coach blows their whistle the attackers have to drop the ball and the defenders become the attackers. Their aim is to quickly react by simulating having won the ball. They need to create a fast structured attack which often relies on good communication and pre planning of who is going where.

2. 2 players and the keeper of the attacker team line up on the goal line. The opposing player has only a keeper and one defender. The two attacking players sit on the wings and sprint up the pitch. The attacking players then start a sprint in towards the goal. The keeper throws a long pass to the attacker. The defender then sprints to get the ball from whoever gets it. When the attacking player has drawn the player they can either have a shot or pass to the other attacker who then shoots. Repeat this switching players around so everyone does everything.

Things to practice • • •

Sprinting speed Accurate well timed pass (especially the keeper) either to hands or slightly in front of the attacker Timings- When to pass and when to shoot need to be practiced so that the person taking the shot does not have to move far with the ball.

Shooting practice There is one ball per player and 2 goals at each end. Each player in turn dribbles towards the goal taking a shot at the goal. They then retrieve their ball and move around to the next goal. To reduce chaos coaches may choose a direction you are meant to go around the pitch such as clockwise. This ensures you reduce people crashing into each other when taking a shot.

Key points to note • •

Shots should be single handed Shooting from increased distance as shots improve

To vary this drill, you could try: • • • •

Shooting distance and position on the pitch Power of throws Adding keepers at either end Using your weaker hand to shoot

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Screening This drill uses four players (split into two defenders and two attackers) and one ball. The two attackers dribble around the goal area, being marked by the defenders. The defenders must stay in front of the goal. The aim is for the attackers to lose their defender by passing the ball to the other attacker and using them as a screen to get away from their defender, and then be passed the ball back, creating space. The defenders should let the attackers pass the ball freely at first to get the feel of the drill. The side that the screen takes place can be mixed up.

Defence drills 3-man piggy in the middle Three-man piggy in the middle is relatively self-explanatory. You set up with two people facing each other around 5-10m apart. The other person is then the “piggy” and has to get the ball through interception or tackling. You can increase the challenge for the people passing the ball by changing a few rules which otherwise make it extremely hard for the piggy.

• •

• •

Stopping Lob passes (Passes high over the players head) is one key way meaning faster and more accurate passing is needed by the people with the ball Making a rule that you are only able to pass the ball when you have been “tackled” (touched) by the piggy. This means it’s better practice for defending as the piggy can practice their ability to tackle people and turn them around away from the other player.

Adding to this you can make it that you can only move with the ball so that passing is again made harder.

It’s also possible to add more people and even more balls if the group gets large enough

Possession A possession based game is quite simply but can be very useful for improving marking, interception, tackling and passing. You split the group in two, up to around ten players will work effectively, and then give one team the ball. They are then trying to move the ball around to each other without giving up possession to the other team. As a coach you want to limit the space in which this is played depending on the size of the team so that passes are not being made that are inaccurate lobs. You can also play this without the wo teams as a nice warm up at the start of a session.

Dodgeball This is more of a fun warm up drill which is especially good for younger paddlers. It is good for improving your boat handling skills and speed as well as throwing. For this drill you need a few balls, a chaser and as many players as you want. The aim of the game is for the chaser to hit another player's boat with their ball. When this happens that player also becomes a chaser until there is only one player left.

There are a few ways to make this drill more interesting such as only allowing the top side of a player’s boat to be hit so that if they roll they are safe for a short period. To make the drill more paddling intense you could remove the balls all together and make it so that the chaser must touch the player’s boat with both hands in order for them to be it.

Bulldog This is another fun drill that trains your fitness levels and is especially good as a warmup drill to get the blood pumping. It is a similar premise to bulldog however is much more structured.

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All the players line up on one side of the pitch except for one or two chasers who sit in the middle. When the coach blows his whistle all the players must cross to the other side of the pitch without getting caught by a chaser. Getting caught consists of a firm two handed touch to their boat by a chaser. You then continue to go back and forth in waves until there is only one player left.

There are many ways in which you could vary this drill such as adding a time limit so that if the players are too slow, they are automatically eliminated or varying the number of chasers to change the difficulty. In addition, you could add in rules such as you can only paddle backwards or you must do a roll before you can be safe on the other side.

