How to Egg Beater in Water Polo (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

🎥 Video & Course Links

• Full Egg Beater Tutorial Video:
  👉 https://youtu.be/HWdlrtqbQZc

• All Water Polo Courses & Classes (Waterpolo University):
  👉 https://www.waterpolouniversity.com/8d727d04-d59f-44f4-919b-2f6e88f08cbf

What Is the Egg Beater?

The egg beater is the leg movement that keeps you:

• High in the water

• Stable

• Balanced

• Ready to explode in any direction

Instead of sculling with your hands or bouncing up and down, egg beater lets you sit in the water and use your legs to support your whole body.

If you want to:

• Shoot with power

• Block shots

• Hold position at 2m

• Play good defense

• Be a strong goalie

…you need a good egg beater first. It’s the foundation.

Why the Egg Beater Is So Important

1. Stability = Better Technique Everywhere

If your legs are weak:

• Your shot drops

• Your passes float

• You fall backward when you get contact

• You burn out quickly

If your legs are strong and stable:

• You stay high and calm on fakes

• Your arm can move freely

• You can shoot over defenders

• You can see the whole pool

The egg beater is the platform your skills stand on.

2. Defense and Blocking

On defense, egg beater allows you to:

• Stay vertical with hips up

• Block shots with both arms up

• Change angles quickly

• Bump attackers without sinking

If you can’t hold yourself high, you’ll always defend with your hands low and your body sinking. Strong legs fix that.

3. Centers, Guards, and Goalies

• Centers use egg beater to hold position, roll, and finish under pressure.

• Guards need it to fight in front and move around opponents without grabbing.

• Goalies live on egg beater – every save, every movement on the line starts from the legs.

No matter your position, your legs decide your ceiling as a player.

How to Egg Beater: Step-by-Step

Use this as a checklist and connect it with the video:

Step 1: Body Position

Start with good body position:

• Chest slightly forward

• Hips under you, not dropped back

• Head stable above the water

• Hands relaxed in front of you (not doing all the work)

Think of sitting on a high stool in the water.

Step 2: Leg Path (One Leg at a Time)

Each leg moves in a circular motion, similar to a sideways bicycle:

• Your knee comes up

• Your foot goes out

• Then your leg sweeps around and presses down and in

Both legs do this in opposite rhythms, so one is always pushing while the other recovers.

Left leg and right leg are not kicking straight up and down—they’re drawing circles that keep you lifted.

Step 3: Opposite Rhythm

This is the part many beginners miss.

• When your left leg is pushing out and down, your right leg is recovering in.

• Then they switch.

That opposite rhythm creates constant lift with no dead moments.

If both legs push at the same time, you’ll bounce and sink after each push.

Step 4: Small, Fast, Controlled

Good egg beater isn’t huge, wild kicks. It’s:

• Compact

• Fast

• Continuous

You should feel constant pressure on the water, not big splashes.

Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

❌ Mistake 1: Kicking Straight Down

Some players try to kick like a freestyle kick in vertical position.

Problem: You don’t get stable lift and you tire out fast.

Fix:
Focus on the circular motion of each leg. Practice slowly first, even holding the wall, until you feel the round path.

❌ Mistake 2: Knees Too Close Together

When your knees are glued, you lose balance and power.

Fix:
Keep your knees hip-width apart, not locked together. Imagine you’re sitting on a small box – knees slightly open.

❌ Mistake 3: Hips Dropping Back

If your hips are behind you, your chest leans back and you end up in “pencil position” (almost horizontal).

Fix:
Shift your chest slightly forward and bring your hips under your shoulders. Think: tall but slightly leaning forward.

❌ Mistake 4: Using Only Arms to Stay Up

If your arms are doing all the work, your egg beater isn’t really working.

Fix:
Practice with your hands on your head, or holding a ball above the water. Force your legs to do the job.

Drills to Improve Your Egg Beater

You can combine these with your water polo courses and classes or your team warm-up.

Drill 1: Wall Support Drill

• Hold the side of the pool with both hands

• Keep your body in vertical position

• Focus only on the leg circles

• Go slow at first, then faster

This helps you feel the pattern without worrying about balance.

Drill 2: Hands on Head

• Move to the middle of the pool

• Put both hands on top of your head

• Egg beater for 20–30 seconds

This forces your legs to do 100% of the work.

Drill 3: One-Leg Egg Beater

• Hands on the side or in front

• Use only your left leg for 10–15 seconds, then only the right

• Switch back and forth

This builds control and strength in each leg separately.

Drill 4: With a Ball Raised

• Hold a ball with one or both hands above your head

• Keep the ball dry while you egg beater

This is very game-realistic (shooting and blocking positions).

Drill 5: Moving in Egg Beater

Once you’re stable:

• Egg beater and move forward, backward, left, right using only your legs

• Use small reaches with your arms for direction, but no pulling on the water

This transfers your vertical strength into game movement.

How Egg Beater Connects to the Rest of Your Game

When your egg beater is strong:

• Your fakes become smoother because you’re not fighting to stay up

• You can contest more shots on defense

• You can hold your ground in front of the goal

• You don’t panic when you’re pressured, because your body feels stable

This is why in many water polo courses and water polo classes, coaches start by fixing the legs before anything else. If the base isn’t stable, every other skill is limited.

How to Use This Blog With the Course & Videos

To get the most out of this:

1. Read the steps in this blog and visualize them.

2. Watch the video with slow-motion parts so you see exactly what the legs are doing:
   👉 https://youtu.be/HWdlrtqbQZc

3. Follow the drills in the pool 2–3 times per week.

Inside the course, you can go deeper:

• Detailed progressions for different age groups

• How to connect egg beater with shooting, blocking, and 2m play

• How to structure leg work inside your weekly training

And if you’re looking for a complete development path, you can explore all of the online water polo courses and water polo classes here:
👉 https://www.waterpolouniversity.com/8d727d04-d59f-44f4-919b-2f6e88f08cbf

Final Message to Players and Parents

If you’re young, this is the best time to master your egg beater.
If you’re older, it’s never too late to clean it up.

The egg beater may not look as exciting as a big shot or a huge block, but it’s the secret behind both.

Fix your legs, and everything else in your game becomes easier.