Udovicic: Pro Polo Returning to US, Plans for Coaching Association, and more

Menlo Park, CA –In country only since May, US Men’s National Team Coach Dejan Udovicic has already begun to make his mark on the program, but not without first being a keen observer and listener, according to two people familiar with his efforts. The coach weathered the chill on Stanford’s pool deck on Saturday to take in NCAA Championships, the pinnacle of American competitive water polo. There he caught a memorable semifinal in which Pacific held off Stanford in the final seconds to earn an 11-10 victory in front of one of the great, boisterous crowds we’ve ever observed in the US. Before the match he shared some of his initial observations about US water polo and some key plans for the near future.

• Professional men’s water polo is returning to the US if all goes to plan, according to Udovicic. A league of 12 to 14 teams will begin play in 2015, the season running from January to May. The coach says that the new entity may use some features of the now-defunct Premier League but will not be a copy. The moniker is still to be determined with some idea toward partnering with a featured name sponsor. Udovicic is not opposed to using the forum to experiment with competition rules or other features.
• Half the finalists for his job were European, and the influx of coaching and athletic talent from that continent couldn’t be lost on observers at the NCAA Championship tournament. Can we expect a European style of organization and play now that he’s arrived? “I am not here to change, but to upgrade,” he emphasized.
• A coaching association of some kind is in the works with an emphasis on training and actual certification, perhaps in conjunction with the US Olympic Committee. The goal is to “share knowledge,” not impose it, he says.
• The youth movement is afoot. “We are very happy with the new players who are coming up in the system,” he says. With them, “I can tell you we will have success.”
• He reiterated a point from an earlier interview in which he touted the “potential” of American talent, but with an eye toward expanding the sources to outside California. Off a recent trip to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he taught a brief clinic to local youth players, he emphasized areas like Chicago and Texas as encouraging feeders.
• A new coaching regime always produces a turnover of talent. No different for Udovicic who makes a point of looking for size and toughness in his young talent. As for the changes in personnel his efforts may hasten, “The Olympics aren’t for everyone, only the chosen.”
• Among the biggest surprises for the Serbian coach about living in the US: the dearth of late night entertainment in sleepy Orange County. “Everything closes at nine o’clock,” he smiled.