Introduction
Anyone who has played, or attempted to play, water polo will know that it deserves its reputation as one of the hardest team sports. The combination of swimming, wrestling, and throwing while treading water can be a daunting prospect even for quality athletes. The great British breaststroker, Adrian Moorhouse, whose brother Stephen played water polo to national level, when asked about his own water polo ambitions, famously commented that the game was "too much like hard work".
Since its invention by the British in the 19th century, Europe has continued to be the stronghold of the men's waterpolo game despite occasional threats from the United States and Australia. The women's game exhibits a fiercer competition for the top spot with Australia, the US, and Canada, jostling with the European nations.
Waterpolo is one of the longest-standing Olympic team sports, first introduced with soccer in 1900. Nonetheless, in the modern era, water polo has languished in the shadow of more popular and more televisable events, including its closest counterpart, swimming. Waterpolo coaches and players are often amateurs and, even in the United States, where college coaches can command high salaries, pay for the professional waterpolo coach can be inadequate.
Waterpolo's insignificant public profile means that incentives for publication and research are lacking. As I began my own research it became clear that, at the most basic level, there is no resource for the coach or player which provides a convenient and organised guide to the most recent publications on water polo, whether manuals for the junior player, or learned scholarly articles for experienced international coaches.
In the case of the latter, it is a rare book indeed that addresses issues of water polo physiology, psychology, or sociology. The academic articles published in the last century or so have tended to be concealed in hard-to-find journals. Masters and Ph.D. theses which contain important information may exist in only one edition at their home institution. A modern tendency towards mono-glottism in scientific research means that important contributions in languages other than English are frequently overlooked.
This bibliography then is an attempt to pull together the most relevant books, articles, and references from the inception of the game to the present day. My intent is to offer a convenient resource for players, administrators, referees, and coaches of all levels from which we can enhance our understanding and contribute to the knowledge and development of water polo.
One small advisory: this is very much a work in progress. It is possible, even probable, that readers will find gaps in the bibliography - my knowledge of Russian or Serbian is limited to say the least! And it is even possible that there may be errors! Please let the author know! In time, I hope to provide annotated entries for all the bibliographic items listed and, where appropriate, to include images. However, I encourage you, the reader, to contribute to this ongoing project. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Glaring omissions and errors will be rectified!
Nevertheless, I hope that you will find this a useful and appropriate starting point to begin your investigation or to delve deeper into the wonderful world of waterpolo!