The Lost Parents’ Guide to Understanding Water Polo

Water polo is a game of strength, quickness and endurance. Ball skills and exceptional swimming ability are especially important in this mobile, fast-paced game. Men’s water polo was the first Olympic team sport, appearing in 1900. Women’s water polo was an Olympic sport in 2000, and is currently the fastest growing intercollegiate sport.

The Game

A goalie and six field players participate for each team at one time. (It’s been called by some underwater soccer because of the similarities between the two games.) Players tread water the entire game, and cannot touch the bottom or sides of the pool. Except for the goalie, players may not touch the ball with two hands at the same time.(Midlakes water polo is played in competition swimming pools, rather than water polo pools, which are deep water everywhere. Consequently, the cannot touch the bottom rule for shallow-end play is adjusted: players may not gain an advantage by using the bottom, and must not be standing while shooting. Additionally, since the shallow-end goalie may stand, the shallow-end goal is taller than the deep-end goal.)

The game is played in four quarters, with two time-outs allowed per side for an entire game. Player substitutions may be made after a goal, during a time-out, between quarters, or through the ejections area during play.

Each quarter starts with teams lined up on opposite goal lines. At the whistle from the referee, each team has a player sprint toward the ball. The team gaining possession advances the ball toward its offensive end of the pool by swimming with the ball or passing to a teammate.

A goal (1 point) is scored when the ball is thrown or pushed completely past the face of the goal. After a goal is scored, both teams will line up in the middle to start again.

Procedure

	Each quarter begins with the teams lining up along their own goal lines.
	The referee blows his or her whistle to signal the start. Each team sends a player to sprint for the ball, which the referee places in the water at mid-pool.
	After a goal, play restarts when the opposing teams have completely separated.
	The referee blows his or her whistle and the team just scored upon may advance the ball. However a pass must be made before a shot may be taken.
	If the ball goes out-of-bounds along the side, it is awarded to the team which did not touch it last, at the spot where it went out-of-bounds.
	If it goes out-of-bounds over the end line of the defending team’s goal line and is touched by the defense last, the offense gets a free throw from 2 meter, against the wall.
	If it goes out-of-bounds over the defense’s goal line and is last touched by the offense, the goalie is awarded a free throw. If it goes out-of-bounds over the offense’s goal line, the defense gets the ball where it went out, but this is a rare situation.

Fouls

Fouls are part of water polo strategy. Physical contact is the rule rather than the exception, as the players maneuver for position in front of the goal. The referee signals fouls by blowing a whistle and motioning in the direction of the attack. Water polo combines sport and theater. Experienced players may attempt to act the way into drawing a foul; experienced referees usually are not fooled.

Many times, defensive players foul on purpose and offensive players attempt to draw fouls. There are two types of fouls - ordinary and major.

Ordinary fouls include:

Touching the ball with two hands.
Taking the ball under water when pressed.
Impeding an opponent who is not holding the ball.
Pushing off an opponent.
Stalling by failing to shoot or advance the ball within 35 seconds.
Standing on the bottom of the pool.

Ordinary fouls are assessed when a player impedes the offensive player while the offensive player is not in possession of the ball. The strict definition is hard to write down and is best understood by watching what a foul looks like in the pool. In any case, fouls will not be called if the offensive player is controlling (i.e. holding) the ball, only when the offensive player has let go of it. The penalty for an ordinary foul is a free throw.

A free throw is just that, a free pass. The defense must stay one meter away from the person with the free throw. If the defender disrupts a free throw they will be kicked out for 20 seconds. Free throws may be taken anywhere outside the horizontal plane of the foul. This is a major rule change. If the foul is in the hole, anyone outside of the hole set may take the free throw and the ball does not have to go back to the hole if it has been knocked away during the course of the foul.

The person who was fouled does not necessarily have to take the free throw. However, the offensive player only has three seconds to throw the ball before it must be put into play.

Putting the ball in play: this may be done in one of three ways. First, the player may pass to a teammate. Second, the player may lift the ball out of the water and drop it back in. Third, the player may swim with the ball. Failure to put the ball in play within three seconds of a foul is a turnover.

A free throw may not be shot by the person taking the throw, even after putting the ball in play. A shot in this situation would result in a turnover. If the foul was beyond seven meters, however, this rule does not apply; the ball can be put in play by a shot on goal.

Major fouls (kickouts, or ejections) are called for:

Kicking or striking
Deliberate splashing of the face
An ordinary foul during dead time
Interfering with a free throw after a foul
Misconduct or disrespect (including trying to ref the game while playing)
Holding sinking or pulling back
Illegal entry after an ejection, or illegal substitution
Committing any foul within the four meter area when a goal is probable

A kickout is a more severe penalty than an ordinary foul. A kicked out player must swim to the corner of the pool opposite the scorer’s table and wait 20 seconds out of the field of play. After 20 seconds the player will be waved back in by the referee. A player may also be waved in after a turnover.

Each player may be kicked out no more than three times during a game. After the third kick out, the player is disqualified from the game and may not return, although a new player may be substituted.

How Does One Get Kicked Out

The most common kickout occurs when a defensive player has allowed an offensive player to get between him/herself and the goal. Once this happens, if the defender pulls back on the offensive player in any way, the defender will be ejected. The two situations this occurs the most are

On a drive by an offensive player.
On a counterattack after a turnover.

