Ive played waterpolo in highschool at top level. so national to international level and its intense. I had 16 hours of training each week combined with school and i passed out 2 times in my life because of training. its a difficult sport and a lot of mental games with your body to keep going. You just keep going because you enjoy the sport
@@seniorbush7164 ya I feel you did water polo 4 years of my highschool, an it was brutal. Threw up twice in my 4 years, and almost fainted luckily I was strong enough to resist
as someone who can barely swim, this was incredible to watch! The exercise/practice regimes they go through are crazy, massive props to these incredible athletes and best of luck at the games!
@@youtubecommenter37 That makes sense. SEALs are one with the water. If you have been wrestling in water in high school, it build water confidence I could imagine.
I used to row crew in high school. One day we had to stay inside because the water outside was too choppy for rowing. So we played water polo instead. I'm pretty sure that one game of water polo was the most exhausting thing I've ever done in my entire life.
That’s a strong statement, coming from someone who has experienced the pain of a 2k ergo test. I’ve also never heard of anyone puking/passing out from water polo. I was on my country’s junior rowing squad during high school and one guy from my class was in the junior national polo squad. I used to do 13 sessions per week( sometimes 3 times in one day) and he did something like 6 or 7. Obviously I have never played WP professionally, but I’ve played with him for “fun” and I never felt tired really(he destroyed everyone though xD). I’ve done many sports in my life pre and post rowing but nothing has made me reach even 70% of the fitness level I had back then.
Well to be fair, as an old water polo player, using a rowing machine is one of the most tiring workouts I’ve ever done :) your body adjusts to the activity you do regularly. But god damn did I eat a lot of food during the season 😂
@@Leorqleo never heard of anyone puking ? i almost died from fitness Swimming 10X100m leaving on 1m10s is more difficult then a 2km row i have done 2km rows for fun against my friends never will i swim 10X100m for fun
@@Leorqleo my highschool is extremely good at water polo, and we win states most years. I could not disagree with your first statement at all. After you get out of like 10-15 mins in the water, some people will pass out, and puke at least once per season
I remember my first time playing water polo. It was during PE, and the teacher took the swimmers too good for the normal lesson (including me), over to the other basin to try out water polo. I thought it would be fun and easy just tossing a ball around but I quickly got smarter. For me water polo is 2 minutes of "this is fun, I'm fine" until the fatigue hits you, and turns it into "If I have to throw the ball once more I'm 100% going to drown". Fun sport!
@@Emma.S. water polo is too niche for atheletes to make decent money even at the high end of the spectrum. This video is an exaggeration. Logically they either cant make enough money to live off. Or they are lacking on sleep which is hugely beneficial to training. Or more likely, they are exaggerating, people this high up in sports or a career like to make rumours around themselves.
honestly it becomes almost like muscle memory once you do it for a while. I had to do 2:30 hour practices a day and we were never allowed to touch the walls and eventually you just get use to it.
A short list of some of the gnarlier injuries I had playing WP: -hairline rib fractures -bruised nipples from getting them twisted so hard -concussion from accidental head butts -semi-dislocated jaw from getting kicked in the face Not to mention the countless sprained fingers/skin gouges/torn swimming costumes. And that's just from playing in a Division 2 high school league in pokey old NZ for a couple years! I've never had so much fun playing a team sport though, and would do it all again in a heartbeat ❤️
@@AJTheInvisibleGirlthere have been past instances of boys SAing girls while playing. Some schools are too small and have no womens team so they play co-ed. Very rare but its horrible.
I played water polo for about 4 years. In those 4 years, i took half a year break after the third year. And that literally pushed me back to square one. I had to practice for another half a year just to get back to how good i was before the break. It really shows how much consistency and dedication you must have to play this sport.
I played water polo for 7 years and I'm gonna be honest with you, it never gets easier. As you move through the age brackets the more aggressive the teams get and the drills get more complicated. You'd have the basics like running 1 or 5 but then complicated drills like UCLA. I highly recommend this sport if you are looking to get into shape because there wasn't once a day where I came home feeling full of energy. You can also pick what you're good at. I was a sprinter, offensive counter attack player, and deep wing player. You can be a shooter that shoots up top from 2, 3, and 4. Or you can enjoy getting multiple bruises in center. If you're feeling even more daring. Try out being a goalie where you let balls that travel at speeds of 45 mph go directly into your face. Had a goalie break his nose blocking a ball. Have fun!
Agreed in high school I get home after practice struggling to stay awake to finish my homework and pass out the second I got into bed. The amount of times I was watching ESPN on my phone before bed and dosed off to have my phone smack me in the face is crazy. 😂
Ex pro waterpolo player from europe here, it got easier as i became better and better, you just have to sacrefice everything, I mean everything. Then you can enjoy fighting, swimming and tactics. During play off it was like 1 training in the morning usualy easy like 1 to 2 km of easy swimming and then just passing and shooting, in theevening 1 hour of crossfit, 1 hour of swimming or leg training, 1 hour of tactics and shooting :D I played center defence btw and really enjoyed those fights. I once met Tamas Farago (one of the legends of the sport) during our friendly match between my sport high school from Košice Slovakia against BVSC Budapest
I tried polo once, our school was trying to familiarize us with a new sport. I was very athletic , running playing football or basketball for at least 1 hour a day , always full of energy. But i still remember that day in the swimming pool , we played less than 30 minutes and i was struggling to keep my head over the water. That's when i realized how difficult this sport is.
As a swimmer this just blows my mind, they already say swimming is one of the most intense workouts you can do because it works out basically everything plus being cardio but swimming is nothing compared to this. It is so much harder to tread water on top of interacting with someone else in the water for an extended period of time. I mean just what she is doing at 03:00 and how she able to hold that while there is basically no disturbance on the water is incredible and would take an incredible amount of core strength on top of her legs and arms. The next time you're in the pool try and tread water with just two legs and one arm and see how long it takes for you to get winded or to feel overwhelmed.
It is a special kind of treading water though, it is actually easier than the normal treading water that they teach in survival, its all about learning your way of doing it so you stay up and don't get tired. They should actually teach this type more often because I find that it takes longer to become exhausted as you are not trying to keep your whole body up, you are essentially sitting in a chair not trying to run in the water, also it allows you to put a hand up while your other hand is helping to keep you a float.
Which is why it's not the most popular sport in the world, people simply would rather put in a reasonable workout instead of pushing their bodies to the limit each time they compete, being a team sport, Water Polo players compete quite often in their own respective leagues and tournaments where they have to perform physically strenuous movements and maneuvers for extended periods of time that may cause elongated periods of Physical exhaustion, people who are able to compete are typically extremely fit and healthy which allows them to play regularly without issue, which I personally see as a feat of human athletic ability
You get used to it quite quick and it becomes natural. Imo the most exhausting often used movement was "launching" up for a greater reach for receiving/defending passes or a shot. You use much more energy in a "launch" than in continuous floating in my experience.
i disagree, its harder in a sense that you have to master alot of things however swimming requires a ridiculous amout of training at a maximum intensity. I think swimming is harder in a sense that its so physically demanding. Ive played alot of waterpolo and swam at the highest level for my age and i would way rather play 100 games of waterpolo than swim a 400 im at a meet .
As someone who practiced swimming for a while, this is incredibly difficult. Moving your legs like that to stay afloat? Thats some crazy amount of force and stamina, to do that for 40+ minutes is pretty insane
It becomes second nature after years of playing. the hardest part is how easily you can be overpowered; you think you’re strong until someone pushes you under then you have to get up and carry on playing. When I first started I barely had my head out of the water most of the time lol.
