WATER POLO: Water Polo Australia’s High Performance program has been given a massive post-Olympics boost with the re-appointment of long-term Aussie Stingers Head Coach Greg McFadden.
 
McFadden has coached the Stingers to bronze medals at the last two Olympic Games and been at the helm of the Australian senior women’s program since 2005.
 
Under his tutelage the Aussie Stingers have won gold medals at the 2006 FINA World Cup, 2006 Commonwealth Championships, 2012 Pan Pacs and 2012 London Olympic Test event as well as achieving numerous other podium finishes on the world stage including the pair of Olympic bronzes.
 
Himself a former Olympic representative, having played in Barcelona in 1992, McFadden said he was thrilled to be back at the helm of the Stingers side and was focussed on the journey to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
 
“I am looking forward to the next four years,” McFadden said.
 
“We have a great group of players to choose from already in our SIS/SAS programs and hopefully we will retain a core bunch of girls from the team that won bronze in London and give ourselves a good chance of winning in Rio.
 
“I have looked at all the statistics from London and they showed some telling things about how close we were to the gold medal.
 
“We need to continually challenge ourselves and make improvements as everyone else in the world is looking to do this. However, we aren’t far off the mark presently, we just need to refine a few areas, in regards to our execution.”
 
McFadden said despite the hope of retaining the core of his London squad nobody was guaranteed a free ride to Rio.
 
“I hope we are able to keep the nucleus of the squad we had in London and also the other girls that were part of our preparation for the Olympics,” he said.
 
“But it’s a new cycle and everyone starts from scratch. We have a lot of talent coming through the ranks and anyone who is given a chance will need to take it with both hands, work hard and earn the right for their position in the team.”
 
McFadden and WPA High Performance Manager Tom Hill are working with the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Sports Commission on the team’s pathway to Rio with some exciting plans in discussion.
 
“I am very excited about what lies ahead and we are looking to appoint a fulltime assistant senior coach who will also have a major role with the junior team to assist in player transition to the senior squad,” McFadden said.
 
“We are also hopeful of establishing an enhanced junior program in partnership with the AIS for our under 20 players to help in fast tracking them into the senior system.”
 
McFadden said planning for next year’s competitive program is already underway and he will attend next month’s inaugural FINA World Youth Championships in Perth to watch Australia’s next wave of stars.

Water Polo Australia Inc.