Catching ball on paddle and bringing into body This is a goalkeeping drill which focuses on gaining control of the ball after you make a save.

For this drill split the players up into pairs and have them sit on the water about two boat lengths apart. Each pair will need a ball and will take turns with one placing their paddle in the air as if defending a goal and the other throwing the ball straight to their paddle blade.

The aim is for the goalkeeper to stop the ball and have it drop directly into their lap for them to catch with their other hand.

Flick practice To practice both catching the ball in the air without the need to bring it into your chest and also to practice the final part of the throwing movement this drill can be helpful. Sit opposite a partner about a boat lengths away. Hold the ball with your upper arm horizontal at shoulder level with your arm bent 90 degrees. Throw the ball to each other with a flicking motion repeating ten times on each side. You can move further away and repeat or stay at the same distance and become very accurate. It's important that you are able to successfully make the catch and flick without the ball falling in the water. When you get more used to the movement and catching try not to bring the ball into your buoyancy aid but catch it in mid air straight away returning it to your partner.

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Lucky Pierre

This drill is best done at speed. Each player on the outside needs a ball so as to reduce the delay from bad passes/catches (This isn’t necessary but improves the effectiveness and speed of the drill). Player one passes to eight who then passes back to one. Then two passes the ball to eight and they pass it back and so on moving around the circle. When eight reach seven they do the pass and then switch places with everyone moving one place around the circle. Obviously the number of players isn’t too important however the minimum needed is probably four and the maximum ten. To make this drill harder throwing harder passes may be worth a try. Also a variation of passes such as lobs and low skimming passes. This can also be played with a goal. Instead this time when player eight receives the ball the have a shot at the goal (similar to point and shoot)

Paddle skills Improving paddle skills is key to becoming a well rounded polo player. Although often simple drills like these can have a significant impact on ball and paddle control. One ball is used between two players who freely dribble around the pitch. Player one dribbles the ball one time with the paddle before passing to player two using their paddle. Player two then needs to receive the ball and do the same before passing back to player one.

Things to keep in mind: • •

Players should be facing the right direction to be able to make a good pass to their opposite player There should always be a distance between the players of about 5-10 meters.

Things to vary • • • •

Length of the dribble Distance between players Height of the pass You can also add other players in with more balls so that being aware of your surroundings becomes more important as well.

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Sprinting

The sprint is a key part of the Canoe Polo game. It is crucial that your sprint is as strong as your gameplay as this is the first thing an opponent will see of your team. So sprinting shouldn’t be ignored until just before matches begin.

The best drill to practice sprinting is where half the players line up at each end of the pitch and the coach simply throws a ball in (just like the start of a game) and blows their whistle, then the first two players race each other to the ball, and then repeat this for all the players.

The order of the players can be changed to ensure close sprints.

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Fitness On the Water Lactic measure As well as a good way to keep fit this is useful to see improvements in fitness over time. We try to do one almost every week writing down times to see improvement

The measure is taken on a pitch of 35 meters and each set of the lactic consists of the player sprinting with turns from each end goal line 6 continuous lengths for 3 sets. The 6 laps end when the nose of the boat passes the line on the sixth length. A 2 second penalty is added every time the player turns short. If you receive 2 penalties the measure ends.

When you have done each set there is a minute rest before you begin the next set. This is not counted in the timing.

Start 6 lengths: 1 minute rest: 6 lengths: 1 minute rest :6 lengths: Done Alternative: If you don’t have a full length pitch to do this on you can change the number of lengths you do. For example doing 4 rounds of 8.

Beep test This is traditionally done on land however you can make an on the water version. Find a beep test soundtrack and use a speaker to increase the sound so you can hear it when on the water. Here is one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0U_yQITBks Set up: • • •

Speaker Phone A way to show a distance e.g. two polo balls on the side of the pitch

What it is: In the beep test you need to paddle between the two points. You paddle to one before turning around and waiting for the next beep. When this sounds you paddle back to the initial point. You are eliminated when you can’t keep up with the beep Rules: • • •

Be fully turned around before the next beep or eliminated Body needs to be past the two points before turning Try not to hit others

When we have done this before we have used a 10m distance as it takes a longer time to turn around at each end than when on land.

