Don’t Be Afraid of Contact in Water Polo: 6 Rules to Stay Safe, Strong, and Unstoppable

A lot of younger players are scared of contact in water polo. They don’t like the grabbing, the pulling, the hands on their shoulder, or the feeling of getting “stuck.” And honestly, most of that fear comes from one thing: they’re not prepared for contact yet.

When you’re not comfortable with your legs, your balance, and your body position, contact feels like chaos. You feel like you can’t swim after it. You feel like someone will pull your suit. You feel like you’re going to lose control.

But here’s the truth: contact isn’t the problem. Being out of position is the problem. Once you learn a few rules, contact becomes normal—and you become confident.

Below are simple rules every athlete should follow.

Rule #1: Hips Up = Control (and nobody pulls your speedo)

If your hips are down, everything becomes easy for the defender:

• they can grab you

• they can hold you

• they can pull you down

• they can mess with your speedo

But when your hips are up, you’re stable, your legs are working, and your body is strong in the water. It’s the #1 foundation for winning contact battles.

Rule #2: Never Allow a Hand on Your Shoulder or Back or anywhere

This is one of the biggest mistakes in youth water polo.

The moment a defender places a hand on your shoulder or upper back and you let it stay there, they are controlling you. They can:

• slow you down

• steer you

• stop your movement

• keep you from driving

So the rule is simple:

The second they place a hand there, remove it.

You can do it in two ways:

• Use your other arm to physically move their hand away

• Or move your shoulder/body so their hand slides off

Don’t wait. Don’t accept it. Don’t think “maybe it’s fine.”
If they control your shoulder/back, they control your movement.

Rule #3: Don’t Avoid Contact by Disappearing

A lot of players try to avoid physical contact by drifting away from the play. They float to the outside, they stop moving, and they hope the defender leaves them alone.

That might feel safer, but it hurts your team and your development.

Water polo is physical. The only way to become confident is to experience contact while keeping your technique:

• hips up

• head calm

• hands active

• keep moving

You don’t have to start fights. You just need to stop running from normal contact.

Rule #4: Sometimes You Need a Duel — and That’s Fine

There are moments in water polo where you’ll need to battle:

• fighting for position

• fighting for water

• sealing on a drive

• holding space for a pass

That’s part of the sport. The goal is not to be “nice.” The goal is to be smart and strong.

If you accept that duels are normal, you stop panicking. And once you stop panicking, you make better decisions.

Rule #5: If They’re Stronger, Use Their Power Against Them

You won’t always be the strongest athlete in the pool. And that’s okay.

When someone is stronger, many players make the mistake of trying to out-muscle them. That usually fails and wastes energy.

Instead, use their power against them.

For example: if a defender is pulling hard with their legs and trying to hold you in place, you can:

• let them load up with pressure

• then pull quickly and rotate or slip so they lose balance

• use that moment to get in front, get separation, or create a passing angle

Think of it like judo in water: you don’t fight strength with strength. You use timing and movement so their effort works against them.

Key idea:
If they’re pulling, they’re committed.
If they’re committed, they can be moved.

Rule #6: Release & Drive Beats Strength (Especially vs High Press)

Here’s the most important part: you can escape even strong defenders if you use the right movement habit.

When someone plays high press on you, your job is not to wrestle them for 10 seconds.

Your job is to move.

The solution: Release & Drive.

• Do 1–2 strokes in front of them (release)

• If they follow: you reset back into the release and create separation

• If they don’t follow: you turn it into a drive and go

Either way, you’re not sitting in the same spot. And if you’re not sitting still, they can’t comfortably hold you.

This works no matter who you’re playing against. Stronger, older, faster—it doesn’t matter. Movement wins.

Final Reminder

Don’t be afraid of contact. Be afraid of being controllable.

If you follow these rules:

• hips up

• remove the hand

• don’t hide

• accept duels

• use their power against them

• release & drive vs high press

…you’ll become more confident, harder to guard, and more effective in real games.

If you want to master this faster: go practice Release & Drive every session. It’s the simplest habit that changes everything.