Bespućima interneta nabasali smo na jedan tekst o pripremama australske reprezentacije u Dubrovniku na waterpoloaustralia.com.au. Aussie Sharks, kako je nadimak momčadi, spremao se rodnom gradu trenerskog dvojca, izbornika Elvisa Fatovića i kondicijskog trenera Deana Kontića:

Last week the Aussie Sharks departed for a two month European tour that will see them compete at both the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, as well as the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia while they are away.

With a solid nine weeks abroad, the team will be checking in intermittently to update their tour diary and let us know what is happening when they aren’t in the pool competing!

Welcome home to Dubrovnik

– Paul Oberman (Team Manager and Assistant Coach)

Dubrovnik has become a home away from home for the Aussie Sharks over the past few years, with both head coach Elvis Fatovic and strength and conditioning coach Dean Kontic (Konta) both hailing from this city in Croatia.

While our transit time from Australia was lengthy (we had two lots of five hour stopovers along the way, at Changi in Singapore and Charles de Gaulle in France respectively), it was great to get back to the beautiful warm weather that this city has on offer each summer.

Another bonus of arriving was that the team was reunited with fellow member Aaron Younger, who has only recently finished competing for Croatian club VK Jug in the European Final Six tournament, finishing fourth after a close 14-12 loss to Spanish hosts CN Atlètic Barcelona.

While Jug is currently Aaron’s home when he isn’t back in Perth, Western Australia, it is also a place where Konta coached for many years, and where Elvis made himself a household name by winning five Croatian championships and six Croatian cups. He also led the club to two European championships (2001, 2006), as well as adding victory in the 2000 LEN cup.

So with a few strong ties to this famous Croatian club, we have had the chance to use their excellent facilities for our world league preparations, and will return here after that tournament to prepare for the world championships. You can read a bit more about our arrival on the VK Jug website.

Irrespective of the long transit, the team didn’t miss a beat when it came to training, picking up where they left off in Canberra with high effort and intensity, with a focus on physical preparation, team strategies and skills.

As we look at our upcoming schedule, Dubrovnik will remain as our base for the next few days, and then we will move onto Belgrade, Serbia ahead of the world league finals begin in Bergamo from June 23-18.