Funny anecdote: My son played water polo all four years of high school, and was the team's MVP his senior year (2000). Also his senior year, the school got a new football coach, who's mindset was that WP players were wimps. So the WP coach challenged the football coach to a little scrimmage of only one 7 minute quarter, which, of course, the WP team won easily. The football coach then challenged the WP team to a little football scrimmage, where the WP squad absolutely destroyed the football players by scoring four touchdowns in just one 12 minute quarter while holding the football team scoreless. Needless to say, the football coach gained a whole lot of respect for water polo after that! Epilogue: Both teams won their league championships that year, but lost at the regional level. I certainly enjoyed watching my son grow as he played, both physically, mentally, and most importantly, his maturity due to the discipline required by this sport. It has served him well in his USAF career.
@@penguin-tc1cx because American football is not something you can just do and be good at just like a lot of sports. So it is difficult for a WP team to do plays, read defenses, make smart taxkels and block.
I remember starting water polo in 9th grade with no prior swimming experience other than the fact I knew how to keep myself afloat. That first day legit had me crawling when I got back home from the first practice. 10th grade and I still play this sport, it also helps me stay in shape because of how much you have to work out
I've played this game for more than 10 years. The main problem with WP is that is boring to watch on the stands or the TV. It's like watching only the upper body of an Handball match. I (and the people that played) understand how exhausted the players are and know what's going underwater. But people that don't know the game will be bored. But it's a sport that requires 95% training and 5% talent.
I can only speak for myself here, but during the 2012 olympics I decided to check out the Water Polo and found it mesmerising. I quickly recognised how intense it was, and since then It's something I always look forward to watching at the olympics! It's a sport I really wish was bigger over here in the UK. I'm only a spectator, and so wont be able to fully understand how hard it is to actually play, but it's a sport I highly admire, and I always try to convince my friends to watch it!
As someone who plays (only in high school) this sport is super intense, but I’d say it’s so fun :) it’s taught me to not blame myself for everything (being a goalie and a wing) it’s pretty tiring but honestly once you get in the groove of the game you barely notice. Can say some girls get super mean 😭 but again, it’s a really great and fun sport. Super underrated in my opinion
Agreed it teaches you that things happen that are not your fault and that you have to rely on others to help you, I have been a goalie for 20 years now and trust me it gets easier :) I also feel being a goalie it teaches you to lead, because you are the only one that can see all the plays happening and you have to be able to tell your team where to go to help you.
@@amaiers4861 the depth doesn’t matter, no one can stand up (it’s illegal). I’m not the tallest person of my age and when I play, height isn’t really a factor. The height of the head above the water depends mainly on leg and core strength.
I played waterpolo in High School as well as swimming on the swim team and I Loved every second of It!! One of the things I'm glad I did when I look back on life!! I wish I got to play again
I played waterpolo and was honestly more focused on not drowning. One of the few sports I rly don't like playing. Watching it doesn't show how impressive/difficult it is.
@@YBehri Yeah cause they have underwater cameras and only a few players in a controlled enviroment. Unless we have a cheap way to install a 360 degree camera that can capture both the topside and bottom of the pool while ignoring all the bubbles and water reflection from the sun etc. While being not intrusive to the players competing for a medal. Its almost impossible to watch and be entertained for the casual audience. So no one really wants to sponsor a sport like that.
@@sarahhanes8438 I’ve played for 5 years now and would highly recommend it. Toughest sport I’ve played, but incredibly rewarding and great for fitness. Don’t give up on joining!
i'm a competitive swimmer (train 8 times a week) , and i have gotta say that all of us swimmers look at the waterpolo players like they are crazy, its hilarious. it looks absolutely terrifying to do, props to any waterpolo players out there!!
Water polo plays 4 quarters, like basketball, but they're 8 minutes each whereas basketball is 12 minutes each (this is for professional level, another user confirmed quarters are 7 min in high school). Players are typically subbed in and out every 1-4 minutes because it's damn tiring to be sprinting, defending, and flying out of the water for any longer than that. The "hole set" or just "set" position is much like the center in basketball. These are also typically your biggest and strongest guys on the team and the way they set up on offense is to have their back to the goal and jockeying for position while the defender (again, this is often the opponent's biggest/strongest dude) is, for all intents and purposes, trying to swim on top of the set player and pulling him down. Actually swimming on top of someone is a foul, but a lot of it goes unnoticed because it's happening under water. Imagine treading water with a 210+ lb absolute beast of a man actively holding you back and down, trying to prevent you from getting air or away from him. To top it off, because the set position plays in front of the goal, they need to swim nearly the maximum wall-to-wall distance when going offense to defense. Set is easily the most demanding and tiring position to play. Goalkeepers need to be able to hover out of the water to their hips using only their legs as they need both their arms out of the water to defend against shot attempts. When I say hover, I mean they need to be hips high out of the water for 3+ seconds sometimes. Next time you go swimming, try even shooting out of the water to your waist. If you can do that, try to your hips. If you can do that, try holding that position for as long as possible. Insanity. I loved my water polo days in high school but I also don't miss it. Now I just enjoy rock climbing and lifting at the gym, hahaha.
Fab information mate, clearly see sport is important in your life. Leaves us with fantastic memories, I remember being selected to represent my school in the high jump, after qualifying I went onto represent them at the regional championship, where I placed 3rd. Bronze💙. My PE treacher Olyimpic Bronze medalist Mr John Sherwood, (at the time I nor any of the other school kids fully realized the extent of Sherwoods achievements, to us he was just a super cool, relaxed encouraging teacher, we 💙 him) was one of the judges. I noticed him sectretly rooting for me. What a proud moment in front of a full Donvalley stadium. In these momemts ones realizes you can do anything you set your mind to. (This is sport) Still hand the certificate on the wall. I now encouraging my little ones to love sports. Sports unites all.
I just completed in the Junior Olympics for waterpolo in socal. Definitely an insane sport. The practice regimens are insane even at the high school and 18u level. 4-5 hours a day on top of being a dual sport athlete and a student. As crazy as it was I miss it so badly
Waterpolo was my sport of choice throughout middle school though half of college. Never realized how strange and unique it was until now watching this. God I loved the sport. The memories and experiences that it gave me made me into who I was today.
I'm so glad it's getting more popular. I played it in high school having never heard of the sport before. Turns out I am a natural set guard and absolutely loved it.
I’m currently in high school and this sport is so fun. I’m glad insider posted this because it’s really fun to watch documentaries about a sport you play
I was watching this and trying to figure out if they were treading water the whole time. Seeing them pop out of the water like they do I thought no way they don't have a ground. Insane the amount of endurance that is needed for this sport.
They were popping up out of the water that far without touching the bottom. In competition the treading water is going to be treading water/wrestling. Water polo is (not so) secretly one of the dirtiest sports you can play. If the ref doesn't see it then it's effectively legal. ~80% of the time spent in a game is vertical with treading water and almost all of their bodies are underwater and therefore the ref can't see what is happening under the surface. When swimming there's still elbows getting thrown, kicking, punching, grabbing opponents to stop them while pulling yourself to where you want to go.
Honestly people always are saying that treading is the most impressive part, but egg beating becomes a second nature. Swimming back and forth up and down especially on back to back turnovers is what really kills you. Egg beating is a super effective technique that once mastered, you can tread for a long time
I'm quite a new water-polo player (about 2 years since starting with my biggest tournament being British u15 NAGs). Whenever I'm playing I never realise how tired I am until swapped out listening to my teammates talk while I'm sitting silent gasping for air. I love every aspect of this sport so much, it's got to be my favourite hobby/passion.
As a former High School Water Polo player, I’m content by the detail of the sport in this video. It’s not a very easy sport, you just got to have enough strength, speed, and agility for when you’re practicing or playing in a game.
