UPDATE - ODP Zone Head Coach Application Deadline - April 30, 2014
March 11, 2014
Dear Water Polo Community,
In our first few months working together we've been tasked with the responsibility of evolving the current Olympic Development Program. We have taken into account a great amount of feedback from our community and combined that with the unique insight of our Senior National Team coaches, and we have a new approach to high performance for USA water polo. The goal of ODP 2.0 will be to provide greater access to resources, share knowledge, create more accessible entry points into the program, and collectively pool our talent at the zone level to develop athletes, coaches, and referees.
It is important to recognize that the development of our athletes begins at the club level. Athletes are developed with the immense amount of commitment and effort put in by their coaches at the club level. ODP exists to support the current club system, and work together with club and zone leadership to strengthen ODP as it evolves over the years. ODP 2.0 will work with the current club and ODP calendar to maintain a sustainable calendar. 2014-1015 dates will be published within the next few weeks.
Furthermore, ODP has been streamlined to provide access to a broader range of athletes. ODP 2.0 will offer two camps in each USAWP zone in the 2014-2015 season. These camps are open to ALL USAWP Gold athletes and will be priced at a fair and accessible point. Our National Team Staffs and Zone Head Coaches will administer these camps, and will be an opportunity for everyone to share knowledge and best practices.
The Zone Head Coaching Positions are currently posted online along with the job description (see below). We are looking for one person, per zone, per gender, to help administer and lead ODP in their zone. This person will work with local club and zone leadership to recruit and hire Zone Age Group Coaches to help work with the zone athletes. All USAWP coaches and referees will be invited to the camps as a free and open opportunity for professional development as well.
The ODP Zone Camps will be an opportunity for the Zone Coaches and National Team Staff to identify and select the top athletes in the zone for consideration for the Zone Team. Athletes will be required to attend one of the ODP Zone camps to be eligible for consideration. At the conclusion of the Zone Camps, the top 14 athletes in each age group (Youth, Cadet, Development) will be selected to train once more and then compete in the annual ODP National Championships. Larger zones will be granted more teams to serve their population, but the idea is to identify and gather the top athletes in the Zone to compete at the National Championship as a team. At this National Championship, athletes will then be selected to the National Team Selection Camps and from there our pipeline National Teams will be selected.
Finally, ODP will now offer more opportunities for USAWP members to develop. In the 2014-2015 ODP Season, we will offer ODP Positional Camps for Centers and Defenders, Goalies, and Attackers. These will be bonus opportunities for any USAWP athlete to come learn specific tips and skills that are being taught at the National Team Level. We will also begin to offer more Holiday Camps in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. These camps have historically been a unique opportunity for our athletes to be exposed to the Olympic movement in the USA, and leave inspired to better themselves in all aspects of life. None of these are requirements for being a part of ODP, but rather serve the purpose of sharing knowledge, resources, and collectively working together to advance our sport. ODP 2.0 will certainly not be the last evolvement of ODP.
The Olympic Development Program exists to identify and prepare athletes to represent USAWP in international competition; while exposing, educating, engaging and developing all USAWP athletes, coaches and referees to the vision of our Men's and Women's Senior National Team Coaches.
"Who", "What" and "How" this is executed will be constantly evolving through our collaboration as a community. The future of the ODP Zone Camps will continue to exist as the vehicle for which we can share knowledge, grow, and develop athletes, coaches and referees. Looking ahead, we can further grow the pool of athletes that we can select from if we've developed strong regionalized USAWP club competitions. We encourage everyone to continue to build your clubs in your region and work within your Zone and neighboring Zones to build meaningful regional competition that will be the showcase of your club athlete development. When this comes to fruition, these leagues can be used to identify the best athletes, coaches and referees for participation in the Olympic Development Program.
We are all dedicated to working with the entire USAWP community on the betterment of sport domestically and internationally.
Adam Krikorian, Women's Senior National Team Head Coach
Dejan Udovicic, Men's Senior National Team Head Coach
John Abdou, High Performance Director
ODP Zone Head Coach Job Description & Application Information - Application Deadline - April 30,2014