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Off the Water When unable to be paddling and still wanting to keep up fitness doing some form of relatively high intensity exercise is useful. This could be a run, cycle or cardio routine. Below are some examples of cardio routines that you may want to use and some exercise routines for improving strength with and without gym equipment.

Cardio and strength routines without equipment Exercise

Set/Reps/Time

Press ups

1x50

Sit ups

1x50

Plank

4 Min

Burpees

1x25

Note: You can split this up however you like so that you don't do all of one exercise.

Exercise

Reps/Set/ Time

High knees

Each exercise to be

Bear crawls side to side Burpees

done for 40 seconds and then a 20 second rest before the next one. Do this for 4 rounds

Flutter kicks Press ups

Exercise

Reps/Set/ Time

Squat jumps

Each exercise to be

Tricep dips on a chair

done for 40 seconds

Blank Superman punches High knees

and then a 20 second rest before the next one. Do this for 4 rounds

Jumping lunges 21 | P a g e Abingdon School Canoe Polo

Leg raises Strength routines can be helpful for improving core skills such as the ability to throw longer, more powerful shots and passes. There is also a level of physicality in polo and so improving strength is key for improving overall ability on the pitch.

Gym routine Exercise

Reps/ Sets

Warm up bike

10 Min light bike/jog

Pull ups Cable Row

4x AMRAP (As many reps as possible) 3x20

Deadlift Lunges

3x40 3x10m

Side plank 3x45 es TRX Row 3x15 Weighted press ups 4x20 Sit ups Dead bugs Flutter kicks Bear crawls

3x20 3x20 3x20 3x20

If you find any exercise too hard or easy then you can adapt the time/ sets and reps. If you don’t know what a particular exercise is, a quick guide of how to do them can usually be found online.

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Refereeing Key Signals With the signalling the most important part is that the “pointing hand” is correct, this is the hand pointing in the direction of attack. The two options for it are FREE THROW (open hand) or FREE SHOT (first finger pointing at goal). It is a FREE THROW, unless play has been stopped by and illegal action. e.g. An illegal paddle foul.

Key rules The most common rules that are needed are: •

•

•

•

Illegal Use Of Paddle: When a player has made a play with their paddle, that is either touching an opponent with their paddle, or having their paddle within arm’s reach of the opponent. (the keeper is exempt from this as long as their paddle isn’t moving towards the player). - This could happen when a player is using their paddle to block an opponent’s shot/pass and their paddle gets too close and goes within arm’s reach.

Illegal Kayak Tackle: When a player is manoeuvring their kayak against an opponent to gain possession of the ball when: (a) The contact results in significant contact with the opponent. (b) The contact results in significant contact with the opponent's boat at roughly 90 degrees. (c) There is significant or continuous contact with the opponent’s spray deck. (d) The opponent is not within 3 meters of the ball or is not attempting to gain possession. - This could happen trying to get a ball on the other side of an opponent and the player's boat goes up onto their spray deck and the player keeps trying to paddle over the top (continuous).

Illegal Hand Tackle: Any hand tackle that where the player is not in possession of the ball, the contact is anything other than one open hand to the back, upper arm or side. It is also illegal if the tackle endangers the tackled player or if the player is throwing the ball and the contact is on their arm. - This could be dangerous if the player pulls the opponent.

Illegal Possession: A player must dispose of the ball within 5 seconds of being in possession of it (i.e. with the ball within arm’s reach) either by passing, shooting, or throwing it one meter horizontally. A player may not paddle with the ball resting on the spray deck of the boat. - This could happen when a player is pushed underwater which could lead to the 5 seconds running out.

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•

Illegal Holding: A player gaining propulsion or support using an opponent, their equipment or playing are equipment. - This could happen when a player had his paddle on the front of an opponent's boat to slow them down and speed him/herself up.

•

Illegal Jostle: A jostle is when a player is manoeuvring their kayak against a player who is within their own sixmeter line. An illegal jostle is when: (a) The opponent’s body is moved by more than 2 meters by sustained contact. (b) The contact would be considered an Illegal Kayak Tackle. - This could happen when an attacker sprints into the 6m and continues driving after contact which ends up with the defender having moved 2 meters.

