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TRAINING ADVICE FROM TONY AZEVEDO
From the USOC, July 15, 2002


Tony Azevedo has been touted as the "Michael Jordan of water polo." At 18, he was the youngest U.S. National Team member ever; he was the youngest player on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team by seven years. He was the leading scorer (13 goals) for the U.S. at the 2001 World Championships and led Stanford to the NCAA title as a freshman.

How to be a great water polo player Tip #1 - Develop your swimming skills
"Swimming is such an important part of water polo. It's so hard, it's so much grinding away. But it's such an important aspect. If you are out there and you are two or three seconds faster than the other player, you're going to have so much of an advantage."

Tip #2 - Size and speed aren't everything
"Ball handling, I think, is the most important [part of water polo]. Everyone can be big and everyone can be fast, but ball-handling, the people who know how to play with the ball, the people who do have those great hands and have those great talents, I think, is what separates a great player from the normal player."

Tip #3 - Don't neglect scoring
"Shooting is the main thing of the game. If you put the ball in the goal, you win. So shooting is so important. Sometimes, people don't take that too seriously."

Tip #4 - Build strength
"Strength is becoming such an important part of the game. This last year, I probably put on about 10 pounds, just because the game is changing and I have to adjust to the game."

Tip #5 - Prepare yourself for the grind
"Endurance is the name of the game. The 1st quarter is even and the second and third quarters are tough. But it comes down to the 4th quarter. It's usually a one goal game and its the teams that have that endurance, that have that knowledge of the game, that have been there before, are the ones that have succeeded."

Tip #6 - Team success is your success
"Individual success is great, but it's not nearly as great as team success. No matter how much I get better, if my team never gets better, than I'll never get that championship; I'll never achieve my goals. My two main purposes out there are how good can I make my team and how much better can I make the player next to me."