Rudic:“Swim&PlayBalloneofbestthingsinlast20yearswaterpolo”

When he said goodbye to Pro Recco, in last May, he warned everyone: “I'm leaving the bench, not waterpolo”. And now that he has finished repairing the damage that last March earthquake caused to his home in Zagreb, Ratko Rudic still spends his days immersed in his great passion. "I watch games, work on HaBaWaBa projects with Waterpolo Development and I'm close to the Croatian Federation and FINA," the 4-time Olympic champion coach tells WPDWorld. "Yes, I’m very busy”, he admits laughing. Then of course he talks about waterpolo. "I watched some Champions League games - he continues -, the quality of the game is not at the usual level, but I liked it. Players and teams can't be at their best condition, the little number of games played so far matters. However to keep on playing, to compete, is important. We should not be too critical, but support and help clubs and national teams that are trying to move forward in a very positive way”. 

Rudic says he was surprised by Jug, which "doesn't have so many famous players anymore, but is showing that it’s still a great team. Barceloneta, Ferencvaros and Pro Recco have kept the quality of last season and they will fight until the end for the title”. As for his last team, Rudic explains that he feels something different. "Watching them, I felt nostalgic. Pro Recco has very good players and I liked them in Ostia. But I don't feel any regrets: I'm not coaching anymore, but I'm still in waterpolo”.   Rudic is also chairman of FINA Waterpolo Development Sub-committee, a body that few days ago launched the Swim&Play Ball, the first coaching manual created by the International Federation containing videos and practical indications to introduce children aged between 7-9 to waterpolo. “Swim&Play Ball is one of the most important things done in waterpolo in the last 20 years or more - explains Rudic - When development sub-committe was born one of its goals was to increase the number of players and support the development of waterpolo in countries where there is no tradition. Setting goals is easy, the difficult thing is to achieve them. In this sense, I believe that the manual is a valuable innovation for waterpolo. I have paid great compliments to the authors Ildiko Szedlmayer and Yiannis Giannouris, they have done a great job. Swim&Play Ball manual is clear for young players, for coaches, for those who don’t know waterpolo good, it really gives the necessary suggestions to take the first steps in building a team. Through this initiative FINA can really contribute to the spread of waterpolo worldwide, increase the number of players and, thanks that, raise the level of our sport". 

Rudic feels the spreading of waterpolo as his fight, he is co-founder of the HaBaWaBa project, born in 2007 with the same objectives of the Swim&Play Ball project: over the last 13 years, HaBaWaBa lowered the age of children's approach to waterpolo, creating new generations of young players. "The HaBaWaBa International Festival showed how creating a movement: today waterpolo events dedicated to children are taking place all over the world. Due to Swim&Play Ball we can bring waterpolo where there is no waterpolo now. As a founder, I am proud of HaBaWaBa and that the idea behind it - you have to start with children in order to spread waterpolo -, has been accepted by FINA, LEN and national federations. And it was nice to see 2020 closing with HaBaWaBa Brasil in Bauru: it was a sign of hope in the year of the Covid-19. I am sure that the HaBaWaBa movement will recover when the virus emergency will be over”.   Coronavirus will keep threatening waterpolo in the early months of 2021. This threat will make the first big events of the new year, the pre-Olympic tournaments in Trieste and Rotterdam, even more uncertain. "Croatia, Montenegro and Greece are favorites in the men's tournament - Rudic says -, but they will have to be careful. Covid can multiply the surprises”. Covid isn’t a problem only for national teams and top clubs. Coaches of not-famous teams or youth academies are also suffer the consequences of the pandemic worldwide. Rudic gives them some advice. “These days the most important thing is to continue your activity - Croatian coach states -, both outside and inside the pool. Coaches are experiencing difficult situation, but they have a great responsibility: to carry on their program no matter what. They have to get organized, be creative in order that their players can train while respecting all the anti-Covid rules. They must not give up on themselves, but turn this situation into a challenge that helps them find new motivation”.  

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