Handball: Stretching the defence with passing.

Defend and cover as a unit! Promote teamwork and get your players to communicate.

Get your back-line moving as a unit and backing one another up when running out to close down the opposition in this cooperative defending session

Get your back-line moving as a unit and backing one another up when running out to close down the opposition in this cooperative defending session.

Get your players creating defensive triangles and closing down the attacking dangers with this week's defensive system session

The feeders on the baseline and the outside of the 9 meter line take it in turns to feed the ball to the attacking runner (Blue 2).

When the ball is played the attacker run to meet the pass. As they do so the defender (red 1) also runs to meet them.

The attacker is looking to make a shot on goal with the defender aiming to show them to the outside of the court, making it difficult to shoot and ultimately dispossess the player with the ball.

The second defender (red 2) is the covering man, blocking the attacker's view of goal and is only there to cover the first defender, not make the tackle.

After a shot or a tackle has been made the drill flips and restarts on the opposite side of the court with the other line.

Use this conditioned game on a half court with your team.

The defending side will have 6 players plus a goalkeeper and the attackers 6 (no goalkeeper).

Depending on how much time you have you can use each of the variations below for 5 minutes at a time before changing the conditions for goalscoring.

1. Only the pivot (blue 6) may score.
2. Only the wing players (blues 1 and 5) can score.
3. Players may only score after completing 10 passes.

The blue players are trying to pass the ball through to the pivot (white 1).

At the same time though the red players are working hard to block this pass.

The aim for the red players is to run forward and touch their back court player before running back quickly to defend any passes to the pivot.

After they have been touched blue players pass the ball to a player in the opposite line and they then run to the back of the other line.

Drill continues in this way.

Blue players 1, 2 and 3 stand in a line with a supply of ball to try and feed to blue player 4.

The defending player (Red 1) must stay in front of the receiving player and mirror their movement across the court, preventing as many balls as possible from reaching blue player 4.

The receiving player must change pace and direction in order to lose their marker but they are not allowed to step in front of the defender.