I've only played a couple of times, but by god it is very physically demanding. Imagine it like combining three different sports and then holding your breath for half of it. Constantly found myself bursting from the surface gasping for air.
Played water polo in college. Never been so tired than after water polo scrimmage or tournaments, but the game itself is just phenomenal. Turning your arm in to a cannon is a great feeling too!
As an old lifeguard for Woollett I had the privilege to watch many national water polo teams like the men’s Swedish national team and chinas female national team both insanely gifted and strong with a water polo ball
The Chinese women's team are amazing, I saw them once at Yum Cha in Sydney - I think they were out here for a tournament, talk about incredible players, same with the Australians.
As someone who played water polo for 5 years I can confirm that out of all the sports in the world water polo is up there in brutality when it comes to contact sports, especially since the only protection we get are the ear cage guards.
it's amazing, I have not seen a full game of water polo until this Tokyo Olympics, I couldn't believe how tough that game is, players grab, they kick, they punch, they hang and so on, so competitive and hard
The best part of watching this video is seeing the workout area that the USA team uses since I use to practice there for club waterpolo. It is called the Joint Forces Training Base located Los Alamitos, CA, and I was fortunate to see the pool being set up for these Olympians, but never had the chance to meet them. Otherwise though, a lot of memories seeing that place again and great video too 👍🏽
It also helps prevent cauliflower ear from elbows. You can also help prevent popping your eardrum when a ball hits the side of your head at nearly 50 miles an hour. The kind of physicality that takes place in water polo, if it happened in an NBA game, you wouldn't get ejected, nor suspended, you would get arrested. At the highest international level water polo is a combat sport.
My father was a college all American water polo player he tried out for the Olympics in the 70s. He told me a story about this goalie he was up againstwho was amazing. And after so many blocked shots my dad stopped trying to score and instead just started throwing the ball as hard as he could at the goalies face. After getting facialed a couple times the goalie started flinching on shots
believe me, i am an ex Waterpolo Pro from Germany, if you want to play with the girls, you will never servive 1 min of a Game! If they will give 100% against you, you will be dead after the second attack, sorry.
All these women are stronger than me for sure, and I am a 31-year-old dude. Just simply "standing" in water is hard enough, but leaping out of it, and all those other motions makes me respect them even more. This has to be one of the toughest sports out there, if not the toughest. Did not even know about it until now.
I played water polo all the way up to high school. Swimming regular freestyle is hard, but head-up freestyle while dribbling the ball right in front of your line of sight in addition to someone literally at your heels is a whole different story. With passing, it's not like throwing a football, you have to angle yourself a little to the side otherwise you elbow gets slowed down by the water (in europe they throw a certain way such that their arm has more range in motion). I played goalie, and while you're not swimming as much as your teammates in the game, outside of that you're expected to do the same conditioning as them in addition to specific training such as long-passing (literally from the goal all the way to the 2 or 4 spot on the other side of the pool without missing), moving from one side of the goal to the other because the ball has been passed from one side of the defense to the other, and then the stress of having to communicate to your team that their shot clock is running out of time or that they need to look out for a cross-pick. Don't even get me started on when one of your teammates gets ejected and now it's 6-5 defense. Then you have to coordinate with your teammates where you need them to be such that they can help you block the ball since now the offense has wider angles to shoot from. Aside from the physical demands, the annoying things are when your cap breaks or falls off during a game, your goggles getting stolen, the chlorine is horribly high, and when you forget to clip your nail ahead of time of the nail check and now you have to bite them and scrape them along the pool deck to get the jagged-ness off lol
As someone who played in Junior Olympics for water polo. This sport is way more physical than people see above water. My teammate broke his ribs when taking a shot when someone elbowed him. I highly recommend watching the underwater cameras to see what really goes on in the game.
One thing i know about WP is that if its your first time trying it, it will humble you and you will have a new found respect for the sport and its athletes
I've played handball on and off for 7 years and I know how brutal it is for the body. All of your body is constantly pushed and pulled around like a mannequin while trying to pass the ball or score a goal. However, I have also witnessed how much strength and endurance a water polo player requires. They are so damm amazing! All my respect for these athletes.
I did Aquajogging for the first time ever yesterday as a bonus training session for the upcoming handball season from the team I joined this year (my first season ever)... I never really thought much of it and assumed it's something relaxing... I was so lost, i felt as if I spend 45 mins not knowing what I am doing and concentrating just stay afloat so yeah, I retract my stance on aquajogging: It's pretty damn tough, but damn fun when you're doing it with your team. I can't even imagine how much harder just staying afloat becomes after adding a ball and basiclly making it Aquajogging and Handball at once... huge respect for the water polo players all over this planet!
I always thought it was boring to watch others, yet fun to play it yourself. Now that I've learned more about it, I no longer think of it as boring but rather than, being pretty intense
A few years ago a photographer released a series of shots of all the struggling underwater and they were SO cool and interesting. I wish they'd show more of that during the Olympics
I have tried many sports before finding Water polo, and I can say that I can never forget this sport. I miss it so much! The best sport ever (at least I see it that way). It was the best 5 and 1/2 years of my life. Now I have no day passing without thinking about this sport and how much I miss it.
I originally thought water polo was a game where a tagger that has to close their eyes say marco and the runners say polo and the tagger has to try and listen to the runners and tag them. It’s technically like playing tag in the dark but in the water
0:27 or 0:28- "We had been thinking this one thing, and it had been taken away from us." That quote relates to a lot of people that were thinking 2020 was going to be a good year, they were thinking that they were going to be able to do their plans and they couldn't.
A little reminder for you remember to take a step back and look at how far you have come and congratulate yourself remember your doing amazing sending love from me and my followers
It needs to be better recognised everywhere, we have local leagues all over Australia and New Zealand but they aren't followed as they should be, I'd much prefer to watch a water polo game than a rugby match.
I played for more than 10 years and I have to disagree that it's fun to watch. I mean, in TV it's looks so slow and boring and I know what's going on tactically and underwater, I imagine it's even worst for people that don't know the game. But playing its 100% the opposite. Best sport ever.
i used to play this with friends all the time when we were on vacation. Although I don't think you could really call ours a proper water polo but hey it was great fun. 😂
The amazing thing that I never noticed when I was younger was how I played all 4 quarters and never got tired. I literally couldn’t get enough. I did save my energy by changing my treading water method. Sometime only hands sometimes legs.
Iron man! That's what our team called it. We only had 6 + goalie guys for a tournament one weekend and ended up having to play 7 games in 2 days with no subs. Most fun I have ever had
Bro Me to I also play 4 quarters almost 90% of the match cause I'm a left hand right wing player but the hype that I get while playing the game is what fuels me to be not tired specially when the crowd is cheering my name
for someone who's played WP for over four years, with additional pre like 10 years of squad swimming, this sport is the most fun thing ever, training is so much harder than games and can easily cause fatigue. If there are free trials, definitely try it out!
lol, hungary has sth to say about that... look at the number of their olympic, world, european championships... it's absolutely crazy. they've also won 3 straight olympic golds from 2000 to 2008. they were in a slump recently, but they have recently won another europen championship and now the bronze in tokyo. they are coming back to the top, no doubt.
@@davidovics92 It's very funny how all of you hungarian fans tell same story ("ooo please, Serbian team, look at us, we have 9 olimpic golds, we play it for 100 years", bla bla...) and nobody mention that Serbs were winning medals before, as part of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia had 7 Olympic, 4 World Championship, 5 World Cup and 13 European Championship medals! Who did that, Martians?? Serbs were that, too, so stop with amnezia please!
Every sport is different and comparing the level of difficulty is completely absurd. Huge respect whatever these sports person are doing for their country.
