BASIC NEBALL SKILLS he ʻChange Itʼ Approach As a coach, it is important that you cater for individual skills and abilities - which in a team sport can be quite difficult. Every player in your team should have the opportunity to take part in every activity. One way to do this is to follow the major concept behind the ʻchange itʼ approach. Each time you plan an activity or drill, keep in mind how you can make that drill a bit easier and how you can make it a bit harder. In that way the same drill can meet the needs of all players. Ways that you can change a drill to vary the difficulty include; make the playing area larger or smaller alter distances between players or targets vary the number of players involved in teams change the rules - make it easier or harder to score points use different equipment - softer balls, shorter goals, smaller balls introduce time limits Straight Drive his is the most important attacking move for players to develop. Sprint strongly out to the ball. Go directly forward, or at a 45 degree angle on either side. Players should never run sideways across the court for a pass. If you are leading to the right, you should take off on your right foot. If you are leading to your left, then take off on your left foot. he first 3 or 4 steps made are the ones that have to be strong. When leading to the right, encourage players to pivot on their right foot. When leading to the left, encourage players to pivot on their left foot. Pump your arms to go faster. Do not slow down until the ball is in your hands. Do not start your break until the person with the ball has got their balance and is ready to throw to you.
Change of Direction his is essentially two straight leads joined together. he idea is you convince the defender you are making a break in one direction before you actually make your real move in another direction. Sprint strongly out to the ball, either directly forward or at a 45 degree angle on either side. he first 3 or 4 steps made are the ones that must be strong. Push off on your outside foot strongly and move in the direction you want to go. Again, put emphasis on the first 3 or 4 steps when moving in the new direction. Attacking Drills 1. Drive and Catch. Work in pairs, one ball between two, about 4m apart. hrower stands with back to worker, tosses ball up about 1/2 a metre and catches it themselves. hey pivot to face the attacker. he attacker then completes a straight drive to receive the ball, two foot land and return the ball using a shoulder pass. Repeat 10 times and then swap over roles. W 2. Basic Straight Leads. Work in groups of 4. Worker 1 makes a lead out at 45 degrees to receive a pass. Worker 2 then makes a straight lead to receive a pass from worker 1. hey then pivot and pass the ball to the second thrower. 1 2
3. Straight Lead Lines. Work in groups of approximately 4 players. Players form a straight line down the court, about 3 or 4m apart. 1 starts with the ball and throws to self to establish timing. 2 makes a straight lead forward to receive a pass, pivots and passes to 3 on a lead. Continue down the court and back again. Change to use a straight lead to the left, then a straight lead to the right. Encourage players to pivot on the correct foot. 1 2 3 4 4. Changing Drives. Work in groups of 4. Players drive through the cones focusing on a strong change of direction. Push off on the outside foot at each cone to drive hard the other way.
5. ouch and Drive. Work in pairs. Worker runs away from the thrower to touch the line with their foot, they they turn quickly and drive hard to receive a straight pass. Complete 10 straight drives and then swap over. Ensure that players keep their eyes on the ball all the way to their hands. Do not slow down until the ball is in your hands. 6. Change of Direction. Players complete a straight drive out to the cone, and then change direction and drive for a second time to receive a pass. Use two different variations for this drill; 7. rain ag. Work in groups of 4. One person is ʻitʼ. he others join a straight line, each holding the waist of the person in front of them. he person who is ʻitʼ has to try to tag the person at the end of the line. he rest of the line has to try and move left and right to protect the back person.
8. Cone Weave. Work in groups of 4. Set up cones in zig zag pattern, just about 1 metre apart. Players dodge from one cone to the next to the end of the circuit. hey then join the end of the line. Can extend the drill by having a player at the top of the cones, throwing in a ball at any time. his ensures that the player keeps their head and eyes up at all times. 9. Fox and Geese. Work in groups of 4. hree players join hands to form a circle. An extra player, nominated as a tagger or ʻfoxʼ, stands outside the circle. he fox aims to tag the player in the circle designated as the ʻgooseʼ. Players keep the circle intact and aim to re-position to protect the goose from being caught. Fox makes quick changes of direction to move around the circle and try to catch the goose. he fox cannot push through nor go under arms of circle. After designated time frame (e.g. 30 seconds) or after the goose is tagged, players change roles.
Shadowing in Defence Stand in front of opponent with back to them, your body half way across their body. Keep arms close to your sides. Feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, back upright. Keep good vision of both the ball in front and the player behind you. Shadow the playerʼs moves using fast feet to keep up with them. Do not turn your head - move your feet faster instead. Recovery and Arms Over Push off strongly using long stride or a few steps to get back 3 feet. Use arms to help power you backwards. Feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, weight forward on ball of foot but with whole foot on ground. Stretch arms upright. Arms follow the movement of the ball. Defending Drills 1. Shadowing between two cones. Place 2 cones about 3m apart. Defender starts in the shadowing position. hey slide between the 2 cones, keeping in the defensive position with their heads still. Practise with head facing in both directions. Extend this drill by adding an attack player for the defence to shadow. he attack player should start by moving slowly, side to side between cones. As the defence gets better, they can increase their speed. Extend this drill again by holding up coloured cards in front of defence for them to call out. his tests whether they have good vision of both the ball out front and the attack they are shadowing. Extend again by having thrower out the front to pass ball at any time to attack. Defender must intercept the pass. 2. Shadows and Intercepts. Work in groups of 4-1 worker, 1 thrower and 2 stationary posts. he worker starts sliding along line in defensive position, imagining they are shadowing an attacking player. he thrower then passes the ball towards the post at one end. he worker runs forward to intercept the ball in front of the post with two hands preferable. Start back level with the line and move towards the other side. P W P
3. Recovery to 3 feet, arms over. Have players all start up on the transverse line. On ʻGoʼ, they all step back 3 feet, get balance and put arms up. Check that their feet get back before they put their arms up. Extend the drill by adding arms over ball movement - coach stands out in front of line with ball and moves it slowly around. Players move their arms to mirror those movements. 4. Defence Circle. Have two defenders with at least 6 players (throwers) forming a circle around them. hrowers pass the ball to each other around the circle, but cannot throw to the person next to them. he defender closest to the thrower must move up to them 3 feet away and put arms over ball. he other defender sags back and tries to intercept the pass. Get 3 touches, then swap over defences in the middle. Shooting he Australian shooting technique is a one handed shot. he other hand is just a support hand and rests lightly on the side of the ball. Junior players will have trouble with strength using a high release with one hand, and so may lower the ball to get more power. As they get older and stronger, you can encourage them to again increase the height of the ball on release. Ball held above head. Arms extended with shooting arm pretty straight and close to the ear. Ball rests on base of fingers and thumb. Opposite hand is placed on side of ball to help steady it. Feet shoulder width apart with feet, hips and elbow pointing towards the goal post. Bend elbows and knees, then straighten them. Flick the ball with the wrist as you release. Follow through with arms and fingers pointing towards the post. he ball should travel in an arc towards the post. Follow in for rebounds.
Shooting Drills 1. Shuffle Shoot Relay. Form two equal teams. Line up on a diagonal from the transverse line to the goal. Start ball at transverse. Pass down the line of players until it reaches the last person in the goal circle. hey attempt a shot at goal and retrieve the rebound. hey then run to the start of the line, everyone shuffles down one spot and you repeat the sequence again. Continue until players get back to their starting positions. eam scoring most goals wins. 2. Pepperpot Pass and Shoot. Split into 2 teams. Each team stands around the radius of one side of the goal circle, numbering off 1 to 4. wo balls are placed in the centre of the goal circle. he coach calls out a number. hat number from each team runs in, picks up a ball, passes to each player from their team (as in corner spry). Once they catch the last pass, they attempt to shoot a goal. First team to score a goal gets a point. Can extend this game by calling ʻfruit saladʼ. If that happens, player 1 first comes out and goes through the routine. Once they get the goal in, player 2 comes out and completes the entire routine. Continue until the last player in the team completes the routine and sinks the goal. 3. wenty One. Split into 2 teams. Each team forms their own line in front of the goal post. One at a time the front players attempt a goal. If they get the goal in they get 2 points for their team. If they miss, but get the rebound on the full, they can have another attempt at which point they score 1 point if they get it in. he other teamʼs first player then has a turn. Continue with each team taking turns and adding up their scores until the first team reaches 21 points. 4. Killer. Have entire team start in one straight line in front of goal post, with the first two players having a ball. he first person shoots and continues to shoot until they get the goal in. You shoot from where you get the rebound each time. If you get the goal in, you pass the ball to the next person in line and join the end of the line again. he second person in line begins to shoot as soon as the first player has had their first shot. If the player behind sinks the goal before the player in front of them each time, then the front person is out. he winner is the last person ʻaliveʼ.
Defending a Shot at Goal Make sure you get 3 foot distance before putting arms up. Defend the ball, and immediately the goal shooter releases their shot, turn and block them so that you have front position for the rebound. he other defence should be alert for the pass off by the shooters, as well as get front position for the rebound also.