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Improving core skills Passing When throwing the ball, the shoulders should power first, then the upper arm, followed by the lower arm and finally the flicking of the wrist. This gives the maximum power and should allow for a good flat pass. The ball should be passed into a teammates hand at head height.

For a lob pass the same technique applies, however the players are aiming upwards to clear an outstretched paddle, whilst still trying to maintain the accuracy.

2 players Two players start with the nose of their kayaks touching. Then pass between each other, moving outward slightly every time five passes are completed consecutively. This drill can be used for all the different types of passing

4 players Alternatively, you can have four boats in the corners of a square and just try to accurately pass the ball between the players. One development of this drill would be reducing the ‘dwell’ time of the ball by not bringing it into the players body.

Lob/Long distance passing For a good lob pass, the player must use the same technique as a normal pass, however the players are aiming upwards to clear an outstretched paddle, whilst still trying to maintain the accuracy and a similar technique. There must be good trunk rotation to give the power needed to gain sufficient height.

The basic lob passing drill is the same as any other normal passing drill - have two players opposite each other, a minimum of six meters apart. They then throw the ball to the other player, aiming high enough that the ball would clear an outstretched paddle if there was one, and moving backwards with each successful pass.

Lob passes for moving players Split the players into two groups one in each corner on the same goal line. Then one player from each group paddles along the sideline, throwing the ball to the player on the other side of the pitch. The aim is to complete the pass without the ball hitting the water, however the ball must be high enough so that it would go over an outstretched paddle if there was one.

Pass and move This drill focuses on building the fundamentals of pass and move and requires three players and one ball to practice. All three players freely paddle around the pitch and player one has the ball. Player one takes one dribble with the ball and passes to player two who takes one dribble and passes to player three. This is then repeated focusing on the key aspects of the drill which are that players keep the correct amount of space between them so they don't become to bunched up or spread out (about 5-10m). They also need to make sure that they are facing towards the player they are passing to and focus on keeping their boat continuing in a straight line instead of curving off to one side. Finally they should make sure that they watch both the other players and select the best pass.

To vary this drill, you can change the height the players throw their passes at or the distance between the players to give them practice at throwing different types of passes. They could also practice throwing with their weaker hand as this is sometimes required in games situations.

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Dribbling and Passing This is another passing drill which focuses more on the pass and catch as well as the speed of movement of the three players. Player one and player two start next to each other with player three about ten metres away from them. Player one has the ball, dribbles two or three metres and then passes to player three. Player one then follows their pass and sits behind player three. Meanwhile player three dribbles two or three metres passes to player two and follows their pass. This process is then repeated focusing on these core aspects. The ball should always be thrown with one hand and caught with one hand at shoulder height.

To add variation to this drill You could change the height and speed of the throw or change how far the players dribble and throw the ball. For example, you could do it with no dribbling or five metres dribbling. You could also change the hand which they dribble and throw with, so they use their weaker side or add in an extra player and make it a triangle.

Passing Race Players pair up and gather along the goal line. The aim is to be the first to do four lengths of the pitch, passing between the pair. Depending on skill levels, some players could be given time penalties, and a penalty time could be introduced for when the ball is dropped.

Union jack This drill improves catching and passing while moving and stationary. It requires at least six people and two balls to work. To be an effective drill it probably needs between six and twelve people. The initial setup is to make a square with players distributed across the four corners, with two balls diagonally opposite each other. Then the two players without the ball paddle diagonally and receive a ball from their right, and then pass it to the players in front of them. Then the other two players do the same, receiving the ball from the right and continuing the drill. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Clf5DfjLQwspGGODw4q2OIa3FVOIyaFB

Passes under pressure Three player drill. One player is sideways in the middle of the other two. Their aim is to block the other two’s passes. No lobs allowed

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Shooting Improving accuracy To improve shooting accuracy, have the player sit with the nose of their kayak one meter away from the goal keepers boat. Then the coach or another player from behind the goal (where possible) points to where they want the ball to be shot at. Each player has four shots, receiving the ball from alternate sides, and then the roles swap. This drill can also be adapted with the players dribbling in instead of being stationary.

