Each month a player or coach from a US National Men's
Team and a player or coach from a US National Women's Team will give the
water polo community some tips on how to play a particular position or a
fundamental skill. In turn WPP will post a photograph and concise biography
to help the water polo community get to know the players and coaches.
Becoming
a Premier Attacker by Tony Azevedo
In my opinion the six most important tools that a player must develop
in order to become a premier attacker are as follows:
The first would be ball handling, you must be able to control the ball
at all times, whether you are under pressure or not. This can be done
through lots of passing and playing with a ball at home.
Next, I would say that quickness is a key tool to have. In order for
you to get away from someone stronger or get your arm open for a shot
you have to be quick. Their are many short sprinting things you could
do for this.
Strength is another important aspect. Weights or simply push ups at
home will allow just the right amount of strength that will increase shot
velocity, quickness, speed and getting open.
For me the most important aspect is game awareness. You must be able
to know when the right time is to do something, whether it is getting
your teammate open or simply taking the ejection. I would recommend watching
video and many games as well as constantly asking questions when you are
around upper level athletes.
Anticipation is another important tool. Their are many people out their
who are fast in swim sets but they never get open in the game. This is
because they do not anticipate. This tool comes from game awareness as
well as constantly watching the game and making your decisions beforehand.
The last tool for an attacker would be creativity. This does not mean
taking weird shots or no look passes, but constantly trying new things
and not being afraid to take that chance. Their are many big fast people
out their but what separates the best from the rest is what they bring
to the game. Creative players bring many new aspects almost every practice.
Best regards,
TONY AZEVEDO
INTERNATIONAL/CLUB:
Led the team with 18 goals at the 2005 FINA World League and 13 at the
2005 FINA World Championships… Ranked 5 th in scoring percentage
at the 2005 FINA World Championships…. Second overall and led the
U.S. with 15 goals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece including a
hat trick
to help the team qualify for the 7th place game...Became one of the highest
paid players in water polo when he signed to play professionally for Italian
club team, Bissolati Cremona...Scored a tournament high 33 goals during
the 2003 Pan American Games... Finished as the top scorer in the FINA
World League with 12 goals...Led the team in scoring at 2003 U.S. Cup
with eight, including three versus Australia … Was named as the
world’s seventh-best male athlete in the June 2003 edition of Men’s
Journal…Scored 12 goals in four games in Team USA’s
first place finish at 2003 French International…Led Team USA in
scoring with 29 goals in the first year of the FINA World League, including
seven in the season opener against Croatia in Los Alamitos (Calif.)…Was
sixth in the league in scoring, but was only player in top six that didn’t
advance to the Super Final…Was the only U.S. player to net at least
one goal in each game…Leading scorer at the 2001 World Championships
in Japan…Led team in scoring with 14 goals in Japan despite playing
with a broken ear drum…Scored 13 goals in outstanding Olympic debut
at the Sydney Games in 2000, the fourth highest scorer in the world...Selected
by color commentator Jim Kruse for NBC’s All-World Team following
Olympics...Was the high scorer at the Pan American Junior Water Polo Championships
in 1998.
PROFESSIONAL :
Led Latteria Sorensia in scoring for the 2005-2006 season in Cremona ,
Italy …third in scoring in all of Italy for the 2005-2006 season
COLLEGE:
Became the first-ever player to win the prestigious Peter J. Cutino award
four consecutive years...Was awarded First-Team All-American honors from
2001-2004...Named MPSF Player of the Year four consecutive years from
2001-2004...Named the 2004 American Water Polo Coaches Association Player
of the Year for the fourth straight season... Mountain Pacific Federation
four-time winner... Named co-Player of the Year in 2003 NCAA tournament...Scored
80 goals in his senior season...Shattered the prior record by over 100
goals when he became Stanford’s all-time top scorer with 332 goals…Was
named as the Player of the Year at 2002 NCAA Tournament…Scored
95 goals in 2002, becoming Stanford’s top single-season scorer…In
2001, he earned NCAA Player of the Year and All-American Player of the
Year…Voted the 2001 NCAA Tournament MVP…Voted Co-MVP of
the 2001 MPSF Tournament…Named MPSF Player of the Week twice…Winner
of the Stanford Block “S” Freshman Award…The nation’s
leading scorer with 68 goals, which was a freshman school record and ninth-best
in school history.
