Funchal 2026: Netherlands’ world-renowned performance coach Michel Verkade to lead Water Polo Coaches Clinic

One of the world’s most respected high-performance coaches, Michel Verkade – Performance Coach for Team NL (Dutch Olympic Committee) – will lead a prestigious Women’s Water Polo Coaches Clinic during the European Championships, focused on gym-based training adaptations in response to the new rules and the evolving demands of the game.

The clinic will be held on Wednesday 28 January at the Hotel VidaMar Congress Centre from 14:00-15:00 (local time) and is designed as a must-attend event for water polo coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, and performance specialists, offering practical insight into how physical preparation must change to keep pace with the modern women’s game.

Details of how to attend or watch the clinic on demand, can be found by clicking here.

Recognised internationally for his work in elite sport, Verkade has been responsible for physical performance across multiple Olympic and Paralympic programmes since 2014.

His experience includes leading physical preparation for the Dutch men’s and women’s national water polo teams, long-term development of youth water polo athletes, and elite Olympic and Paralympic swimming programmes.

Verkade’s presentation will focus on how recent rule changes – particularly the shortened attack time – are reshaping women’s water polo.

The modern game now features less horizontal swimming and significantly more vertical play, with frequent contact, rapid transitions, and repeated high-intensity actions.

This shift has led to a clear change in physical demands.

Players now spend more time battling for position, elevating under pressure, and executing skills in close contact situations, both with and without the ball.

As a result, gym-based preparation must evolve and Verkade will outline how strength and conditioning programmes should place greater emphasis on:

• Footwork strength and agility, essential for maintaining position and reacting quickly in vertical battles
• Leg strength, stability, and explosive power, which are now decisive factors in contact situations
• Shoulder strength and resilience, crucial for shooting performance in a faster, more intense game
• Power and explosiveness, developed in harmony with each athlete’s individual technical quality

While power and intensity are increasingly important, water polo remains a highly individualised team sport, and gym work must reflect positional differences.

The physical needs of a goalkeeper, for example, differ significantly from those of a centre forward or perimeter player, requiring tailored approaches rather than one-size-fits-all programmes.

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