Improving distance/power All players start two boat lengths away from the goal line, spread along the pitch. Then the players take turns to try and score, and if successful they move back.

A goalkeeper can be added to make this harder, as well getting the players to aim for the corners rather than the entire goal. Note: have players with better aim and strength closer to the side-lines as it is harder to shoot from there than in the middle

Dribbling Basics All players paddle clockwise around the pitch, dribbling the ball as they go. Then whistle commands are introduced, with different whistle commands for different actions such as for the players to turn 180° or 360° or pass to the player in front.

Dribbling at speed Set up with two boats tail to tail at the edge of the pool. The player facing towards the pool with the ball dribbles while sprinting on the whistle, while the other player has to turn around and try to catch up. If this is too easy for the player dribbling, then move on to paddle dribbling only. Dribbling races can also be run to improve dribbling accuracy at speed, both with the hand and paddle.

Paddling Paddling technique basics There are several key points that can improve a player's paddling technique.

• • • •

Use your stronger core muscles rather than arm muscles when paddling, focusing on trunk rotation Ensure that the blade is entering the water at your feet, and you are pulling the boat towards the blade not the blade towards the paddle Try to keep the boat steady and not rocking from side to side Keep your head up and focused on where you are aiming

Boat skills Players need to be able to manoeuvre their boat quickly and efficiently to keep up with fastpaced play. These are some simple drills to try and improve a player manoeuvring skill.

Have two players in the centre of the pitch facing the same goal, with a one-meter gap between them. The other players then sprint towards the goal, going in between the boats as they do. The gap can be increased/decreased depending on ability, and the number of boats that must be maneuverer around can be increased or decreased.

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Another drill for improving boat skills is having the players split evenly facing each other four or five boat lengths apart. Then one player from each side is called and they sprint to the middle and turn 180°, and sprint back. The aim is to be the fastest to complete this, without colliding with the other player’s boat. This can be made harder by increasing the number of players that are racing at the same time, as well as changing which way and the number of times the players must turn.

Ergometer Ergos are often used to improve players paddling power and technique. They can provide invaluable feedback on how the player paddles, as well as giving a measure of their endurance or strength.

Some ergo machines are quite basic and don’t feature displays or any sort of measurement such as the one below, so these machines are best for developing technique. One way of doing this is to have someone film you paddling on the machine and then compare this to videos online showing very good technique.

Other machines can give a readout of distance and time, which can be useful for establishing figures about the player such as strength and endurance.

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Coaching Section 2 – Canoe Polo Coaching Specifics

Creating independent players A key aspect of canoe polo coaching is moving from the practice of specific drills to becoming fluent at adapting skills and drills to different situations as they arise in the game situation.

To consider this further lets first discuss an analogy with climbing. You arrive at an outdoor rock face and are asked to set up a safe climbing system for novice climbers. This requires you to be able to assess the area, work out where to set up your anchor points and put together your climbing system. You need to be well drilled in how to tie particular knots (so they don’t come undone) and the relevant angles to set up the anchors but you also need to be able to apply this to the particular rockface you are working on. You would not let someone who was not well drilled in tying the knots have a go at setting up the entire climbing system from scratch.

In the same way, canoe polo specific drills are the foundations on which things can be built but players need to be fluent at adapting these to different situations. As a coach, when you are building up your players to a particular game tactic you may wish to follow the steps below.

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1. Design drillable elements - think about the skills and knowledge that you want players to learn and break them down to tasks that can be performed repeatedly in small segments. Lots of small drillable elements are the best for success in order to build fluency at the skill.

2. Engage players in repeated, low stakes practice of these drillable elements - the low stakes part of this is important, if you expect players to perform the thing they are practicing perfectly the first time then there is no point in practicing it. They will make mistakes and there needs to be a culture where it is ok to fail. Without this people will be afraid to put themselves outside their comfort zone.

3. Focus on accuracy and precision - as the practice goes on it is important to focus on how good the players are at the repeated tasks. It matters at this stage if the passes are not going to hands or if shots are off target because if it cannot be done in an isolated practice session it will not be repeatable in a fluid situation.

