.SHOOTERS TRAINING SESSION

Eleanor DurrPlayer, England

Hi Theresa,

I think the most important thing for both the GS and GA to remember is their role on court. The GS is likely to stay within the shooting circle and should always try to be an option to pass in to. This is likely to mean the shooter needs to work on holding their space as shown here. This is an example of the GS holding her backspace, ensuring she has enough room to move back into and her timing is correct. However, the GS may wish to hold their front space too (particularly if their defender is tall). They would then position themselves with their defender on their back, maintaining and strong upright position and moving their feet to maintain this front positioning. The GS should only really come out of the circle as a last option or to create space for the GA.

The GA needs to ensure they work with their WA on centre passes, ensuring both players are not crossing the line at the same time. If the GA does not receive the ball they should provide a second phase option. The GA should also be aware of the GS, particularly if they are holding their space to ensure the GA does not come in and take this. If the GS leaves the circle the GA should work hard to enter so the circle is never left empty. 

The shooters are also likely to experience a lot of contact within the circle, so prepare them for this. For example, get the defence to gentle push on them to help them work on keeping a strong upright position and also gently contact them when receiving the ball to encourage your shooters to really pull the ball in. Furthermore, get the defender to stand less than 1m away (not too close though) so they can practice shooting under pressure. 

Finally both the GA and GS should work on their shooting technique, found here . They should practice from a range of distances and locations within the circle to help them be confident wherever they receive the ball. I have attached below a fun practice to help them work on this. You can also progress the drill and make it competitive but assigning each cone a different number of points (e.g. red cones out far 5 points, yellow cones close to the post 1 point) this will provide friendly competition and challenge the shooters to challenge themselves. 

Hope this helps. 

Shooting drill

DESCRIPTION

A simple but effective practice shooters can do at home. The shooter will set out cones or spots around their post - some closer and some further away. They will then choose a spot to take a shot from and will continue on the same spot until they have got it in. Once they have got it in at that spot, they will place it to the side and move onto the next one. The aim of the practice is to clear all spots in the quickest time possible - the faster they get their shots in, the faster they will be able to move onto the next spot. This is a great practice as it can be timed and used for comparison - however there must be the same amount of spots each time for a fair comparison.

Shooting drill

DESCRIPTION

A simple but effective practice shooters can do at home. The shooter will set out cones or spots around their post - some closer and some further away. They will then choose a spot to take a shot from and will continue on the same spot until they have got it in. Once they have got it in at that spot, they will place it to the side and move onto the next one. The aim of the practice is to clear all spots in the quickest time possible - the faster they get their shots in, the faster they will be able to move onto the next spot. This is a great practice as it can be timed and used for comparison - however there must be the same amount of spots each time for a fair comparison.