(that’s the ‘High Performance Pathways Program’ – and it’s delivering results!)

South Australia’s water polo brains trust is plotting a path for national success: by 2020 it hopes to see an SA team crowned champion in the men’s and/or women’s National Water Polo League.

And ORS is doing its very best to make that happen! Next financial year the Office for Recreation and Sport is funding Water Polo SA’s High Performance Pathways Program to the tune of $45,000 – and it will do the same in each of the two following years.

The philosophy behind the HPPP is simple: to spot SA athletes with elite potential, and develop them. And, because you can’t ‘progress’ a team without also developing those guiding it, the sport’s coaches are also a focus.

Put into action, the HPPP philosophy is seeing better coaching structures developed, and more potential high-performance athletes identified and cultivated. In the 14-to-18-year-old age group, there are now 36 girls and 55 boys training in the state squad program. A number of athletes have also progressed through SA’s HPPP and are now in the national pathway program (known as the ‘Depth Chart’).

At the grassroots things are very healthy too: officials say families and participants can see the changes taking place, and that’s bringing more people into the sport. That means more revenue - which in turn can support the sport. Visit http://waterpolosa.com.au/

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