4. Increase the range, pace and variety - It is important that players develop flexible not rigid skills. Make sure the practice routine includes variety (don’t always do the same thing) so that skills can be applied to different situations. After an initial level of fluency with a task or drill is achieved, mix it up, add complexity, increase the range, or increase the expectations on pace.

5. Integrate the elements back into more complex tasks - Once the players have developed fluency with particular drills and experienced the drill with varied range, pace or variety you should put this into the wider context of a game situation.

“When are we having a game” is often a phrase that is heard in sports up and down the country. Unlike repetitive drills the decisions that the players make in games are not predetermined by the practice or the coach and the outcomes are uncertain, a bit like a real match. Games provide excitement through their realism; they engage and can be manipulated to challenge the players appropriately. These are some of the reasons that players find games so enjoyable. You need the basics to be in place but as soon as this is the case, referring to points 4 and 5 above you should be able to come up with game-type fun, competitive situations which allow varied practice.

This whole process is really hard to get right. If you do not scaffold players a suitable amount so they achieve success in the basics, they will be worrying so much about catching the ball that their cognitive overload is going to prevent them applying anything to a different situation. If you move on too quickly to the next step up in this process, things are likely to fall apart (think about a union jack drill with people who can’t throw and catch). Equally if you drill things too many times in the same manner then these skills become discrete and are not applied to flexible situations and the players will get bored.

Coaching Styles in Canoe Polo Some aspects of coaching canoe polo are different to the majority of other paddlesport disciplines due to its nature of being a team sport. In this section we are going to focus on coaching the individual and coaching the team separately.

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Coaching an individual (Nearly?)Everyone who coaches people wants them to improve. The difficult thing is that different paddlers have different motivations for participating in the sport. The following are all real reasons why different people play canoe polo: • • • •

To be the best they can possibly be at the sport.

They enjoy the social aspect.

To keep fit.

Their friends do it and they don’t want to be left out.

When you are planning a coaching program you need to be aware of the motivation for that individual. As a coach you might have identified that a paddler just needs to get fitter in order to become better at sprints. If that paddler has no interest in fitness because they attend training sessions to see their friends, they are not going to engage if you plan to run a lactic test with them.

The best way to find out what makes people tick is to talk to them individually and help them set their own goals. Don’t do this with their friends there because they are likely to be significantly influenced. Over time their goals might change and align more with the things you originally identified but if you push them too far outside their sphere of enjoyment they are likely to stop attending (or stop having you coach them!).

Think of planning an individualised coaching program like planning an expedition. You initially set the goal of where you are going to go and from that point then plan how to get there. Do you need to practice specific parts of it? Do you need to get fitter in the gym to be able to complete it? Do you need to gain confidence in your own ability to get over a particular hurdle.

Once you have formulated how the goals are going to be achieved you need to put the program into action and support the athlete in getting through it. Like any dynamic scenario you will review how things are going along the way in order to plan the next segment.

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Coaching a real world polo session Everything is a compromise. In an ideal world, each player would have an individual coach who is working with them on their specific, individualised training needs throughout the entirety of a session. For the vast majority of people in our sport this is not a realistic situation to find ourselves in. It is very common for a single coach to be running a canoe polo training session for 12 people, on the assumption that you have two teams of five players with a substitute on each. In many cases you might even have a further team of six people waiting to swap in and out at appropriate breaks.

In this scenario there is a lot of room for confusion and individualised coaching is not going to be possible at the level we would like to see in an ideal world. We therefore need to consider the best way to maximise the session outcomes for the majority of people.

Direct, Explicit Instruction in large sessions The best coaching style to achieve this is likely to be direct, explicit instruction. As a coach, you are modelling and providing explanations/demonstrations of the task to be undertaken, giving the athletes guided practice and feedback on using the strategy and then promoting them to apply this to different situations.

In order to get to a point where this can be successful there are some very basic things that you need to ensure are in place before you even try to coach anything to a large group of

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people. These will most likely seem like common sense to everyone reading this but you would be surprised at how often people fail to follow these basics.

•

•

•

Forming routines – if you want to explain something in detail or demonstrate a particular skill then try and get into the habit of doing it from the same position on the side of the pool. Call everyone over and remove all temptations like polo balls (which could get thrown around) and create distractions.

