stepping in netball

Sportplan TeamAdministrator, United Kingdom

Hi Rachel,

I'm sure this must be very frustrating, but don't worry it's one of the most common questions we receive on Sportplan so you're not alone.

What I've done is to attach a wall drill (below) which you can practice in your own time to get your one-two footwork right - all you need is a ball and wall.

Also, here's a link to some more information which I hope you might find useful:

• How to teach players not to step?

It might be a good idea to speak to your coach next time you're at training and explain to them that you would like a little extra help on getting your footwork right - this way they might be able to suggest some more practices you could try in your own time as well as maybe including some team drills to help everyone improve their footwork.

All the best (I'm sure the other netball coaches here on Sportplan will have lots of good advice for you too!)

The Sportplan Team

Moving pass

DESCRIPTION

Shoulder pass to the wall at a fixed point further down the wallRun to the left to receive the ball as it rebounds off the wallChest pass the ball to a higher spot back up the wallReturn to your starting place whilstreceiving the rebound ball from the wall

Moving pass

DESCRIPTION

Shoulder pass to the wall at a fixed point further down the wallRun to the left to receive the ball as it rebounds off the wallChest pass the ball to a higher spot back up the wallReturn to your starting place whilstreceiving the rebound ball from the wall

Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

i am currently in the process of trying to rectify this exact issue with a player.  these are the issues i have found with my player so use what you think is relevent for yourself.

she lands unbalanced.  that is, her feet land well out side her hips.  when you catch a ball your ankles, hips and shoulders should pretty much be in a straight line down the body.  

   to fix this i have her doing a lot of running forward and sideways and jumping onto 2 feet evenly weighted (ie slightly outside hip width apart).  your mum or siblings can help also by throwing a ball to you or use the exercise that sportsplan has given you if you dont have someone to help)

she leans too far forward when trying to catch the ball (ie piking at the hips or bending at the waste and sticking her butt out)  this also causes unbalanced (see above about landing with everything lining up), but also makes it very difficult to stop the forward momentum after catching.  

  to fix this once again use the same process above to rectify this as getting your chest up will stop a lot of stepping.  i also reminded her to let her feet catch up to the ball so she wasnt bent over to catch it.  allowing the ball to bounce once and catch it balanced, is far better to be completley bent over and unbalanced and step but catch on the full.  so we did a lot of me throwing the ball away from her or rolling it away and have her chase it and have better body postion when catching and be more patient.

not knowing what foot is grounded.  i found my player if she caught the ball with a wide stance didnt know which was her grounded foot when she tried to rebalance herself and get her feet together to pass.  

  to fix this i had her running down the court and stopping, and when she landed she had to lift the hand up of her grounded foot.  once she was more aware of which was her grounded foot, i then got her to pivot on her grounded foot as if she had just caught a ball and had to turn to pass.

rushing her passes.  once she caught the ball she didnt take the time to rebalance and look for the best pass.  

   to fix.  made her wait 3 seconds while she concentrated on her feet before passing.

i hope some of this helps you.  as you can see you can get started without the use of a ball.  you just have to be aware of what your body is doing.  also check out you tube and have a look at how the top teams look when they are running and catching.  maybe have your mum video tape you playing next so you can have a look at what you look like and see where you need to work on the most.  and your coach should be able to help you too.  i think its great that you want to help yourself fix this.  you will feel a lot more confident once your feet feel grounded and balanced.  good luck.