Oberman: Trust in Youth
Western Australian Institute of Sport men’s head water polo coach Paul Oberman has called for his fellow national training centre (NTC) coaches to place increased focus their junior players, especially amongst the ranks of developing male athletes.
Oberman, an Olympian (Barcelona 1992) and assistant coach of the national senior men’s team, mentored his WAIS team to a second place finish at the NTC Challenge, finishing runner up to a strong NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) side.
It was a brilliant finish for the WAIS men, with Oberman noting the high number of junior players in his side, saying that many of the state institutes seem to be in a similar phase of player development.
“It was an excellent result for us. Our oldest player was 23, and we had three 16 year olds in the team. All our players had water time, it was a fantastic learning experience for our guys,” Oberman said.
“We’ve seen a fairly good quality of water polo across the NTC tournament, however I think that many of the institutes are in a rebuilding phase, which highlights that we now have a good crop of juniors.
“It’s important to see what we can do with those juniors now and as institute coaches, we have the chance to encourage the development of these players and make a plan in accordance with the timeline for the 2020 Games.”
Oberman doesn’t stand alone in his comments; with Aussie Sharks head coach Elvis Fatovic reiterating the importance of developing junior players.
“The tournament was very useful for a lot of our younger players as they competed against our more experienced open team members, which is crucial for their development,” Fatovic said.
“The real advantage of NTC is that our players begin tough competitions earlier, which helps prepare them physically and tactically as we look ahead to the 2015 international season.”
The next step for the senior national team coaches will be team selection for the BHP Aquatic Super Series, which will be held in Perth from January 30 to February 1, with the performances at the NTC Challenge sure to assist the decision making process.
-WaterPoloAus