Y’all don’t know how hard waterpolo is…I’ve tried it and 5min in water im already tired and couldn’t stay afloat lol.(I’m a competitive swimmer too lol)
Fun fact about water polo: the reason we do eggbeatering rather than scissor kicking for treading water is because eggbeater actually keeps you higher up for less energy. But it’s still insanely intense. My high school team would have 3 hour practices, sometimes with an additional hour before school.
Omg the effort they have to give in is uff. A big respect and wishes to these athletes. Staying in water for long time maintaining health and fitness is next level. 🙏
I wish they had a camera in the Olympics under the water as well. Maybe then more people would see how intense this sport is and give it the recognization it needs.
I would say that just watching people playing waterpolo is not nearly enough to understand how hard it is. If you want to have a closer idea of its difficulty without investing much, try going into a pool that is deep enough so that you cant touch the ground. Then start floating with your head above the water. Then try to raise one arm. Then raise both. Then try to keep both arms raised while you ascend while floating. This exercise is the base for the sport. After that you may learn to swim a lot, grapple with your opponent, pass and shoot the ball. It is a great sport and I recommend it to everyone to at least try. While difficult, it is actually pretty hard to injure yourself so it is friendly for older people. And the floating skill you gain may save your live one day
All olympic sports are tough and distance running is no joke, but in my opinion the hardest has to be boxing. Just from sheer intimidation, it's very difficult for people to even get the guts to try it the first time, you have to actually step in the ring with violent people with rough upbringings and beat them up.
I love learning about this interesting sport. Next Olympics or if health concerns get better I will definitely look to watch them. They inspire me to work hard for something I want.
In high school our coach made our goalie wear a 10 pound weight belt, and tread water while holding an unfolded metal folding chair above his head. Then every know and again he would put a partially full sparklers water jug on the chair
As someone who plays waterpolo at a HIGHSCHOOL level, it's extremely intense and I can't even imagine how tough the olympic level athletes are at
I play too, but i love it so much. i am so tired after training but i cant help but loving the sport
Ive played waterpolo in highschool at top level. so national to international level and its intense. I had 16 hours of training each week combined with school and i passed out 2 times in my life because of training. its a difficult sport and a lot of mental games with your body to keep going. You just keep going because you enjoy the sport
@@seniorbush7164 ya I feel you did water polo 4 years of my highschool, an it was brutal. Threw up twice in my 4 years, and almost fainted luckily I was strong enough to resist
depending on where you are located i could maybe get you a chance to meet the team captain of the 2000 us national women's team.
my ex played water polo and im convinced the sport only exists so the players can complain about how hard it is to everyone else lmao
as someone who can barely swim, this was incredible to watch! The exercise/practice regimes they go through are crazy, massive props to these incredible athletes and best of luck at the games!
Same here terrible swimmer
Hey a cuber!
I didnt know u have other channel..lol
I mean this channel
:O
Dana is here
@@prakharlal9909 I am everywhereeeee :p
I played water polo in high school and now in college. It’s an amazing sport. My coaches daughter is on the Irish Olympic team, such a beast!
It look so difficult
Then you must watch water polo anime "RE-MAIN"
@@ConanObrien22 it’s quite difficult but after you start to get good, it gets easier, but never completely easy
My friend became a Navy Seal after high school and said he would not have made it through BUDS had he not played water polo for four years
@@youtubecommenter37 That makes sense. SEALs are one with the water. If you have been wrestling in water in high school, it build water confidence I could imagine.
I used to row crew in high school. One day we had to stay inside because the water outside was too choppy for rowing. So we played water polo instead. I'm pretty sure that one game of water polo was the most exhausting thing I've ever done in my entire life.
That’s a strong statement, coming from someone who has experienced the pain of a 2k ergo test. I’ve also never heard of anyone puking/passing out from water polo.
I was on my country’s junior rowing squad during high school and one guy from my class was in the junior national polo squad. I used to do 13 sessions per week( sometimes 3 times in one day) and he did something like 6 or 7. Obviously I have never played WP professionally, but I’ve played with him for “fun” and I never felt tired really(he destroyed everyone though xD). I’ve done many sports in my life pre and post rowing but nothing has made me reach even 70% of the fitness level I had back then.
Well to be fair, as an old water polo player, using a rowing machine is one of the most tiring workouts I’ve ever done :) your body adjusts to the activity you do regularly. But god damn did I eat a lot of food during the season 😂
@@Leorqleo never heard of anyone puking ? i almost died from fitness Swimming 10X100m leaving on 1m10s is more difficult then a 2km row i have done 2km rows for fun against my friends never will i swim 10X100m for fun
@@Leorqleo my highschool is extremely good at water polo, and we win states most years. I could not disagree with your first statement at all. After you get out of like 10-15 mins in the water, some people will pass out, and puke at least once per season
@@Leorqleo well i know loads of people who have passed out from waterpolo and i also know some who have trown up
I remember my first time playing water polo. It was during PE, and the teacher took the swimmers too good for the normal lesson (including me), over to the other basin to try out water polo. I thought it would be fun and easy just tossing a ball around but I quickly got smarter.
For me water polo is 2 minutes of "this is fun, I'm fine" until the fatigue hits you, and turns it into "If I have to throw the ball once more I'm 100% going to drown". Fun sport!
Damn 6-7 hours a day of training 6x a week. Massive respect for their hard work and dedication.
Yeah man I only used to train 3 hrs 2 times a week
I bet they don't feel much at all after a while
How do they make money
@@mattcook6868 Sponsorships and prized tournaments
@@Emma.S. water polo is too niche for atheletes to make decent money even at the high end of the spectrum. This video is an exaggeration.
Logically they either cant make enough money to live off.
Or they are lacking on sleep which is hugely beneficial to training.
Or more likely, they are exaggerating, people this high up in sports or a career like to make rumours around themselves.
For those who have never played waterpolo, it is one of the hardest team sports out there.
it is THE hardest team sport ever.
In my school they were playing but no one got the rules soo they were just banging the ball on each others head (it was a volleyball so doesn't hurt)
You really need to check out *Synchronised Swimming* then
@@ForteExpresso nah that's just 2 people, this requires entire teams coordination
@@thanos8948 you're thinking about dive.
the concept of constantly moving your legs to tread water is so underrated for sport.
honestly it becomes almost like muscle memory once you do it for a while. I had to do 2:30 hour practices a day and we were never allowed to touch the walls and eventually you just get use to it.
@@xndr121 true, after the first 6 months it becomes second nature
@@JR-mk6ow imagine after 20 years..
@@xndr121 This skill looks almost as useful as swimming. Do you happen to know how effective this is in the ocean?
@@Tpoleful yeah it works in the ocean and the pool pretty much the same. I definitely recommend people to try and learn it!
A short list of some of the gnarlier injuries I had playing WP:
-hairline rib fractures
-bruised nipples from getting them twisted so hard
-concussion from accidental head butts
-semi-dislocated jaw from getting kicked in the face
Not to mention the countless sprained fingers/skin gouges/torn swimming costumes.
And that's just from playing in a Division 2 high school league in pokey old NZ for a couple years!
I've never had so much fun playing a team sport though, and would do it all again in a heartbeat ❤️
I will never play a sport where I could get my NIPPLES TWISTED.
@@AJTheInvisibleGirlthat's what I wanna know
You nzers and aussies are tougher than we are over here.
@@AJTheInvisibleGirlthere have been past instances of boys SAing girls while playing. Some schools are too small and have no womens team so they play co-ed. Very rare but its horrible.