Another common kick out occurs while guarding the hole. If a hole guard pulls back on the hole (the offensive center ), fouls with two hands, or hits the head of hole man while fouling, the hole guard will be ejected. The basic rule of thumb is that the hole guard must be playing the ball, not the hole player.

Other ways to get kicked out include: disrupting a free throw, talking back to the ref (though Mercerwood players would never do such a thing!), pushing off the wall while entering the playing area after a kick out and splashing, hitting or kicking another player.

Four Meter Fouls and Shots

If a defensive player pulls back on an offensive player when the offensive player 1. has the ball, 2. has inside water (i.e., is between the defender and the goal) and 3. is inside four meters , the defender will likely be called for a four meter foul.

The penalty for a four meter foul is an unobstructed shot on goal from four meters away by any member of the offense.

The procedure for taking a four meter shot is as follows:

The goalie lines up along the goal line.
The shooter lines up in front of the goal, four meters out.
The referee raises the flag (or a hand).
The referee blows the whistle and the shooter shoots; the shot must be in one motion, without hesitation or faking.

Four meter fouls count as one ejection assessed to the defender.

Additional Rules

	Fingernails and toenails must be cut down before the game starts.
	A player may never take off their cap during the course of a game. This is considered disrespect and the player will be disqualified from the game.

Glossary of Common Terms Used in Water Polo

	Bar-in shot - a shot which ricochets off one of the goal posts into the goal for a score. These are good shots.
	Cage - the goal.
	Counterattack - identical to a fast break in basketball. Occurs after a turnover. A team going from defense to offense uses the chaos of the change to create open players for a shot. A team going from offense to defense attempts to limit the chaos in order to deny the other team an easy shot.
	Dead time -after a foul occurs, the offense has three seconds to make a free throw. These three seconds are known as deed time because the clock is not running. Any defensive foul during dead time is a kick out, therefore if we are on offense it is very important to move during dead time and create a situation where they must foul us!
	Doughnut - a shot which goes by the goalie’s head or ears; very embarrassing for goalie.
	Dribbling - swimming with the ball.
	Drive - a short, fast sprint from either the point or the flat, in which you try to get past your defender and receive a pass from the hole set for a shot.
	Driver - the person driving.
	Dry pass - a pass which is caught without touching the surface of the water.
	Eggbeater - the leg kick used to tread water effectively.
	Fake - a fake shot used to get the goalie out of position. Makes scoring a bit easier.
	Fronting the hole - when the hole guard plays in front of the hole in order to deny the hole man the ball. Effective but risky because if the hole man does get the ball she or he has a clear shot at the goal.
	Greenie - a very quick shot from 2-4 meters out off a dry pass from the hole set.
	Hole (hole set) -the center player who is situated 2-3 meters out from the face of the goal.
	Inside water - when an offensive player has successfully gotten in between their defender and the goal their are said to have inside water.
	Live - when the ball is outside of the point of the foul and the player with the ball has a free throw, members of the defensive team will often yell "live" to alert their defensive teammates to the situation.
	Lob - a shot which is thrown slowly up and over the goalie. The same motion is used as when the ball is shot fast but the ball is released earlier. Not a shot-put type motion, the lob is like a change-up in baseball.
	Man up/man down - when the other team has a player out you are man up and they are man down.
	Offside - if an offensive player is inside of two meters of the opposing team’s goalline without the ball, that player is offside.
	Off-the-water shot - shots which come from the surface of the water while the player is swimming towards the goal as opposed to shots launched from a throw. These shots do not have the speed of a regular shot, but they are quick enough to catch the goalie off guard. Off-the-water shots come in many variations. The most common are The screw, in which the ball is pulled back from underneath until the ball is near the head and them shoved shot-put style by the goalie’s ear. The pop, in which the left hand is used to tee the ball and right hand pops the ball forward.
	Outlet - Similar to the square out, though not always as severe of a cut, you roll over, establish eye contact with the passer and receive a pass. Outlets are the first passes in a successful counterattack because they move the ball up the pool quickly.
	Pick - using one offensive player to obstruct the defender of a teammate in order to free that teammate up for a clear shot. A player may not stop while picking a defender, the player must always keep moving forward. This would be known as a set pick and the penalty for set pick is a turnover.
	Post - the upright posts of the goal.
	Referee - the mean dude in white with the whistle.
	6 on 5 or 5 on 6 - See man up/man down.
	Skip - a shot which skips off the water.
	Slough - Dropping off a weak player in order to double team the hole. Sloughs usually come from the flat, sometimes the point but never from the wing.
	Square out - a 90 degree cut to the wall which allows you to receive the ball safely from goalie.
	Strong - the side of the pool with the ball: opposite of weak.
	35 second clock - after gaining possession of the ball a team has 35 seconds in which to attempt a shot. If a shot is attempted but misses the clock is reset. If the ball goes out-of-bounds off the other team the clock is reset. If the clock expires the ball is turned over.
	Tank - the pool.
	Transition - same as counterattack. The transition from offense to defense or defense to offense.
	Turnover - losing the ball to the other team. Usually due to a foul, a steal or an errant pass.
	Weak - the side of the pool without the ball. If you have the ball and hear a teammate yelling "weak! Weak!" look to the weak side of the pool for an open teammate.
	Wet pass - a pass which lands in the water. All passes to the hole are wet.