Contact on the Ball by GD?

Contact on the Ball by GD?

My GD is tall and has a very good stretch when marking the shoot. She anticipates well, and when she sees the shoot about to release the ball, times her action and from her stretch, flicks her hand to try to deflect the ball from its path. In a recent game, she was continually pulled for contact when doing this. She felt either the shoot had raised the ball up into her hands (and it should have been the GD's possession), or the shoot had actually released the ball before she then deflected it, rather than her knocking the ball from the shoots possession. The umpire after the game was happy to discuss and said the GD had been penalised for knocking the ball out of the shoots hands, and should have stuck with the stretch and not added the flick. Any advice?

Susan DonaldCoach, England
ANSWERS
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

to not get called for contact in the circumstances you have described, your GD would have to be standing still with no movement of the hand. it is very rare for a defender not to be called for ball contact in this instance, as it sounds like she is moving her hand to flick the ball, and thus the probability of her not causing the contact is very low. for the shooter to be penalised for ball contact she would have to do as the umpire has suggested. keep her lean and her hand still over the ball. no downward movement at all. very difficult thing to do. i too would suggest that she finds a different technique, or make it a lot more obvious to go for the ball AFTER the ball has been released.

Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

From the technique you have described, I tend to think that it will be pretty rare for her to not get called for the contact on the ball. any downward movement , or generally ANY movement of the hand during a shot or pass will be called AGAINST the defender. thier hand must be completely still. if she is tall and has a good lean that is the best way to avoid constantly being called for the contact. as for trying to redirect the shot, then she is going to have to time it better to make sure the shot has been clearly taken before attempting to misdirect it. if you watch mixed games, the guys are experts at the timing to reject the shot.

Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

sorry...the system was slow to update so it looked like it hadnt saved my answer....lol

Susan DonaldCoach, England

Thanks Lee-annes, that`s really helpful to have a another view. She was getting so frustrated, but as you point out, I think her timing of the flick just wasn`t quite there and quite difficult for the umpire to call. I`ll try to find some mixed matches to watch to get a few tips! Sue

Netball CoachCoach

Yep I agree with the others. It is very rare to make that sort of call the defender`s way as they are often bringing their hand down. As an umpire of both ladies and mixed I see the men are a lot more practised at making a leap from 3 feet then extending the hand out to deflect afterward (leaving time for the ball to leave the shooter`s hand) - sort of a "hangtime" move.

Janet Coach, Australia

Always open to the umpire`s interpretation and players must adjust to the calls made during the game. If you genuinely think that the GD has got her timing/technique right I would encourage her to continue this technique until penalised and then adjust to the call. Good umpires support good technique and development of the game but you have to play to the standard of umpiring available which can be frustrating.

Login or Join Now for FREE to post your answer

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 700+ netball drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans

TRANSFORM YOUR TEAM'S SEASON WITH PROFESSIONALLY PLANNED SESSIONS

Use our expert plans or build your own using our library of over 700+ drills, and easy-to-use tools.

JOIN NOW

VIEW MORE QUESTIONS

See the whole archive of questions.

QUESTIONS ARCHIVE

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 700+ netball drills
  • create professional netball coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested netball plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the worlds largest netball coaching resource for 700+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT