NORTHERN SUBURBS NETBALL ASSOCIATION Strategy Session 2018 Authors: Megan Anderson Jenny Gage Traill
STRATEGY SESSION Aim: Team strategies are important in terms of players understanding their role within the team and on the court. Players should understand why they are standing in a certain place, holding space in a certain way or moving to an area on the court. A strategy is a guide on how best to do a Backline throw-in, or a Centre Pass or a Penalty Pass in the Goal third. Strategies ARE NOT instructed moves where players run where you tell them. Players need to be able to understand concepts so they can adapt to different situations or defensive/attacking plays on the court. When players feel they are contributing to team play they will feel valuable, as a coach your task is to improve the skill performance of your players and foster an understanding and love of the game. In this coaching session we will cover Defensive Backline Throw-ins, Centre Pass Attack and general Systems practice that helps players understand when and where they should be on the court in certain situations. Points to remember and reinforce Player movement on the court is primarily to hold or create space for themselves or a team mate Players need to be balanced on the court in relation to other team members and the ball. Maximise use of the court, use width (across the court) and depth (down the court) in attack Player movements down court should be into space, showing their awareness of other players Player movements should be definite so that teammates can read, react and adjust to their movements. Systems can be used at training to provide a framework to build team strategy and cohesion. By practising bringing the ball down the court at training enables players to gain knowledge of spaces available to them. It also fosters and understanding of teammates movements and gives them a structure to fall back on in pressure situations Player Analysis During a game, if things aren t going to plan, there a few things you can check to try and find the cause. If you don t know the cause you won t be able to tweak your strategy accordingly. So, don t forget to ask yourself these questions Are players leading too soon or to the same space as another player Is a player doing the same thing and becoming predictable Is the opposition doing something in defence/attack that is preventing our game plan from working e.g. is there defence one on one or zone, are they using long balls in attack or a high ball into the shooter Do the players need to adjust to the umpire s calls 2
SYSTEMS Switching between defence and attack and vice versa is called TRANSITION. The ability to transition well is crucial to a team success and all players are involved in transition. Transition can be practiced going through Systems, as seen in example below. Ensure all players rotate through those positions relevant to them, it s not the same watching and each side of the court feels different so they should practice both sides. These exercises can be made more difficult by restricting those who can receive the ball (i.e. making a rule that the C is unable to touch the ball), by adding defence or by adding a time constraint to getting the ball to a shot attempt. Example A In example A above, the T chooses the worker on the right-hand sideline to pass to. From this point a number of things can happen, but importantly.. Ideally leads come on to the ball so the ball can continue down court. So, in this case the C needs to clear out Once the C clears out the WA has right of way and decides to drive for the ball Meanwhile the GA may do a preliminary move to lose her defender and then drive down court to receive from the WA The next ball can go directly into the GS or to the C who has cleared and has now driven to circle edge Players may need to adjust and be a second option to the ball if the first option is cut off by the defence Once a player understands where she needs to be she can begin to work on putting herself in the best position to get there 3
Example B In example B above, the T chooses the C coming up the middle to pass to. From this point a number of things can happen, but importantly.. In order to choose the best option, the person receiving needs to be able to see all options, so the C must turn fully and quickly to see the whole court. Next the WA and GA can both drive for the ball, with the C choosing the best of the 2 options Say the WA receives, from there the GA should re-offer for the next pass, and so it continues In all instances the direction of the drive for the ball should be into space, it should be free of defence (thanks to your fabulous preliminary move) and at an angle so that the passer can see even with big hands over her pass. In addition to this, the person who has just passed the ball should also re-offer, to add an extra option for the attacking team. Points to remember Ensure systems are practised with the thrower choosing different sides of the court to pass to Ensure different options are used in attack once in the ball is past the centre circle Systems can be made more difficult by placing rules such as the GA can t receive the ball outside the circle; or the GS must take a ball outside the circle You can also add defenders to the play, meaning attackers need to concentrate even more on skills such as decision making, preliminary moves, and spatial awareness As always essential skills such as pivoting, passing and catching are immensely important, you could say crucial to success, and shouldn t be forgotten when completing this exercise. 4
