FAQs
What does my athlete need in terms of equipment to get started?
Boys in 14u and younger wear a mix of jammers (like a speedo, but goes down to the knees, like bike shorts) or speedos. 16u and 18u players mostly wear speedos. Water-polo specific speedos are recommended as they’re built with a more durable fabric. You can find these in the team gear section of our site. If you wish to have a second practice suit, GH Sports on South Higuera in San Luis Obispo is a great place to find one. Boys should also come to practice with goggles for swim conditioning.
Girls can wear two piece suits for practice, but one piece is recommended. One piece is necessary for games. Water polo specific suits are built with tougher fabric and more coverage that makes the suit stay in its intended place. You can find this gear in our team store or at GH Sports on South Higuera in San Luis Obispo. Girls should also come to practice with a swim cap if they have long hair and goggles for swim conditioning.
What are practices like?
Practices usually start with a warmup, then fitness conditioning for both swimming and treading water, and then water polo specific skill training. Swim fitness is a large component of water polo success, so swim/treading conditioning increases in intensity and duration as age groups progress older. Younger groups will do conditioning as well, but we are careful to introduce conditioning progressively so as to not burn our young athletes out. “Fun” in water polo is a mix of immediate fun in practice, and longer-term fun/fulfillment that comes from athletes seeing themselves and their teams improve. We do our best to strike age-and-athlete appropriate balances of these two types of fun. We want athletes to enjoy practices and also enjoy seeing their skill and fitness progress significantly over time.
Do you offer a trial period?
Yes! We offer a two week trial period. If your athlete decides that water polo isn't for them, we will refund your dues. This aligns with USA Water Polo's trial membership as well (click "Athlete Membership Types" at this link): USA Water Polo Membership Page
What is “eggbeatering”?
Eggbeater is a specific way of treading water that is necessary to play water polo. Don’t worry - we teach new athletes how to eggbeater! Eggbeatering is a fundamental skill that enables endurance during play, hard shooting, great defense, good passing, etc. Here’s a good intro to what eggbeatering looks like: LINK
I’m new to water polo. What are the rules?
Water polo is a dynamic, challenging sport whose rules can be confusing at first. Here’s a link to USA Water Polo’s full rulebook, and here’s a link to a shorter summary of the kinds of referee calls you’ll see in the game.
