Advantage and The Center

[LABertocci]

I have invited the two referees who whistled the 2010 FINA Cup Championship game to be, going forwards, instructors for our advanced courses (Advantage and The Center). When they are available, both Mark Koganov and Michael Goldenberg will drop in and help during the conduct of these courses. ANYONE who can get input from EITHER of these referees should count themselves as lucky.

[LABertocci]

May 2011 - Water Polo Academy is still in business. We have a Center class starting today. Anyone who wants this content is welcome.

[AZpolo]

Loren,

I have a quick question about defending 2m. In the eyes of the ref to what degree does (2m D) have the right to protect his ball side defense in a full front? Pending the deep wing defenders are doing their job preventing the ball from getting to the 1 and 5 positions.

I have played in several tournaments this summer and I have been confused by the ejection calls rewarded to 2m when the perimeter has passed the ball to the wrong side, and 2m offensive player does a duck under water to get back to ball side or commits offensive to get around 2d.

[LABertocci]

Loren,

I have a quick question about defending 2m. In the eyes of the ref to what degree does (2m D) have the right to protect his ball side defense in a full front? Pending the deep wing defenders are doing their job preventing the ball from getting to the 1 and 5 positions.

I have played in several tournaments this summer and I have been confused by the ejection calls rewarded to 2m when the perimeter has passed the ball to the wrong side, and 2m offensive player does a duck under water to get back to ball side or commits offensive to get around 2d.

It is not an easy question to answer, but I will do my best. Just bear in mind that there is no such thing as "the ref." Despite all the talk and all the efforts, there is still far less uniformity of application of rules than in almost any other sport with which I am familiar. So, with that as a prelude, I'll try my best.

First of all, bumping and grinding between the center and center defender is (or should be) expected. The referee should have a line of physicality beyond which this becomes a violation of the rules. If either player goes past that line, the referee should whistle the violation, and it should be whistled against whichever one initiated the preponderance of the contact. But that is not really what you asked, so let's move on.

As the ball moves from side to side, the bumping and grinding is really little more than an effort by both players to reach either ballside or goalside position, and WHICH position is determined by the tactics being used. In general, unless it becomes egregious, violations of 21.8 are usually "seen but forgotten" by the referee if relative positions do not change.

Your concern is largely about what happens when positions are changing. In general, unless the center is facing the defender and locked up, using the lockup to change positions, it is only the center defender who can use the hands to alter the position of the opponent. This imbalance is one of the reasons that there are far more exclusions whistled against the defender than there are contra fouls whistled against the center.

More to the point, unless the ball is arriving or about to arrive, pushes and shoves [20.10] or holds and sinks [21.8] by the center are irrelevant to the play (the ball is elsewhere) and are usually "seen but forgotten." In part because the center is usually facing the ball but the center defender is facing (and can use hands on) the center, it normally takes an elevation to a violation of 21.9 to justify a contra foul away from the ball. This is NOT so for violations by the center defender, where even holds and sinks [21.8] can and should be whistled away from the ball if it is preventing the center from getting to the desired position. This imbalance is another one of the reasons that there are far more exclusions whistled against the defender than there are contra fouls whistled against the center.

Finally, your reference to "ducking under" is interesting. It is not illegal to go under water. Players do it all the time - sometimes they benefit from going underwater here and coming up there, and at other times they do not benefit. So, "the referee" should not care. Now, if WHILE underwater, the player violates a rule (push or pushoff 20.10 is most common), then the referee can (or at least should) apply the same principles as if the player were on the surface doing the same thing.

So, when you put all this together, what does it all mean for the center defender? It means that in all cases other than a face-to-face lockup, the ability of the center defender to use hands (to use your language, to "protect his ball side defense") to reposition the center (something the center cannot do unless face-to-face) puts the center defender at far greater risk of having a violation whistled against him/her than of having a violation whistled against the center.

I hope that is useful. It is not an easy kind of question to "answer" without more information.

[AZpolo]

Thanks Loren! your explanation does help.