CENTRE PASSES Aim: The aim of the Centre Pass (CP) is to obviously get the ball safely to the shooters hands in the Goal Circle. The first pass has to be received int the centre third, but in the ideal world, the second pass should be delivered to a player near the edge of the goal circle. Making the pass into the shooter easier. This is a skill that will continually develop over time in players, as their passes, court awareness, speed, agility and fitness become better. Sometimes things don t go to plan and it can take 5, 6, or 7 plus passes to reach the goal circle. Whilst not ideal, being patient in attack is extremely important, as long as you have the ball your opponent doesn t. Some examples of CP options are below. Once again, the attacker must not only think of where she should drive in terms of space, but also how best to lose her defender and how to do it in terms of where her teammates are and even where the next pass needs to go. Working together on the transverse line before a CP is an important skill that a GA and WA will learn to do as they become more experienced. Example A In Example A above, the First ball (1 st phase) goes to the WA, after this The GA clears out and heads to the circle The GS leads out for the 2 nd phase ball and turns quickly to find the GA on a good drive into the circle. The GS should think about her angle on to the ball if the WA has big hands over her pass. The GA should time her lead into the circle to be on a strong drive when the GS is ready to pass. She may need to change her pace or change direction before her final drive The C would trail behind the GA towards the circle edge and head to the top of the circle to be an option if the GS is unable to get the pass to the GA in the circle 5
Example B In Example B above, the 1 st Phase ball goes to the GA, after that. The WA does a small clear or roll and heads towards the top of the circle to receive from the GA WA is actually front on the line, but may sometimes be covered by the WD and C and unable to get free for the CP The next ball goes directly into the GS who can either hold, dodge or roll towards the post for the ball. The C would utilise the space on the opposite side of the GA, and be available in the pocket or off the circle for a pass form the WA if it can t go directly into the GS Example C In Example C above, the 1 st Phase ball goes back to a defender driving down, then The GA has driven for the CP, but not received so has cleared towards the circle The WA has been covered by WD and C and so the C drives for a quick ball back from the defender she has passed to The GS is then on a strong lead out of the circle In this the WA could then drive to the pocket to receive from the GS. Or they could clear to the side the GA went and allow the C to double play with the GS to the circle edge Varying results from a set 1 st and 2 nd phase, perhaps decided on because the WA had 2 defender son them. End result depends on D positioning and what opens up for the attackers 6
BACKLINE THROW-INS The aim of a backline throw-in is to deliver the ball safely down the court to the shooters in the goal circle. This is part of what we called transition earlier, meaning it come from a turnover, turning defence into attack. Teams should practice taking throw-ins from varying positions on the court so that players have a framework on which to build their attack. Example A In Example A above, the GD starts deep but then moves forward to receive the first ball, after this The C drives forward to receive off the GD. The WD could also drive here, but may have been held wide by the WA The WD receives from the centre, driving down towards the centre circle Next is the WA driving middle, wo then passes to the GA coming back to the middle The GS is the final receiver, they may hold, roll, dodge or come up to go back to get free of the GK All of this depends on where the D are set up and whether the attacking side is able to get free of their D Having the passer make another move after passing ensures that there is more than one option if the first one is cut off. 7
EXAMPLE B In Example B above the WD receives the first pass, you ll notice that the first pass in both examples has gone to the player on the same side as the GK. This is usually the safer pass, as the ball doesn t travel across the goal circle. A little tip in there for defender a backline throw-in? Perhaps a double on the ball side would create some trouble! After the first pass to the WD The WD has received the ball quite high, so the GD drives across to receive the next ball. While this is happening the GK would have moved again to be a backup option if the GD couldn t get free Next the C drives down towards the sideline to receive the pass and then the GA comes forward to receive off the C The WA has cleared after not receiving from the C and now drives towards the top of the circle to receive from the GA and then delivers a ball to the GS POINTS TO REMEMBER in CP, Backline Throw-ins and Systems You should try to have a short medium and long option You should pass and make another move You should always do a preliminary move before you want to receive the ball You should always know where your team mates are You should turn quickly and fully, to see all options down court If one option gets shut down there should always be a back up option available. Your job isn t done once you pass the ball, you need to pass and drive and if you re not used, re-offer into another space Having frameworks for the players means they know approximately where they need to get the ball so they can plan their starting position and preliminary moves accordingly 8