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Power Play Shooting Spots

Learn where shots come from when your team has one extra player.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Set up in two lines of three spots in front of goal.

Core: Medium. Beat your own best out of 10.

Ages
14 and up
Time
15 min
Players
4 or more players
Space
Pool
Bring
Pool, water polo ball, goal, 4 or more players
Level · skill
Advanced · Shooting

The steps

How it works

  1. Set up in two lines of three spots in front of goal.
  2. Pass around until the coach calls a number.
  3. That player shoots at once, aiming away from the goalie.
  4. Rotate spots; take 20 shots as a group.

Coaching point

Ball moves fast, shooter is ready.

Safety: Swim only with a lifeguard or coach watching and, under 14, a grown-up within arm’s reach. Wear a polo cap with ear guards and use a ball your size. Shoot only at the goal or the wall, never at a person, and only when the lane is clear.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Target-corner game: two teams of two take turns shooting at floats hung in the goal corners. Each team counts only its own hits.

Challenge

Pick a target: Less (big), Core (medium), More (small). Beat your own best out of 10.

Story

You are an aiming star: hit the treasure buoy.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best out of 10. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free water polo week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.