The objective of the USA Water Polo ODP Program remains to
truly nationalize our sport while providing uniform instruction and training
across all geographies and age groups.
Along with this, ODP increases investment in the development of coaches
and referees. A key objective of ODP for
the 2009-10 year is to invest more resources at the regional level into
athlete, coach and referee development. In order to do this effectively, we
plan to create four “regions” that will encompass 2-3 zones each. This plan also means that we need more
administrative coordination and support to keep the coaches’ attention focused
on the players.
New in 2009-10
ODP Organizational Structure
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National
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Regional
|
Zone
|
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Director
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Regional Technical Directors
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Head Coaches
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Operations Manager
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Referee Instructors
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Coordinators
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National Referee Director
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Head Referees
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National Technical Directors
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Assistant Coaches
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Video Coordinator
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Team Leaders
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Coaches Education Instructors
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Team Referees
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Water Polo
Academy
|
|
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Red:
Positions were in place in Phase 1; the titles may have changed but are already
in place for Phase 2.
White: Positions were place in Phase 1 and the majority of the positions
are already in place for Phase 2.
Blue:
New positions for Phase 2.
National Technical Directors
2 people: one for
each gender
Regional Directors
8 people: one for
each region and gender
Coaches Education Instructors
4 people: Coaches
Education Instructors for On-Line Education
ODP National
Technical Directors
ODP
will hire a Girl’s and Boy’s National Technical Director. The ODP National
Technical Director is a part-time position that directly reports to the
Director of ODP. The primary responsibility of the National Technical Director
is to supervise the ODP Regional Directors to ensure athlete, coach and referee
development is consistently occurring at the Regional and Zone level. The
position will require an average of 15-20 hours per week; some weeks will be
less and some weeks will be more. The National Technical Directors will work in
conjunction with the Director of ODP, in addition to the Director of Referees
and the National Team Staffs to develop and implement an ODP tracking,
evaluation and reporting system to ensure the development of athletes, coaches
and referees is being fully activated at the Regional and Zone levels. The National Technical Directors will serve
as the connection between ODP at the regional level, the Director of ODP and
the National Teams and will be responsible for disseminating, tracking,
evaluating and reporting all
pertinent athlete, coach and referee development information, standards and
metrics.
The
complete job descriptions will be available shortly at teamworkonline.com
ODP Regional
Technical Directors
ODP
will hire for each region and gender a Regional Technical Director. The ODP Regional
Technical Director is a stipend position that directly reports to the ODP National
Technical Director. The ODP Regional Technical Director primary purpose is to
supervise the ODP Zone Head Coaches and Training Teams to ensure athlete, coach
and referee development is consistently occurring. In addition, the ODP Regional
Technical Director will oversee the each respective ODP Zone Training Team
Evaluation Camp. The position will require an average of 10-15 hours per week;
some weeks will be less and some weeks will be more. The ODP Regional Technical
Director will supervise the ODP tracking, evaluation and reporting system for
their respective ODP Region to verify that athlete, coach and referee
development is being fully activated in their Region. The ODP Regional
Technical Director will serve as the connection between ODP National Director,
the Director of ODP and the National Team to their respective Region and will
be responsible for disseminating, tracking and evaluating all pertinent
athlete, coach and referee development information, standards, and
metrics.
An
ODP Regional Technical Director must reside in the Region. The complete job
description will be posted shortly on teamworkonline.com.
Budget
In the new ODP system for 2009-10 we are investing more directly
into zone and regional personnel and athlete, coach and referee development.
ODP Regions
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East
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West
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Northern
California
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Southern
California
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Northeast Zone
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Southwest Zone
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Pacific Zone
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Coastal CA Zone
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Southeast Zone
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Mountain Zone
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Central
CA Zone
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Southern Pacific
Zone
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Midwest Zone
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Pacific Northwest
& Hawaii Zone
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Pacific Southwest
Zone
|
ODP Regional Championships
Each zone training team will bring two teams of 14 to the
Regional Championships. Essentially everyone on the training team will get an
opportunity to be seen at the Regional Championships. Training teams should be
no larger than 36. 28 is a more workable
number in training, but not all athletes will be able to attend all the
training each and every time.
Following the Regional Championships in collaboration a
National Teams Staff member, National Technical Director, Regional Director and
Zone Head Coaches will select a Regional Team of 14 players that will attend
either a Junior (92u) or Youth (94u) National Team Training and Selection Camp
with other players selected from their respective Regional Championships. East,
West and Northern California will get on team each and Southern
California will get two teams. A total of 70 players will be in
the National Training Camp.
ODP Zone Evaluation
Camp
Each zone conducts an Evaluation Camp at the halfway point
of training. Evaluation camp will include competition, training, testing and meetings.
Following the camp each athlete will
receive an evaluation with progressive steps for the next evaluative event; the
Regional Championships.
ODP Training
Each training team will train for a minimum of 60 hours; the
Zone Evaluation Camp and Regional Championships will be counted toward the 60
hours.
ODP Stipend Positions
Besides paying the Head Coaches more money than in phase 1, the
budget also include stipends for the Coordinators, Assistant Coaches and Head
Referees.
ODP Tryouts
There are three levels of tryouts to be conducted.
- Level
1: Athletes born in 1992 and 1993
- Level
2: Athletes born in 1994 and 1995
- Level
3: Athletes born in 1996 and 1997
Athletes who were on their respective training teams in
Phase 1 are automatically named initially to the Phase 2 training team.
Holiday Camp
Holiday Camp is a great USA
Water Polo tradition. ODP believes it is important to continue the Holiday Camp
and this annual camp will now be conducted by ODP. The tryouts for the athletes
born in 1996 and 1997 are for selection to the Holiday Camp. The Holiday Camp
will be overseen by the National Technical Directors and as we move into Phase
2, information will be sent out regarding the process for the 2009 Holiday
Camp.
Other Key Elements
ODP has teamed with
“PoloMetrics” to create a scientific approach to testing and evaluation of
fundamental water polo skills. Phase 2
will include an emphasis on correct fundamentals at all levels; PoloMetrics
will help insure that athletes are executing these fundamentals correctly.
Regional championships ensure
all athletes will compete in tournament format; consensus top performers will
move to the National Training and Selection Camp; Top performers at NTSC will
be selected for Youth and Junior National Teams.
A Word About
“Development”: Athletes progress at
different rates based on learning, genetics, training and competition. USA Water Polo club water polo is the ideal
foundation to learn the game of water polo and to build a strong base of
skills. The ODP program is meant to
provide USAWP clubs and regions with something to offer their most promising
players, which includes evaluation and training with the national team
program. Players in ODP will not all
progress at the same rate, nor should they be expected to do so. Some players may develop later than
others. (Michael Jordan, for example,
was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore!) Players should not become disappointed if
they are not selected to attend the NTSC or selected for a Junior or Youth
national team in a given year. The
important measure for each athlete is improvement over the course of the
program.