Final Blog

IRP has drawn to a close and this is my last post. This experience has actually been a helpful one that I can really reflect on. Going into this, I thought that there was not much to be learned from a book about my sport, but it really gave me new ideas that I can and do use during practice and games. I have learned skills, drills, things about having the right mindset, and exercises out of the water that will only benefit my game.

Kentridge playing at Regionals

League Game at Home

I now have to prepare for a tournament in Canada in two weeks. It is going to be really different because they have many different rules up there then we have here and they are much more aggressive. I thing that I can take away from my IRP book for this experience is that "you [I] have to be able to adjust to the environment around me. The game will be different each time you enter the water." (Minami 477). That is so true. There are many in game things that differ each time you enter the water. That is why in practice, it is important to run some of these scenarios.

I also look forward to the new high school season. We have a really good chance to do well at state because in order to qualify to state, you need to get top four at regionals. The group that you go against at regionals changes every year in a 4 year loop since there are 4 teams. This is very good for us because next year, we probably go against the weakest group. Not undermining them, but, we have a very good chance to go to state as a number one seed, and be able to place top 5 at the tournament. It will be exciting to see how we will perform next year with our new team. I will also be passing what I have learned over the year, to them so that we can have the biggest advantage possible. The book also talks about how you are only strong as your weakest link (Minami 235). That means we have to make sure everyone is ready. 

If you have any comments, questions, or conerns, please let me know.

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography:

Minami, Takahisa, Japanese National Team Training. Vol.1. Shinchosha, 2012. Print. 

Question: For different sports, is it the same as water polo where there are some scenarios during games that are different each time and you really cannot prepare for them until experiencing them? 

Post Tournament Reflection

I talked about ODP in my last post and it was a very fun experience. I learned so much from the coaches that came down from California, which is like the center of water polo. They knew so much about the game and could really answer any of our questions. They gave us some great insight to what their experience was when they played, how much has changed, and tricks to better our games.

Scrimmage against Blue Team

I thought that overall I played well. Well enough to make the team, I don't know. My defense was definitely able to keep up with most of the players, but I did lack that aggressiveness on offense. I do not think that it was really physical ability holding me back, more me not wanting to mess up in front of the coaches. Again, from my last post, my mindset was not there so I was not able to really succeed. In order to do better next time I need to "visualize what the goal is and then believe that [you] I can do it" (Minami 474). 

This was a good experience for me even if I don't make the team. I learned so many new skills and drills that I can apply to me own practice and  my games. I was also able to compare myself to all of the best players in the PNW. There were many skilled players, as there were many players that really didn't know what was going on. My IRP book also talks about how being coach-able is something that people look at also (Minami 511). This means that the athlete is able to take criticism from coaches and is able to learn from it. There were many players at the camp that carried attitudes. That is something that I have to keep in mind at my own practices and games. 

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns,. please let me know.

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography: Minami, Takahisa. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchosha. 2012, Print. 

Question: Have you ever been so nervous to impress someone that you ended up messing up anyway? 

ODP Tournament

Since my last post, I have been training really hard to perfect my skills. I finally have the chance now to put them to the test. There is a camp coming up called ODP which stands for Olympic Development Program. This is where all of the club players around the pacific northwest compete for 14 spots on the regional team. This is going to be a really hard thing to accomplish and I am kind of nervous. I have to be really focused and "my mindset has to be that I can accomplish [this]" (Minami 483). My IRP book talks a lot about having the right mindset and that is the key to success. If you go into something thinking that it is to hard or that you will not be able to accomplish it, then you set yourself up for failure (Minami 475).

My High School Team at Regionals Tournament

This is an example of when I had to be extremely focused and had to mentally prepare. At our regionals tournament, we had our first game against Shorewood. The first two quarters did not go our way. We were getting beat on transition and our defense was sub par. We went down 8-1 by half. This was our state qualifying on the line. We knew we had to either focus up or we were going to lose. Then after this talk, we were able to come back and take the lead by the end of the third quarter, racking up 10 points.

We did however lose this match in triple overtime in sudden death. This was a sad moment, but made me realize that our team really did have the chance to comeback from a huge deficit and prove everyone who was doubting us wrong.  I also proved to myself that I could have the right mindset because in those last few quarters, I had 7 goals. 

If you have any comments questions or concerns, please let me know. 

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography: Minami, Takahisi. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchocha, 2012. Print.

Question: If you play sports, what is the biggest deficit you have had to comeback from, and was your mindset going into it appropriate for you to win or did you give up? 