HIGH SCHOOL:
Earned All-American as well as All-Academic Team honors from 1996-99 at
Wilson High School in Long Beach , CA ...Selected to All-CIF Team from
1996-99 and was CIF Player of the Year three times…Father Rick
was an assistant National Team coach in 2004 and coached Tony throughout
his age group career and during his first three years at Long Beach Wilson.
PERSONAL:
Biggest influence in water polo is his father, Rick Azevedo...Favorite
musical artists are Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springstein...Says he plays
water polo “to win a gold medal for the USA .”
(Biography by Kelly Foster photograph courtesy of Stanford - both provided
by courtesy of USA Water Polo)
Zone defense is used when a team has a strong center and the ball is
in position for a center entry pass. A zone defense can be useful by all
levels of teams, from a new age group team to the Olympic Team. A huge
benefit of zone defense is the defensive player’s ability to move
quickly to the area of highest threat and block the shot. Here to explain
the basics of shot blocking in a zone defense is National Team Athlete
Lauren Wenger.
POSITION 1:
Zone Base Position: Head In-Feet Out
- Horizontal on a hip
- Face the ball
- Head facing towards center
- Feet pointing towards the perimeter
- Top arm (Lead arm) near stomach and lower arm in front, both arms
are sculling
TRANSITION 1:
Zone Base Position to Shot Blocking Base Position: Steps
- Begin in Zone Base Position
- Pivot over the hips covering as much area as possible
- Lead arm comes up to take away a quick shot
- End in Shot Blocking Base Position
Pivot over the Hips: Steps to movement into the Shot
Blocking Base Position
- Quick scull backward
- Bring knees toward stomach area
- Quickly swing over hips
- Breaststroke kick to complete pivot
POSITION 2:
Shot Blocking Base Position:
- Lead arm takes away quick shot
- Match hands for shot blocking
- Arm slightly bent at elbow and positioned slightly in front of the
body
- Other hand is sculling in front
Shot blocking steps:
- Cut off shooting lane responsibility
- Shadow: Follow the offensive’s player’s ball and/or body
movement
- Close out (if necessary):
- The vertical movement towards the offensive player with the ball
- The sculling hand makes first contact with the offensive player
- Shot blocking hand goes for the arm with the ball
- Finish close out with breaststroke kick
TRANSITION 2:
Shot Blocking Base Position to Zone Base Position: Back
to the beginning
- From a vertical position to a horizontal position
- On pass; Rise up, then fall back leading with the arm closest to the
ball and slide into the Head In-Feet Out Position
- Follow the ball-Always face the ball
- Breast kick to complete positioning towards center player
LAUREN WENGER
INTERNATIONAL/CLUB:
Wenger has worked her way up through the National Team Program
since 2000…Spent two years on the Youth National Team, one year
on the Junior National Team and has been on the Senior National Team
since 2005… Played a key role in USA ’s silver medal finish
at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal , Canada …Scored
the first goal against Hungary in the gold medal match of the 2005 World
Championships.
COLLEGE:
Led USC to a NCAA 2 nd Place finish during her senior season (2006)…
Nominated as one of three Pete Cutino Award finalists for 2006…
Selected to the 2006 NCAA All-Tournament First Team… Known as
one of the top defenders in the country… As a 2004 sophomore,
Wenger scored 19 goals...earned NCAA All-Tournament second team honors.
Wenger finished fifth on the team in scoring with 27 goals in her 2003
freshman season...led the team with two goals in a 7-6 overtime loss
on April 26 against UCLA at the MPSF Championship...scored three goals
in an 11-9 win on Feb. 2 against UC Santa Barbara.
HIGH SCHOOL:
She earned All-America honors at Wilson High in Long Beach , Calif.
..Earned All-CIF and all-league first team honors...also played on the
2002 Pan-American championship squad...earned scholar-athlete award
all four years.
PERSONAL:
She is majoring in policy, planning and development...parents are Steve
and Janet...her sister, Jana, is a junior on the team
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS:
2005 FINA World Championships, Montreal , Canada , 2 nd Place
2002 Junior Pan-American Championships, 1 st Place
(Biography by Kelly Foster photograph courtesy of USC - both provided
by courtesy of USA Water Polo)