Water polo gifted me with screwed up knees, a broken nose, and a broken finger…but I still love it more than almost anything in the world
I played water polo for about 4 years. In those 4 years, i took half a year break after the third year. And that literally pushed me back to square one. I had to practice for another half a year just to get back to how good i was before the break. It really shows how much consistency and dedication you must have to play this sport.
water polo is literally swimming, schronized swimming, volleyball and Handball all in one
Don’t forget football
And wrestling
And boxing
@@hoola_amigos and soccer
I like to say it’s soccer and secretive wrestling all the time
I feel like the hardest part of this sport would be staying alive
It isnt tbh as a player myself the hardesr part is trying to get the right technique
@@emkezwanenburg5252 I think it was a joke
@@To_Cool_4_U. no
@@emkezwanenburg5252 "AS A PLAYER MYSELF"
weird flex but ok...
@@christopherdomingo7049 Not really.... shes just giving her comment merit.
I would pass out and drown lol
I already died.
@@Donjuanantoine aw snap.
Lmfaooo same
@@Donjuanantoine how's heaven?
Same xD
I played water polo for 7 years and I'm gonna be honest with you, it never gets easier. As you move through the age brackets the more aggressive the teams get and the drills get more complicated. You'd have the basics like running 1 or 5 but then complicated drills like UCLA. I highly recommend this sport if you are looking to get into shape because there wasn't once a day where I came home feeling full of energy. You can also pick what you're good at. I was a sprinter, offensive counter attack player, and deep wing player. You can be a shooter that shoots up top from 2, 3, and 4. Or you can enjoy getting multiple bruises in center. If you're feeling even more daring. Try out being a goalie where you let balls that travel at speeds of 45 mph go directly into your face. Had a goalie break his nose blocking a ball. Have fun!
I’m a goalie right now. I get you haha
Agreed in high school I get home after practice struggling to stay awake to finish my homework and pass out the second I got into bed. The amount of times I was watching ESPN on my phone before bed and dosed off to have my phone smack me in the face is crazy. 😂
Ex pro waterpolo player from europe here, it got easier as i became better and better, you just have to sacrefice everything, I mean everything. Then you can enjoy fighting, swimming and tactics. During play off it was like 1 training in the morning usualy easy like 1 to 2 km of easy swimming and then just passing and shooting, in theevening 1 hour of crossfit, 1 hour of swimming or leg training, 1 hour of tactics and shooting :D I played center defence btw and really enjoyed those fights. I once met Tamas Farago (one of the legends of the sport) during our friendly match between my sport high school from Košice Slovakia against BVSC Budapest
I used to be a goalie in high school and got my nose broken twice lol
I tried polo once, our school was trying to familiarize us with a new sport.
I was very athletic , running playing football or basketball for at least 1 hour a day , always full of energy.
But i still remember that day in the swimming pool , we played less than 30 minutes and i was struggling to keep my head over the water. That's when i realized how difficult this sport is.
If you’re not used to swimming then it can be quite difficult
@@heatherlory99 it can be quite difficult even if you are
@@kellylyons1038 that’s true
As a swimmer this just blows my mind, they already say swimming is one of the most intense workouts you can do because it works out basically everything plus being cardio but swimming is nothing compared to this. It is so much harder to tread water on top of interacting with someone else in the water for an extended period of time. I mean just what she is doing at 03:00 and how she able to hold that while there is basically no disturbance on the water is incredible and would take an incredible amount of core strength on top of her legs and arms. The next time you're in the pool try and tread water with just two legs and one arm and see how long it takes for you to get winded or to feel overwhelmed.
It is a special kind of treading water though, it is actually easier than the normal treading water that they teach in survival, its all about learning your way of doing it so you stay up and don't get tired. They should actually teach this type more often because I find that it takes longer to become exhausted as you are not trying to keep your whole body up, you are essentially sitting in a chair not trying to run in the water, also it allows you to put a hand up while your other hand is helping to keep you a float.
Which is why it's not the most popular sport in the world, people simply would rather put in a reasonable workout instead of pushing their bodies to the limit each time they compete, being a team sport, Water Polo players compete quite often in their own respective leagues and tournaments where they have to perform physically strenuous movements and maneuvers for extended periods of time that may cause elongated periods of Physical exhaustion, people who are able to compete are typically extremely fit and healthy which allows them to play regularly without issue, which I personally see as a feat of human athletic ability
Stable Genius what the?
You get used to it quite quick and it becomes natural. Imo the most exhausting often used movement was "launching" up for a greater reach for receiving/defending passes or a shot. You use much more energy in a "launch" than in continuous floating in my experience.
i disagree, its harder in a sense that you have to master alot of things however swimming requires a ridiculous amout of training at a maximum intensity. I think swimming is harder in a sense that its so physically demanding. Ive played alot of waterpolo and swam at the highest level for my age and i would way rather play 100 games of waterpolo than swim a 400 im at a meet .
As someone who practiced swimming for a while, this is incredibly difficult. Moving your legs like that to stay afloat? Thats some crazy amount of force and stamina, to do that for 40+ minutes is pretty insane
It becomes second nature after years of playing. the hardest part is how easily you can be overpowered; you think you’re strong until someone pushes you under then you have to get up and carry on playing. When I first started I barely had my head out of the water most of the time lol.
@@namelessarm6273 yeah it sounds really hard, maybe one day I try it
@@futurehofer1564 yeah you should! I don’t mean to scare you, just make sure you play with people on your level
@@namelessarm6273 oh I love some challenges so I am totally down lol the biggest issue here would be finding the time and people to play with
@@namelessarm6273 you have to pick yourself up and dust off... sorry wrong sport 😂
Funny anecdote: My son played water polo all four years of high school, and was the team's MVP his senior year (2000). Also his senior year, the school got a new football coach, who's mindset was that WP players were wimps. So the WP coach challenged the football coach to a little scrimmage of only one 7 minute quarter, which, of course, the WP team won easily. The football coach then challenged the WP team to a little football scrimmage, where the WP squad absolutely destroyed the football players by scoring four touchdowns in just one 12 minute quarter while holding the football team scoreless. Needless to say, the football coach gained a whole lot of respect for water polo after that! Epilogue: Both teams won their league championships that year, but lost at the regional level. I certainly enjoyed watching my son grow as he played, both physically, mentally, and most importantly, his maturity due to the discipline required by this sport. It has served him well in his USAF career.
That's so cool! I'm super unathletic, watching the video makes me tired.people who do sports are cool.God bless them,you And your son!!!:)))
Cool story bro
@@alexandraveloso9604 I used to be athletic, I agree with you that this video makes me tired also.
@why stay why hope? plus, they said "touchdowns" so i would assume it's american football
@@penguin-tc1cx because American football is not something you can just do and be good at just like a lot of sports. So it is difficult for a WP team to do plays, read defenses, make smart taxkels and block.
They ended up bringing that gold medal home, all the hard work paid off.
I remember starting water polo in 9th grade with no prior swimming experience other than the fact I knew how to keep myself afloat. That first day legit had me crawling when I got back home from the first practice. 10th grade and I still play this sport, it also helps me stay in shape because of how much you have to work out
I've played this game for more than 10 years. The main problem with WP is that is boring to watch on the stands or the TV. It's like watching only the upper body of an Handball match. I (and the people that played) understand how exhausted the players are and know what's going underwater. But people that don't know the game will be bored.
But it's a sport that requires 95% training and 5% talent.
I can only speak for myself here, but during the 2012 olympics I decided to check out the Water Polo and found it mesmerising. I quickly recognised how intense it was, and since then It's something I always look forward to watching at the olympics! It's a sport I really wish was bigger over here in the UK. I'm only a spectator, and so wont be able to fully understand how hard it is to actually play, but it's a sport I highly admire, and I always try to convince my friends to watch it!