Listening to instructions or explanations – if you are saying or explaining something, it must be important or you wouldn’t be saying it. Therefore everyone else must be listening and this is non-negotiable. If people start talking between themselves then a basic non-confrontational way to stop this is for you to stop what you are saying, say their name and wait 3 seconds. They will most likely stop. You cannot run a session for 12 people when everyone talks over each other all the time.

Insist on basics from the start – there is a saying that “you establish what you establish”. When you begin coaching a group they will most likely give you the benefit of the doubt until “they have sussed you out”. In the first session, if you allow people to play with a ball while you are talking then not only will they continue to do this but everyone else will start as this is the norm that you allow.

Achieving success in direct, explicit instruction There are five main areas to consider in coaching a successful session through direct, explicit instruction.

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1. Be clear • Sequence your presentation of examples so that a specific tactic or rule can be built upon and generalised. You are developing the idea that a particular sequence of events will follow in most situations and only after this has been cemented can you allow any variation to happen. In the drill you are doing, each player is going to do exactly the same thing every time you practice it in that session. If you allow variations early on into practice then the less able paddlers in the group will experience cognitive overload and be unable to connect the dots.

2.

Be efficient •

3.

Coach to mastery •

4.

Paddlers are rarely given enough practice to master skills and practice makes permanent. How paddlers practice is just as important as how much they practice. In a particular session, only 15% of the skill being taught should be new with 85% being reviewed, built on or applied to a new context using variation of practice. As a coach, when you are considering running an activity you need to assess whether this rule is roughly being followed. If the paddlers cannot reliably throw and catch the ball, there is little point in attempting a complex attacking drill because it will not get past the first couple of passes.

Praise success •

5.

Clear instructions are the foundations for efficient practice. All twelve players need to know precisely what they are individually going to do before starting an activity. If this is not the case then things will fall apart very quickly. Equally try not to take short cuts. They may seem a good idea at the time but are likely to be damaging in the long run. If the ball gets dropped then often it is better to restart the activity from the beginning as some paddlers will not be able to follow the sequence that has happened. Equally, you will come across a situation where someone in the group will try and add in a variation early on. Again at this point stop the activity and restart from the beginning to prevent cognitive overload.

As coaches we need to consider the amount of positive praise we offer to our paddlers during a coaching session. The amount of praise that you think are giving is always going to be less than the amount the students are hearing.

Make sure you praise your paddlers as often as possible but also mean it when you do it. Even when you are re-starting an activity because it has fallen apart, it is essential to focus on all the things that people did well up to that point for them to want to buy into again in order to achieve mastery.

Beware of assumption •

Paddlers will bring their own assumption to anything you ask them to do. The most challenging thing to watch out for is those who don’t actually listen to instructions properly because they already think they know what is going to happen. This also links to the coaching to mastery phase. As a coach you will always want to believe in the success of something you have delivered. Take the example of teaching someone to roll. You may celebrate that you have taught them to roll and leave the student to their own devices from that point.

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Have you actually taught them mastery in their roll though? Can they roll on both sides? Can they roll with one hand only on both sides? Can they roll under pressure many times in a row?

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Differentiation of outcome in direct, explicit instruction Within any large canoe polo group you are coaching, there will always be paddlers who have a greater level of ability than others in the group. You are going to find it hard to allow them to perform at the top of their game but it is equally important that they feel valued and have a sense of achievement from having participated in the session. An easy way to do this is to use them as your “experts”. Examples of this may include: ·

·

In a passing drill, it would be inefficient to do this in a large group because the time each person has in contact will the ball will be relatively short. Once you have explained the task, split the group into four and nominate your experts to each run a group in a different corner of the pool.

In between drills or particular tasks there is likely to be time when people are waiting around. Nominate your experts to de-brief their group or set their group up for the next round.

As a coach it can be difficult to give up control to other people in the group. Remember though that by delegating these sorts of tasks, the more novice paddlers will be receiving a greater amount of feedback and the more advanced paddlers will be developing their own coaching ability.

