WAIS Water Polo Fine-Tunes with Thailand Tour

WAIS women’s water polo coach Georgina Kovacs recently led a 16-member training camp development tour to Thailand.

With national league commitments wrapped up for the year and several members of the WAIS squad recently touring with the Australian national team, Kovacs took up an opportunity to train with the senior national women’s team of Thailand in Bangkok.

The tour group which also included two QAS invitees, enjoyed an intensive week in the Thai capital, with practise matches interspersed amongst strength sessions, video analysis and group muscle activation sessions.

Kovacs said the group had bonded well together in a new environment and had made the most of the opportunity to focus on their water polo.

“We completed a tight schedule. Two sessions per day, plus gym sessions added in on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,” Kovacs said.

“During morning sessions, we spent an hour on our own, focusing on certain defensive and offensive drills, followed by an hour of extra man practice with Thai girls.

“After morning sessions, we met for an hour to discuss game performances from previous nights, including a video debrief.

“The girls have been really responsive to feedback and the team came together well. Special mention must go to the two Queensland girls, who immediately fit into the group both in and out of the pool.”

The week-long tour also provided the group with opportunity to play a series of five quarter matches against an International outfit that adopts a very different brand of water polo to that which many of the WAIS athletes were accustomed to.

“We were able to focus on playing our own game and keeping control by doing the basics right,” Kovacs said. “The Thai girls are very mobile and play a counter attacking style of game.”

“I value this opportunity greatly – getting to know a different culture, game style and being exposed to higher intensity games,” Kovacs continued.

“Our average age for the tour was 18 and a half and we played mostly against senior athletes. It was great training for our girls.

WAIS Scholarship

Tess Hosking

Claire Durston

Sofia Chaves

Madi Rigo

Sofie Pontre

Pippa Pedley

Luci Marsh

Jamie Oberman

WAIS Training Agreement

Sarah Leavy

Erin Gray

QAS Athletes

Georgia Hickey

Jessica Emerson

Staff

Victoria Furk (massage)

Ben Narang (physiology)

Lorenzo Cenci (specialist coaching)

Georgina Kovacs (coach)