Cant be more boring than baseball, and there are more sports that are way more boring but way more popular
I watched my nephew play in the junior Olympics. It was interesting and exciting and they were 10 and under.
Yeah, there needs to be more underwater camera footage
Exciting to watch at Olympics
As someone who plays (only in high school) this sport is super intense, but I’d say it’s so fun :) it’s taught me to not blame myself for everything (being a goalie and a wing) it’s pretty tiring but honestly once you get in the groove of the game you barely notice. Can say some girls get super mean 😭 but again, it’s a really great and fun sport. Super underrated in my opinion
Agreed it teaches you that things happen that are not your fault and that you have to rely on others to help you, I have been a goalie for 20 years now and trust me it gets easier :) I also feel being a goalie it teaches you to lead, because you are the only one that can see all the plays happening and you have to be able to tell your team where to go to help you.
How deep is the water? I want to play but I'm only 5' 2" so I bet It'll be really hard to get to the same height out of the water as these ladies
@@amaiers4861 the depth doesn’t matter, no one can stand up (it’s illegal). I’m not the tallest person of my age and when I play, height isn’t really a factor. The height of the head above the water depends mainly on leg and core strength.
@@moltenmonkey8308 oh you can't ever touch the ground!! That sounds even harder! I thought you could every once in a while
I played waterpolo in High School as well as swimming on the swim team and I Loved every second of It!! One of the things I'm glad I did when I look back on life!! I wish I got to play again
I played waterpolo and was honestly more focused on not drowning. One of the few sports I rly don't like playing. Watching it doesn't show how impressive/difficult it is.
@@YBehri Yeah cause they have underwater cameras and only a few players in a controlled enviroment.
Unless we have a cheap way to install a 360 degree camera that can capture both the topside and bottom of the pool while ignoring all the bubbles and water reflection from the sun etc. While being not intrusive to the players competing for a medal.
Its almost impossible to watch and be entertained for the casual audience.
So no one really wants to sponsor a sport like that.
God damn yall in the comments are making me think joining the team was a bad idea
@@sarahhanes8438 If you like drowning im sure you will like it
@@sarahhanes8438 I’ve played for 5 years now and would highly recommend it. Toughest sport I’ve
played, but incredibly rewarding and great for fitness. Don’t give up on joining!
@@brendboer6026 It’s not all drowning lol. Only for those who don’t stay fit for games
I remember in high school they made us play Water Polo a couple of times in PE, seriously one of the most unpleasant sports I've ever played
i'm a competitive swimmer (train 8 times a week) , and i have gotta say that all of us swimmers look at the waterpolo players like they are crazy, its hilarious. it looks absolutely terrifying to do, props to any waterpolo players out there!!
How tf do you train 8x in 7 days
@@voidzminer1017 twice a day on Saturday…
Water polo plays 4 quarters, like basketball, but they're 8 minutes each whereas basketball is 12 minutes each (this is for professional level, another user confirmed quarters are 7 min in high school). Players are typically subbed in and out every 1-4 minutes because it's damn tiring to be sprinting, defending, and flying out of the water for any longer than that.
The "hole set" or just "set" position is much like the center in basketball. These are also typically your biggest and strongest guys on the team and the way they set up on offense is to have their back to the goal and jockeying for position while the defender (again, this is often the opponent's biggest/strongest dude) is, for all intents and purposes, trying to swim on top of the set player and pulling him down. Actually swimming on top of someone is a foul, but a lot of it goes unnoticed because it's happening under water. Imagine treading water with a 210+ lb absolute beast of a man actively holding you back and down, trying to prevent you from getting air or away from him. To top it off, because the set position plays in front of the goal, they need to swim nearly the maximum wall-to-wall distance when going offense to defense. Set is easily the most demanding and tiring position to play.
Goalkeepers need to be able to hover out of the water to their hips using only their legs as they need both their arms out of the water to defend against shot attempts. When I say hover, I mean they need to be hips high out of the water for 3+ seconds sometimes. Next time you go swimming, try even shooting out of the water to your waist. If you can do that, try to your hips. If you can do that, try holding that position for as long as possible. Insanity.
I loved my water polo days in high school but I also don't miss it. Now I just enjoy rock climbing and lifting at the gym, hahaha.
Actually its 8 minutes at the highest level and in some european leagues...
Yes Emily and 7 mins in high school.
Fab information mate, clearly see sport is important in your life. Leaves us with fantastic memories, I remember being selected to represent my school in the high jump, after qualifying I went onto represent them at the regional championship, where I placed 3rd. Bronze💙. My PE treacher Olyimpic Bronze medalist Mr John Sherwood, (at the time I nor any of the other school kids fully realized the extent of Sherwoods achievements, to us he was just a super cool, relaxed encouraging teacher, we 💙 him) was one of the judges. I noticed him sectretly rooting for me. What a proud moment in front of a full Donvalley stadium. In these momemts ones realizes you can do anything you set your mind to. (This is sport) Still hand the certificate on the wall. I now encouraging my little ones to love sports. Sports unites all.
Junior varsity is sometimes 6 min
When my dad played keeper for cambridge uni his training included a 2 minute treading water waist at least out of the water
this was great representation of the mental and physical aspects required of the sport, which awarded me.
Tbh, as a sport, it seems very impressive. Lot of respect for people who play this sport
try it out. i absolutely love it
All the hard work paid off. The United States Women Polo Team won the Gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in July-August 2021
I just completed in the Junior Olympics for waterpolo in socal. Definitely an insane sport. The practice regimens are insane even at the high school and 18u level. 4-5 hours a day on top of being a dual sport athlete and a student. As crazy as it was I miss it so badly
What makes water polo so hard is that the horses all drown.
Bruh
Bruh
Bruh
Bruh
Bruh
Waterpolo was my sport of choice throughout middle school though half of college. Never realized how strange and unique it was until now watching this.
God I loved the sport. The memories and experiences that it gave me made me into who I was today.
I'm so glad it's getting more popular. I played it in high school having never heard of the sport before. Turns out I am a natural set guard and absolutely loved it.
Major respect to water polo players. I’ve never played it myself, but I can tell it’s one of the hardest out there.
I’m currently in high school and this sport is so fun. I’m glad insider posted this because it’s really fun to watch documentaries about a sport you play
For anyone wondering, they managed to win the gold medal
I was selected for water polo training but was the only person who showed up for team practice 😂. Later It was canned
Haha
Your determination should be brought to your country's olympic committee attention. You could represent your country with that kind of attitude
@@ladboii2901 what's canned mean
@@itsbonkerjojo9028 canned means that the water polo team idea got scrapped
India water polo is not taken seriously. They player from other swimming compitition.
finally this sport gets the recognition it deserves
Ikr
@@adriannaberloui2475 yeh
In my country it was quite literally the sport of freedom, look up blood in the pool 1956
I was watching this and trying to figure out if they were treading water the whole time. Seeing them pop out of the water like they do I thought no way they don't have a ground. Insane the amount of endurance that is needed for this sport.
They were popping up out of the water that far without touching the bottom. In competition the treading water is going to be treading water/wrestling. Water polo is (not so) secretly one of the dirtiest sports you can play. If the ref doesn't see it then it's effectively legal. ~80% of the time spent in a game is vertical with treading water and almost all of their bodies are underwater and therefore the ref can't see what is happening under the surface. When swimming there's still elbows getting thrown, kicking, punching, grabbing opponents to stop them while pulling yourself to where you want to go.
@@mikekrasovec6390 and women's water polo is Far and away more agressive and dirty than men's will ever be.