Winter Break Training

Since my last post, not much has happened. For practice, we have been given the time off because finding time at a pool was challenging. So for me, I have been doing exercises from my IRP book in order to try and stay in shape for when we come back in January.

Shoulder Exercises with Band

I have been doing many exercises with bands to strengthen my shoulders and legs. The books states that "strengthening your shoulders allows for better shot selection and passing abilities" (Minami 373). In other words, it is basically saying that when your shoulders become stronger, there are many more different types of shots that you can perform, for example a skip shot, and are able to pass the ball faster and with more accuracy. This helps because the more shots you have at your arsenal, the more that you can beat a goalie because they do not know what to expect. Also, since passing is faster and more accurate, you can confuse the goalie and defenders much easier. 

Athletic Tape on Shoulder

Since I have been using my shoulders so much with the band and have been swimming for Kentridge's high school team, I have been having soreness and aches in my shoulders. Minami says that "overusing your shoulders can lead to injury and can lead to a lot of time out of the water" (Minami 367). It also says that there are many ways to prevent injuries like these. Using athletic tape in the photo above can help relieve pain in muscles. You must also do a ton of stretching in order to loosen your muscles (Minami 368). 

After doing many of these things, my right shoulder has felt better, but still tenses up during swim practice. Now, I have to look forward to practice starting on January 3rd and the upcoming tournaments. 

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know. 

Thanks,

Milo Andersen

Bibliography:

Minami, Takahisa. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchosha, 2012. Print. 

Question:

Should athletes practice through injuries or take time off in order to recover? 

  

Introductory to Water Polo Training

Water polo is a very intense and physical sport. It demands very strenuous training and conditioning to be able to compete at high levels. There is also a mental aspect to the game. In like all team sports, there are rules restraining things such as being off-sides, starting fights with other players, and using the walls and the bottom of the pool to your advantage. Water polo is also played with very good teamwork. Teams that do not have the chemistry and ability to work together do not make it very far in winning. Winning takes all 7 players in the water playing together in offense, defense, and transitions.

Leg sets during practice with 5lb ball

Myself playing at Junior Olympics in August

 I have chosen to use a book from Japan that my grandmother gave me in order to better my skills. The book is titled "Japanese National Team Training". It is looks into many different scenarios that can happen in games, different types of ways of how to train, what mindset you should be in for practice and games, how to really focus on one part of the game that you want to work on. and plays that your team could try out and see if they work. One example from the book that it explains is give the ball to the 3 position or your "point" position. On the left side of the pool, the number one offender will slide up and the number two offender will slide in. This makes the defense think that the ball is going to the left side of the pool. Then have the three offenders on the right and line up in a horizontal line. You then have the number 4 offender set a pick on the number 5 defender. The 5 offender will try drive across the pool to draw the 4 defender and the 6 defender away by going to the cage and looking like a threat of scoring. This will leave the number 6 offender open because they went behind the number 4 offender. They should have a open look in the middle of the cage with no one guarding them.

White (Offense)
Dark (Defense)

My major goals through reading this book is to strengthen my legs and work on my passing. Using your legs is very important in water polo. Legs are how you can get out of the water and make it easier to pass or shoot the ball since your arms and body do not have to fight through the water. They also help in defending because you can use your legs to tread the person you are guarding out of position. In the picture, you can see my teammate Johnathan Borte, who was a senior on our Kentridge team, get out of the water to his suit and was able to give a very powerful shot on goal. This gives you a downward angle to the goal and makes it much harder for the goalie or shot blocker to defend it. 

My teammate Johnathan Borte

Japanese national team member showing mobility

The books states that "Legging up gives mobility and more free movement in arms. This creates better shot attempts, better and quicker passes, and also more intense fakes against the goalie" (Minami 341). Using your legs in water polo is very important. You use them throughout the whole game. This is why I want to strengthen my legs. "In order to strengthen your legs, you must be dedicated to do it every day in practice. Work on your legs individually for about 15 minutes. Then you can work on passing, faking, and shooting while trying to tread as high as you can while maintaining that height" (Minami 342). Overall, over this project I'll be posting on how well I have developed, especially with how much my treading and passing improve.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know. 

Thanks, Milo Andersen

Bibliography:

 Minami, Takahisa. Japanese National Team Training. Vol. 1. Shinchosha, 2012. Print.

Question: What can you do out of the water to also help with my goal of gaining more strength and working on my hand-eye coordination for passing?