Attack in netball involves players keeping possession and passing the ball across the centre and goal zones to the shooting circle (court linkage), also known as the D.
Use the attack drills below to improve your players' ability to attack the D, move off the ball, compete for the ball, and pick the right passes for better court linkage (passing of the ball around the court) and practise 3 v 2 and 2 v 2 game situations.
Using these attack drills your players will understand court linkage and feeding to the shooting circle to create opportunities for your Goal Shooter (GS) and Goal Attack (GA).
The GA and GS are the only people from your team allowed in the shooting circle. It is only place your team can score from.
The essential netball ball handling skill videos below will improve your players' ability to handle the ball.
These ball skill drills will help your players to become more skillful players, become comfortable having the ball in their control, whether they are passing or receiving the ball.
The netball drills and videos will develop your players ability to catch, keep control while pivoting, feed, pass accurately and receive the ball from a stationary position or on the move.
Centre passes are arguably one of the most crucial part of the game, as you are given possession 50% of the time. Every teams aim is to score off every centre pass, however this definitely does not always happen. These set centre passes provide you will variation to help you outwit the defence and get the ball into the shooting circle with ease.
These centre passes provide a number of set ups you can use in order to get out for the centre pass and maintain possession. Ideally the WA will receive the centre pass in order for the GA to get down court and be available in the shooting circle; however this section has provided a number of different options available to you and your team.
The decision making drills and videos below will improve your players' understanding of the game, training them to think quickly while developing their ability to receive, feed and pass off the ball, and improving their communication and preliminary moves.
Better netball decision making skills will mean fewer intercepted passes and more possession for your team.
The more your players train using the decision making drills the better their court presence will be when clearing, intercepting the ball, stopping an attack or linking the ball through the court to launch your next attack.
There are three stages of Defence in netball:
The defence drills below will improve your players' shadowing of the opposition (man marking) and their ability to zone, all the while keeping three feet away to ensure they don't give away free passes.
Other netball skills covered include defending as individual and defending as a team - fast footwork to get in front - peripheral vision (so you can see the attacker, ball and other defenders) - and developing your defender's ability to read the game and intercept the ball.
We all know that a netball session never seems long enough to fit in all the content we wish! However, DIY Drills enable you to set your players tasks that they can complete at home, requiring minimal equipment or assistance. This will help give you more time within sessions to focus on more complex group tasks, as well as seeing week on week improvements from your athletes.
Our DIY Drills focus on a range of key netball areas including ball handling, fast feet and movement, as well as improving your players strength.
The footwork drills and videos below will ensure your players don't give away free passes when catching, lunging, landing, pivoting, and passing.
Footwork in netball applies when a player is stepping, landing and pivoting while in possession of the ball. A free pass is awarded to the opposing team if a player breaks the footwork rule.
The footwork law states a player must release the ball before putting their pivoting leg down once it is raised. The pivoting leg is either the one a player keeps planted to the ground while rotating looking for a pass or the landing leg after they have jumped to receive the ball. Hopping or dragging the landing foot is not allowed (it is because of this footwork rule that players say they can only take 1.5 steps while holding the ball).
Ultimately what can win or lose a game comes down the the fundamental basics of the game. From defensive body positioning to simply passing, each aspect of the game is equally important. In Fundamentals, we break down the basics of netball netball and explain how to do each movement correctly. This category will give your team a strong foundation to build upon and could ultimately win you those tight games.
Our fundamental category focuses on all areas of a netball game including passing, defending and shooting.
Netball is all about getting free, losing your marker or making clearing runs so they can receive the ball without it being intercepted.
There's plenty of ways to lose and outwit a defender including:
Dodge, Straight Sprint, Roll Off, Change of Direction, Change of Speed and even body angles.
By following the getting free drills and videos you can develop your team's ability to dodge and move around a defender - helping them to create space to receive the pass and progress up court.
Group practices are a great way of building a team that works well together, creating a bond in your team by challenging them to work on their speed, agility and netball skills in these fun group games and drills.
The group practice drills and videos below are a great way of encouraging players to communicate with each other. By encouraging players to communicate during games they will become more efficient when defending or attacking as a team.
By using group practices your players will also gain an understanding of their teammates skills and limitations, so they can choose the correct pass and clear (create space through off the ball movement) to ensure your team keeps possession of the ball for longer.
It is often under appreciated the importance of injury prevention, particularly as 21% of netball dropouts are due to suffering an injury. Although netball is technically a non-contact sport, we all know too well the highly physical nature of the game and thus injury prevention is crucial.