Honestly people always are saying that treading is the most impressive part, but egg beating becomes a second nature. Swimming back and forth up and down especially on back to back turnovers is what really kills you. Egg beating is a super effective technique that once mastered, you can tread for a long time
@@borreee As a keeper, it's definitely the treading water. Both arms out of the water is brutal
@@HIM7070 no. just no
I'm quite a new water-polo player (about 2 years since starting with my biggest tournament being British u15 NAGs). Whenever I'm playing I never realise how tired I am until swapped out listening to my teammates talk while I'm sitting silent gasping for air. I love every aspect of this sport so much, it's got to be my favourite hobby/passion.
As a former High School Water Polo player, I’m content by the detail of the sport in this video. It’s not a very easy sport, you just got to have enough strength, speed, and agility for when you’re practicing or playing in a game.
I've only played a couple of times, but by god it is very physically demanding. Imagine it like combining three different sports and then holding your breath for half of it. Constantly found myself bursting from the surface gasping for air.
My body hurts jst watching them.
I train waterpolo 3h a day but i have corona RIP
I wish I could swim
learn it. stop talking start doing
Learn back float first, then practice bobbing/humming under water.
It just took me 3 days to learn ... just give a try bro
I'm sure if you try you'll do great. Just do whatever you're comfortable with and you'll get the hang of it :)
I want to, but we don't have any pools or ANYTHING in our town...................
Played water polo in college. Never been so tired than after water polo scrimmage or tournaments, but the game itself is just phenomenal. Turning your arm in to a cannon is a great feeling too!
As an old lifeguard for Woollett I had the privilege to watch many national water polo teams like the men’s Swedish national team and chinas female national team both insanely gifted and strong with a water polo ball
well you watched average teams...
@@emillyyelen5169 you clearly don’t know the Woollett pool or about serious competition if ur saying that😭
@@Ndrewcow Yes we in Croatia dont have serious competition...
The Chinese women's team are amazing, I saw them once at Yum Cha in Sydney - I think they were out here for a tournament, talk about incredible players, same with the Australians.
@@Ndrewcow so is the pool filled with your tears or what?!
As someone who played water polo for 5 years I can confirm that out of all the sports in the world water polo is up there in brutality when it comes to contact sports, especially since the only protection we get are the ear cage guards.
If USA wants gold in mens waterpolo they better get a Serbian coach.
But they actually have Serbian coach...Dejan Udovicic is USA national team coach...
Or a Czech coach
Or a maltese coach bc their very good
Lol.. not just a coach.. need to import some Serb, Hungarian and Montenegrin players, and naturalize them.. :) :) :) Powerhouses!
it's amazing, I have not seen a full game of water polo until this Tokyo Olympics, I couldn't believe how tough that game is, players grab, they kick, they punch, they hang and so on, so competitive and hard
The best part of watching this video is seeing the workout area that the USA team uses since I use to practice there for club waterpolo. It is called the Joint Forces Training Base located Los Alamitos, CA, and I was fortunate to see the pool being set up for these Olympians, but never had the chance to meet them. Otherwise though, a lot of memories seeing that place again and great video too 👍🏽
I'm out of breathe just watching them train
The gear that protects their head prevents popping the eardrums😯. This game is INTENSE!
And also protection for ripping off ears, as what sometimes happened before those caps were introduced...
It also helps prevent cauliflower ear from elbows. You can also help prevent popping your eardrum when a ball hits the side of your head at nearly 50 miles an hour. The kind of physicality that takes place in water polo, if it happened in an NBA game, you wouldn't get ejected, nor suspended, you would get arrested. At the highest international level water polo is a combat sport.
I never realized how thick their legs were. Gotta have great muscle tone to keep yourself floating and moving around in the game.
Yep fitting it to regular Jeans is a pain in the arse, I've given up trying to lose my thighs!
@@floss3729 I feeeeeeeeel you!!!!!!! I only played two years. And til this day!! I still have shoulders and thighs 🤦🏾♀️ outta this world lol
My father was a college all American water polo player he tried out for the Olympics in the 70s. He told me a story about this goalie he was up againstwho was amazing. And after so many blocked shots my dad stopped trying to score and instead just started throwing the ball as hard as he could at the goalies face. After getting facialed a couple times the goalie started flinching on shots
I have great respect to anyone who does waterpolo. I’m a swimmer for my high school & recently, the waterpolo team made to finals.
What school ?
I'm a good and strong swimmer but looking at waterpolo and the cameras underwater make me feel exhausted!
believe me, i am an ex Waterpolo Pro from Germany, if you want to play with the girls, you will never servive 1 min of a Game! If they will give 100% against you, you will be dead after the second attack, sorry.
everyone who’s done this at school knows that it’s the most effort ever
You got a pool at your school?
@@benjaminimum1554 yes lots of schools in my area have pools atleast
@@cameo2277 wow lucky
@@ayme5868 fr
All these women are stronger than me for sure, and I am a 31-year-old dude. Just simply "standing" in water is hard enough, but leaping out of it, and all those other motions makes me respect them even more. This has to be one of the toughest sports out there, if not the toughest. Did not even know about it until now.
It's really fun
I played water polo all the way up to high school. Swimming regular freestyle is hard, but head-up freestyle while dribbling the ball right in front of your line of sight in addition to someone literally at your heels is a whole different story. With passing, it's not like throwing a football, you have to angle yourself a little to the side otherwise you elbow gets slowed down by the water (in europe they throw a certain way such that their arm has more range in motion). I played goalie, and while you're not swimming as much as your teammates in the game, outside of that you're expected to do the same conditioning as them in addition to specific training such as long-passing (literally from the goal all the way to the 2 or 4 spot on the other side of the pool without missing), moving from one side of the goal to the other because the ball has been passed from one side of the defense to the other, and then the stress of having to communicate to your team that their shot clock is running out of time or that they need to look out for a cross-pick. Don't even get me started on when one of your teammates gets ejected and now it's 6-5 defense. Then you have to coordinate with your teammates where you need them to be such that they can help you block the ball since now the offense has wider angles to shoot from.
Aside from the physical demands, the annoying things are when your cap breaks or falls off during a game, your goggles getting stolen, the chlorine is horribly high, and when you forget to clip your nail ahead of time of the nail check and now you have to bite them and scrape them along the pool deck to get the jagged-ness off lol
As someone who played in Junior Olympics for water polo. This sport is way more physical than people see above water. My teammate broke his ribs when taking a shot when someone elbowed him. I highly recommend watching the underwater cameras to see what really goes on in the game.
One thing i know about WP is that if its your first time trying it, it will humble you and you will have a new found respect for the sport and its athletes
This is crazy, the amount of passion and dedication is already a gold medal 🥇
Having played, I can attest that it's EXHAUSTING
Yeah, I have 24 hours of practice a week
I've played handball on and off for 7 years and I know how brutal it is for the body. All of your body is constantly pushed and pulled around like a mannequin while trying to pass the ball or score a goal. However, I have also witnessed how much strength and endurance a water polo player requires. They are so damm amazing! All my respect for these athletes.
I did Aquajogging for the first time ever yesterday as a bonus training session for the upcoming handball season from the team I joined this year (my first season ever)... I never really thought much of it and assumed it's something relaxing... I was so lost, i felt as if I spend 45 mins not knowing what I am doing and concentrating just stay afloat so yeah, I retract my stance on aquajogging: It's pretty damn tough, but damn fun when you're doing it with your team. I can't even imagine how much harder just staying afloat becomes after adding a ball and basiclly making it Aquajogging and Handball at once... huge respect for the water polo players all over this planet!
