ODP Update: Q and A With ODP Director Guy Baker
10/27/2009 12:00:00 AM
Huntington Beach, CA - October 27 - ODP is headed into Phase 2 after a very successful start to Phase 1. With that in mind Guy Baker, Director of ODP spent some time recently to answer a few questions on ODP for usawaterpolo.org.
What are some of the major changes that have been implemented for Phase 2 of the Olympic Development Program (ODP)?
Age Groups
ODP will have two age groups for both genders; athletes born in 1992 and under and 1994 and under. This will be the first time that we have had even year age groups.
National Technical Directors
The National Technical Directors are two new ODP staff positions. We have hired two excellent people. Kim Everist and James Lathrop will be the Girls and Boys National Technical Directors respectively. Both are great additions to ODP. Their primary responsibilities include, connecting ODP to the Senior National Team and National Teams Pipeline, collaborating with Director of Olympic Development and the Senior National Teams to create and implement ODP training, teaching, evaluation and reporting systems along with supervising the Regional Technical Directors and overseeing the ODP Regional Championships and Holiday Camp.
Regional Technical Directors
ODP has added an additional 8 new positions for Phase 2. Each Region will have a Girl’s and Boy’s Regional Technical Director. We are close to filling all the positions. The Regional Technical Directors will supervise the Zone Head Coaches, oversee the Zone Evaluation Camp, be responsible for the ODP Zone Training Team evaluation and reporting system, attend/oversee additional ODP training and manage the Regional Championships.
Online Registration
We now have online registration for ODP training and tryout fees.
Regions
ODP is now divided into 4 regions;
1. East: Northeast, Southeast and Midwest Zones
2. West: Southwest, Mountain and Pacific Northwest and Hawaii Zones
3. Northern California: Pacific and Central CA Zones
4. Southern California: Coastal CA, Southern Pacific and Pacific Southwest Zones
Regional Championships
Each region will conduct a 92u and 94u Girls and Boys Regional Championship. Each gender will conduct the Regional Championships at the same location. Each zone will send two teams to the Regional Championships. We have the dates for three of the four Regional Championships. We are still working on the locations. Following each Regional Championship a regional team will be selected for National Training and Selection Camp held May 28-31 in locations still to be determined. The East, West and Northern California Zones will select one team of fourteen players. The Southern California Region will select two teams of fourteen players.
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Region
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ODP Categories
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Dates
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Location
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East
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All
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May 2-3
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TBD
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West
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All
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TBD
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TBD
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Northern California
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All
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April 18 and 25
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TBD
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Southern California
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All
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April 16-18
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TBD
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ODP Zone Evaluation Camp
Each ODP Zone Training Team conducts an Evaluation Camp at the halfway point of training. The Evaluation camp will include competition, training, testing and meetings. The Regional Technical Directors will oversee the Zone Evaluation Camp. Following the camp each athlete will receive an evaluation with progressive steps for the next evaluative event; the Regional Championships.
The National Training and Selection Camp: May 28-31
There will be four National Training and Selection Camps (NTSC); 92u girls and boys and 94u boys and girls. The NTSC will feature the regional teams playing a round robin ODP National Championship. In addition the NTSC will include testing, technical, tactical training and classroom session and games that will combine the players from their Regional teams. Following the 92u NTSC, the Junior (91u) National Team Staff will select 24-28 players to attend the Junior National Team Training and Selection Camp. Following the 94u NTSC, the Youth (94u) National Team Staff will select 42 players to attend the Youth National Team Training and Selection Camp.
Holiday Camp
The Holiday Camp is one of the great traditions of USA Water Polo. I have attended as a coach instructor in the mid-80's and recently in my new position. It was great then and continues to be as we approach the second decade of the 21st century. ODP is now operating the Holiday Camp and the dates are December 17-21. We are following the same structure that has been in place. With only two changes; we will separate the girls and boys instruction to maximize teaching and increase the coach to player ratio and we are adding referees to the camp to teach the referees in the philosophy that has been applied to the student coaches. There is fee charged as has been in the past, the fees are higher this year because the USOC now charges more for the camp (as with all aspects of ODP the fees cover the expenses of the camp).
The Holiday Camp is for athletes born in 96 and 97. (An athlete born in 95 and in 8th grade is eligible). Each zone will select 10 athletes; (5 girls and 5 boys) 2 coaches and 1 referee.
It is not a requirement for any ODP 96u athlete to attend the Holiday Camp. If an athlete is selected and can't attend then another athlete is selected. We are working on the selection of the athletes with the zones. It maybe too much for an athlete to do both, that is okay. If a 96u is on the ODP 94u zone training team the training team should be their priority.
Kim Everist and James Lathrop will oversee the Holiday Camp. In addition, they will have an additional staff of eight people to ensure the quality of the camp.
I will be attending the Holiday Camp on Saturday and Sunday. Last year was a great experience and it is one of our ODP goals to expand the Holiday Camp numbers in the future.
With any new program there are bound to be adjustments and changes, what are some areas that need to be improved upon moving forward from the first year of ODP?
ODP is a massive project that has many moving parts. There are 226 ODP staff; Directors, Managers, Coordinators, Instructors, Coaches and Referees. (226 does not include the National Teams) Each person has a job to do that is very important to the success of ODP. With numbers this large in a country this large it will take some time to have the system in place that is operating efficiently as possible. I love the direction we are heading. We have maintained from Phase 1 a solid continuity base at the Zone level with Coordinators and Coaches. The Zone Chairs have been very supportive. Randi Burch, the ODP Operations Manager is doing a great job. She is starting her second year of ODP and has been instrumental in the planning and implementation of our structural organization. It is our goal to get the right people in the right structure and then work even harder.
Got to ask the question, do you miss coaching?
I get asked that question all the time. It is not a matter of missing coaching. I love coaching and I will always love coaching. It was my professional passion for an extensive period of time and it was something that I was okay at. I have been very fortunate to have had some success and love my profession. That is more uncommon, than common. When this job opportunity was presented to me, I thought extensively about both positions. At the end of the day, what I am doing now excites me, challenges me and wakes me up in the middle of the night more than coaching. For the lack of a better analogy, there are times in my professional career when I like to be out and over my skies. This is one of those times.
What we are doing in USA Water Polo is very important for the long term success of our National Teams, but more importantly the long term development of our sport. I want to emphasize WE, what excites me is the amount of people it will take for us to have a thriving and successful sport. It will take a significant number of people all moving in the same direction for this project to be a success. That is easier said than done. The first year was a good start; we do have a long ways to go, however, if we can have each year be the building block for the next year we will be able to build a successful and thriving sport.
Thanks Guy!
For more information on ODP and
Phase 2 click here
Olympic Development Program