All Access Water Polo Practice with Kirk Everist

with Kirk Everist,
University of California, Berkeley Head Men's Coach,
2016 NCAA Champions - 3x NCAA Champions;
as a player - 3x All-American,
NCAA Player of the Year ('88) and 2x US Olympian,
Cal Athletic Hall of Fame ('04) and USA Water Polo Hall of Fame ('04)

Few water polo coaches have experienced as much success as Cal head coach Kirk Everist. The three-time NCAA champion coach has amassed a wealth of knowledge in over two decades of instructing high school and collegiate athletes.

This instructional video grants you access inside two days of Cal water polo practices, led by Everist himself. You'll take in two morning and two afternoon practice sessions conducted early in the season as the Golden Bears work to improve their conditioning and technical/tactical skills.

Day 1

Everist begins by taking his team through a preview of the morning practice on a whiteboard. Then, the team conducts an indoor dynamic stretching session before transferring to the pool for lap swimming to complete their warm-up.

Centers and attackers split up to work on position-specific drills. Coach Everist utilizes a whiteboard on the side of the pool to give his players information on the goals for each drill. Repositioning and countering are two of the main skills covered in the individual drills.

Next, you'll see a variety of team drills that Cal uses to work on blocks, defensive positioning, jumping to the ball, and more.

Drills include:

• Two Triangle Drill
• Cut-Throat Drill
• Active Defense Drill
• 6-on-5: Triangle

The day 1 afternoon practice dives deeper into 6-on-5 work, with Everist providing mid-drill talking points to his players that will allow you to hear exactly what he wants his players to work on in the pool. A variety of game situations are explored; with shooting, counter-attacking, and front court offense serving as the highlights of the session.

Both the morning and afternoon practices conclude with team conditioning (plus lap swimming in the morning) and field blocking (plus hip over technique in the afternoon).

Day 2

The warm-up for the morning session of day 2 involves swimming and passing the ball. Goalie-specific warm-up drills are shown as well.

Once his team is ready, Coach Everist moves on to short scrimmage sessions that allow him to pick and choose specific situations to begin each scrimmage. You'll see the Golden Bears work through the following scenarios:

• 6-on-4
• 6-on-5
• 6-on-4 Offense
• 5-on-5

The afternoon practice contains more goalie warm-up drills using a heavy ball and no ball. Everist also splits his players up to allow attackers to work on position-specific skills, including shooting. Finally, he brings his team back together and takes them through more game situations via intra-squad scrimmage, focusing specifically on basic rotations on defense.

Coach Everist's poolside instruction and tactical diagramming are what sets this video apart. You'll come away with tons of drills and tips to help your team maximize their performance this season!

263 minutes (2 videos). 2018.