I loved this ! Water polo certainly needs more recognition but I would’ve loved to hear more from Johnson 🥺
I always thought it was boring to watch others, yet fun to play it yourself. Now that I've learned more about it, I no longer think of it as boring but rather than, being pretty intense
It is 😂. I've played for 10 years but I can't watch it on the TV. Looks so boring even though I know what's going on underwater.
@@JR-mk6ow riiight exactly! lol. I tried watching it again but it just doesn't seem very entertaining to me. Id play it for sure though!
@@jaan08011 then watch football ⚽⚽
@@nithin7874 have been for the past 20 years.
@@jaan08011 me too. Not for 20 years but about 5 years.
i'll tell ya, goalie is the hardest position.
Nope
yep
@@h7opolo it’s the whole set dawg
nah set is 😭
*crying in set position*
A few years ago a photographer released a series of shots of all the struggling underwater and they were SO cool and interesting. I wish they'd show more of that during the Olympics
I have tried many sports before finding Water polo, and I can say that I can never forget this sport. I miss it so much! The best sport ever (at least I see it that way). It was the best 5 and 1/2 years of my life. Now I have no day passing without thinking about this sport and how much I miss it.
As someone who used to play water polo as a kid, can confirm it's one of the most tiring sports I've ever played (and is really good for keeping fit!)
have you triathlon?
@@6ix750 I have not triathlon
These insane muscles too. You can truly see how much strength this needs
Im getting tired just by watching them. Wow
I originally thought water polo was a game where a tagger that has to close their eyes say marco and the runners say polo and the tagger has to try and listen to the runners and tag them. It’s technically like playing tag in the dark but in the water
I thought so too!
amazing!! Everyone in the team and this channel are so talented!!
has anyone else had to play like once in school, and after 1 min gave up and asked to be subbed to get off for a rest 🤣🤣
for real this is my first time seeing this and even discovering this or knowing this sport how didnt i know this sport exist
In all the Balkan states it's the national sport
@@DarkoSamardzic pa nije baš u svakoj...i jebo te balkan...
@@emillyyelen5169 госпођо, сјашите ми с' Красног, хвала
4 out of the 12 qualified countries in the water polo for the olympics 2020 are from the balkans
So proud of Team USA. Good luck to our American athletes
0:27 or 0:28- "We had been thinking this one thing, and it had been taken away from us."
That quote relates to a lot of people that were thinking 2020 was going to be a good year, they were thinking that they were going to be able to do their plans and they couldn't.
Imagine that your base stance is more tiring than most sports at their most physical 😂😂
A little reminder for you remember to take a step back and look at how far you have come and congratulate yourself remember your doing amazing sending love from me and my followers
Water Polo needs to have a domestic league in America. It is so fun to watch.
It needs to be better recognised everywhere, we have local leagues all over Australia and New Zealand but they aren't followed as they should be, I'd much prefer to watch a water polo game than a rugby match.
I played for more than 10 years and I have to disagree that it's fun to watch. I mean, in TV it's looks so slow and boring and I know what's going on tactically and underwater, I imagine it's even worst for people that don't know the game.
But playing its 100% the opposite. Best sport ever.
Yes, but mens Waterpollo
@@JR-mk6ow hey, baseball is also slow and boring, but for some reason people watch it.
@@kirihara147 one word Golf lol
i used to play this with friends all the time when we were on vacation. Although I don't think you could really call ours a proper water polo but hey it was great fun. 😂
The amazing thing that I never noticed when I was younger was how I played all 4 quarters and never got tired. I literally couldn’t get enough. I did save my energy by changing my treading water method. Sometime only hands sometimes legs.
Iron man! That's what our team called it. We only had 6 + goalie guys for a tournament one weekend and ended up having to play 7 games in 2 days with no subs. Most fun I have ever had
Bro Me to I also play 4 quarters almost 90% of the match cause I'm a left hand right wing player but the hype that I get while playing the game is what fuels me to be not tired specially when the crowd is cheering my name
for someone who's played WP for over four years, with additional pre like 10 years of squad swimming, this sport is the most fun thing ever, training is so much harder than games and can easily cause fatigue. If there are free trials, definitely try it out!
Women's USA team is good, but men's Serbia team is the best!
lol, hungary has sth to say about that... look at the number of their olympic, world, european championships... it's absolutely crazy. they've also won 3 straight olympic golds from 2000 to 2008. they were in a slump recently, but they have recently won another europen championship and now the bronze in tokyo. they are coming back to the top, no doubt.
@@davidovics92 It's very funny how all of you hungarian fans tell same story ("ooo please, Serbian team, look at us, we have 9 olimpic golds, we play it for 100 years", bla bla...) and nobody mention that Serbs were winning medals before, as part of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia had 7 Olympic, 4 World Championship, 5 World Cup and 13 European Championship medals! Who did that, Martians?? Serbs were that, too, so stop with amnezia please!
Admiration. Wish I had half their cardio.
Congrats to them for winning the gold medal!
evaluator : start!
All player : why do I hear boss music?
*Mortal Combat song start
Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Hungary 💗 Nothing better than watching those national teams!
One of my favorite sports, along with women's beach volleyball ✌️😎
Every sport is different and comparing the level of difficulty is completely absurd. Huge respect whatever these sports person are doing for their country.
Y’all don’t know how hard waterpolo is…I’ve tried it and 5min in water im already tired and couldn’t stay afloat lol.(I’m a competitive swimmer too lol)
all in the leg strength
@@h7opolo yeah im a sprint swimmer and i also do weight lifting and my thighs are pretty big but kicking is my weakness even in swim😂
Fun fact about water polo: the reason we do eggbeatering rather than scissor kicking for treading water is because eggbeater actually keeps you higher up for less energy. But it’s still insanely intense. My high school team would have 3 hour practices, sometimes with an additional hour before school.
Omg the effort they have to give in is uff. A big respect and wishes to these athletes. Staying in water for long time maintaining health and fitness is next level. 🙏
I wish they had a camera in the Olympics under the water as well. Maybe then more people would see how intense this sport is and give it the recognization it needs.
Maggie has an unbelievable body. Her strength, passion, and intelligence is her beauty!
Croats Serbs and Hungarians: what is difficult?
living is difficult...
Don’t forget Italians and Montenegrins as well :)
Or the Aussies
Or Spain and Greece
I still feel like mid- long distance track events are the hardest. But this does seem a lot harder then I thought
I would say that just watching people playing waterpolo is not nearly enough to understand how hard it is.
If you want to have a closer idea of its difficulty without investing much, try going into a pool that is deep enough so that you cant touch the ground. Then start floating with your head above the water. Then try to raise one arm. Then raise both. Then try to keep both arms raised while you ascend while floating.
This exercise is the base for the sport. After that you may learn to swim a lot, grapple with your opponent, pass and shoot the ball.
It is a great sport and I recommend it to everyone to at least try. While difficult, it is actually pretty hard to injure yourself so it is friendly for older people. And the floating skill you gain may save your live one day
@@lavq7000 yeah i agree. i play it too
All olympic sports are tough and distance running is no joke, but in my opinion the hardest has to be boxing. Just from sheer intimidation, it's very difficult for people to even get the guts to try it the first time, you have to actually step in the ring with violent people with rough upbringings and beat them up.
@@publiusthefederalist6843 - True, but boxing is not a TEAM sport, which is a whole different perspective.
I love learning about this interesting sport. Next Olympics or if health concerns get better I will definitely look to watch them. They inspire me to work hard for something I want.
If tag was an Olympic sport it would easily be the hardest, and the most entertaining
I think I would do better as a waterpolo goalie than as a marathon runner personally
wait until you hear about marathon swimming
In high school our coach made our goalie wear a 10 pound weight belt, and tread water while holding an unfolded metal folding chair above his head. Then every know and again he would put a partially full sparklers water jug on the chair