Our injury prevention section provides a number of simple drills, requiring minimal equipment, that your players can do in their own time in order to minimise their risk of an injury. This will ultimately enable your players to play the sport they love for longer, without having to take painful timeout to recover.
Interception of the ball in netball is when a player regains possession of the ball during a pass by the opposition.
It requires speed and a good defensive awareness of the game and is the most effective way to stop your opposition's attack.
The interception drills and videos below will build your players confidence when competing for the ball, practise their 1v1 marking skills, develop their ability to drive onto a pass to gain possession of a loose ball and improve their overall defending capabilities.
When your team has the ball movement in netball involves getting free from the opposition and creating space to receive the pass - progressing the ball towards your opponent's goal.
When your team don't have the ball, movement in netball involves taking up good defensive positions, to ensure your players are able to put pressure on the other team to slow the attack and pressure the other team.
The speed and agility movement videos below aim to improve your players' ability to drive onto a pass, offer for the ball and take up good attacking positions on court.
Using the passing drills and videos below your player will learn to accurately execute one and two hand passing - including the chest, bounce, shoulder (javelin) and overhead pass - helping your team to keep possession for longer.
If you want perfect passers the videos below will help you to improve your players' give and go - with simple and more advanced exercises for your players to practice passing in pairs, in small groups and as a whole team.
The passing laws control the movement of players feet, the zones into which they are allowed to pass (the ball must pass through the centre zone of the court when going from the defending to attacking zones) and state a player must release the ball within three seconds of taking possession of the ball.
Rebounding in netball is when a player attempts a goal by shooting but the ball hits the goalpost and bounces back into play.
The rebounding drills below are especially important for your GS, GA, GK and GD as they are the only players allowed in the shooting circle - and how they react to a rebounded shot might mean the difference between scoring or conceding a goal..
These circle rebounding drills will help both attacking and defending players compete for the ball, and improve their ability to regain possession by catching the ball.
Note: The laws of netball state a player must not use the goalpost to regain balance; as a support in recovering the ball going out of court; or for any other purpose which does not include the ball rebounding from the goalpost after a shot.
This is an overview for the playing positions, roles and skills required by the netball players in your team - including the zones of the court they are allowed to move in.
Each netball team is made up of 7 players - GS, GA, WA, C, WD, GD and GK.
For a full explanation of each position read the descriptions below.
Set-Plays can be great for a team as each player knows exactly what they are doing and their role; this should help the ball should flow nicely through court. It is incredibly important to maintain possession, particularly from a backline as this can be a danger zone if the ball is turned over. These set-plays provide you with a foundation that will help you get the ball out with ease.
Shooting is how your team score goals in netball, by feeding the circle, getting the ball to your attackers for them to shoot and score. The more goals your team scores the better their chance of winning.
Shooting skills are a key factor when choosing your GA and GS (the only players on your team permitted in the shooting circle) and it's vital they're able to put away their chances calmly when under pressure from the opposition's defenders.
The sharp shooting drills and videos below will not only build your player's shooting accuracy and consistency but also improve how they get free to receive the ball in the shooting circle.
Small sided games in netball are a fantastic way for you to introduce fun and competitive elements to your trainings.
By using these small games, including Cops and Robbers and Numbers Game, your players will build stamina and agility while reinforcing techniques such as passing, receiving, movement, scoring and develop an understanding of correct tactics when in a 2v2, 5v5 and 6v6 game scenario.
Useful tutorials to help you get the most out of Sportplan Netball
The netball wall drills are a great way of your player to practise their netball passing and receiving ball skills by themselves - helping to sharpen their skills and passing power.
Using the wall drills and videos below your player will boost their chest, single hand flick, elevated jump and one handed passing and receiving skills.
A key benefit of these wall drills are they also work your players foot movement, while improving their fitness and agility - perfect for any time in the season.
Warm ups in netball are important because they get your players' muscles ready for exercise and help to reduce the risk of injury. They're also a great way to mentally prepare players for training or their match.
The warm up drills, games and videos below will boost your players' fitness and agility while working on their ball skills and movement off the ball.
Warm up drills should be used to switch on your players' netball brains - preparing them for the training or match they are about to take part in.
Zone defence relates to your players' ability to take space away from the other team when they are attacking and you are defending.
The zone defence drills below will get your players used to setting up a zone - working on their shadowing, peripheral vision skills and their ability to intercept, both as a team and individuals to shutdown the other team's attack.
A well organised zone defence will stop an attack, regain possession of the ball and through court linkage (passing to teammates in the different zones) launch a counter attack.