Add to ORKGThe purpose of the present study is to verify the incidence of ball handling in swimming intensity in water polo, in order to obtain useful indication in coaching. The research method is integrated and consists of action research for coach contribution by training and evaluation, and theoretical-argumentative to deduce a framework in which define the data processing. Eleven well-trained competitive athletes were recruited and asked to swim 5 x 20-m, one time with ball, and one time without ball. This test was repeated three times. For each swimmer was calculated the mean and standard error of times per test, both with and without the ball. Analysis was conducted individually for each athlete, and in total for each test. The results, t...