Pre-planning of a coaching session The most important thing when planning a session is to firstly consider what mastery looks like in the thing you ideally intend to coach. If you do not have a clear, concise picture of what success looks like then there is no way that your paddlers could ever reach that point.

Within this you should consider the following categories:

Technical – Ability to handle the boat or ball to ensure that it can be placed in the correct position. Without a solid technical basis, paddlers will be severely limited in the tactical aspects of the sport. Technical things for consideration include: • • •

Boat, body, blade, ball positioning.

Skilful application of techniques.

Decision making skills.

Tactical – Ability to apply appropriate technical skills to a particular situation. This may depend on what happens within your own or the opposition team during a game. Tactical things for consideration include: • •

Types of throw and catch Positioning of boat, body, blade ball.

Physiological – The physical component of the sport divides up into speed, endurance, agility and strength. As a competitive sport, having an appropriate base level of fitness is important for success. Physiological consideration might include: • •

Stamina Strength

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• •

Speed Suppleness

Psychological – considering psychological implications is key to achieving mastery. If a paddler is not in the right mental place they will never be able to consistently achieve success. Psychological consideration might include: • • • •

Imagery/mental rehearsal Self-talk Performance anxiety Attentional focus

Make a list of all the things that a perfect execution of the skill/drill would involve. Now go down the list and rank how strong (as a percentage) your paddler or team is at these individual things. Are they around 85% of the way there in terms of the prior skills needed to achieve the task you are hoping for at a basic level? If this is the case, then carry on. If it is not, then re-consider coaching one of the feeder skills to achieve mastery here rather than the thing you were originally hoping for.

Developing your own coaching The most common way to develop your own coaching is to ask someone else to observe you delivering a session and then to sit down with them and reflect on the things that went well and the things that could be improved. In many cases this works very well and there can be a symbiotic relationship between the coach and the mentor leading to continual development. Sometimes though it is hard as a coach to really understand and take on board the feedback you have been given or the retrospective view you have is different to the reality of what happened. Examples where this can happen include:

· ·

You perceive that you give lots of praise but in reality you don’t.

You perceive that you give clear instructions but in reality people are often left confused.

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· ·

You perceive that you know your paddlers well but in reality you don’t know their names.

You perceive that you are well organised in running your session but in reality there are lots of gaps where things are not happening and people are getting bored.

It is worth saying that the opposite can happen as well. Coaches who are very self-critical about their own ability often reflect very negatively on a session that went very well or only reflect on the small bit that didn’t go to plan.

In some clubs, you might not be lucky enough to have a mentor at all who is able to observe and give you feedback.

For many years we have been using video analysis in sport to analyse the performance of athletes and help them to improve. There is nothing really very different about applying video analysis to athletes or to coaches.

When kayaking if someone else suggests to you that you to angle the nose of your boat slightly more at a particular point in a defence drill then it can be really difficult to visualise this in your mind but if they film it and pause the video and say “there” it can provide the lightbulb moment. The same applies to improving your coaching and therefore it if you are committed to improvement you should consider filming a session purely to analyse your coaching. This is a very personal experience but whether you choose to watch it back yourself or with a trusted mentor, you will most likely see things that you never realised you even did. Some reasons this is beneficial include:

1. Fuller picture – Research (admittedly educational in a classroom setting) suggests that you can only see and hear 20% of what is happening in a session. This means that when you reflect on your session you are only reflecting on the 20% of it you remember. Watching the session back with a well-positioned camera and (if you are lucky) multiple microphones means you get a fuller picture of things you weren’t even aware were happening or being discussed.

2. More reliable feedback – When you go through a normal coaching session with a mentor, it may be later in the day or week and what actually happened may have faded in your mind. Going through it with video means everything comes back to you clear as when it was happening.

3. Acceptance – It is much easier to accept what is going on or how you could improve when you see it in black and white through your own eyes on a video rather than having someone else give it as feedback.

4. Time – You can film a whole coaching session and then just watch back the parts which are relevant to what you are looking for.

5. Replicability – You can focus on one particular aspect of your coaching.

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Canoe polo lends itself to filming you coach because sessions are generally delivered in a static location and so you can choose a suitable position to set up a camera (or phone) on a tripod at the start which will pick up the large majority of things which are going on.

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