- Hi everybody, I'm Maggie Steffens,
two time Olympic gold medalist
and Captain of the USA Women's Water Polo Team.
In London 2012, I was named Olympic MVP,
and scored a record amount of goals
for a woman in one single Olympics.
The catch and shoot is one of my personal
all time favorite ways to shoot and hopefully score.
The reason I love the catch and shoot is
because it's not about what you do
when you have the ball in your hand,
it's actually about what you do before you get the ball.
And then, hopefully, you see a lane and you go for it.
The important thing, too, about
the catch and shoot is being quick.
So many people wanna hold the ball
in their hand for a long time,
but a lot of it is about the release,
and also that torsion in your body
so that the ball can get from your hand
to the net as quick as possible.
So these drills you can do at home.
Not all of us have access to a pool at all times,
and it's also something you can just do
before practice to get warmed up.
So let's get right to it.
Let's see what it takes to create the catch and shoot.
So this drill is to help you develop your stability,
rotation, your basic form of how
to properly hold a water polo ball.
Some things to think about,
when we're holding a water polo ball,
your left shoulder and your left hand
are out in front of you pointing at
where you want the ball to go.
So if the cage is in front of me,
my left shoulder, my left hand are pointing at the cage.
Next, I bring my shooting arm
or my passing arm up behind me.
Notice my elbow is above my ear.
Next, I want you to notice my wrist.
Wrist is so important.
So my wrist is facing forward
to where I want the ball to go.
If my wrist is facing to the side,
the ball is gonna go another direction.
Next, my legs.
In water polo, just like in baseball,
you have your stability leg and your stability arm.
So as a right hander, my stability leg
is my left leg, left foot.
So because of this, this drill is gonna incorporate
standing on one foot, which is your stability leg,
having my stability arm out in front,
which is my left, and being in
that good shooting position.
Elbow high above your ear, wrist forward,
and rotating your body.
So once you're in this position,
notice my right leg.
As if I'm gonna kick water behind me,
because when you do your shot,
when you make a pass,
this right leg is your power leg.
So you're gonna use that to make that breaststroke kick.
So I'm using a lot of core,
I'm using hip strength, and I'm keeping my body
in that good position, and I wanna point
at where I'm gonna finish
so that this drill helps me focus on that.
So the catch and shoot is one of my favorite shots,
but it's really easy to make mistakes in.
First, always remember your wrist placement.
So if your wrist is facing the other way,
the ball is not gonna go in the direction of the cage.
Another common mistake is shooting on your back.
If you're on your back, you're not stable.
You're not able to use your core
and get that full rotation.
Also remember, if you're on your back,
the ball will go up.
So make sure that instead of being on your back
to keep your body in the upright position
and finish down with that crunch of your core.
The third common mistake is shooting
before you have the ball in your hand.
All of us get so excited to shoot,
but we have to have the ball in our hand.
So make sure you wait to actually do that shooting motion
until you've fully received that ball in your hand.
Remember these tips to help up your game,
be prepared and in position before receiving the ball
with your non-dominate leg, stabilizing your body.
Rotate using your hips and your core strength,
and finish and always crunch forward.
Thank you so much for watching.
Make sure you guys try out these tips and tricks at home
and let us know how it goes in the comments below.
Hoo, my left leg is tired.
Oh, should I have come over there?
Oops.