What are the main defending skills in netball?

Tony MayPlayer, England

Hi Adeline....very briefly 1) Stay on your toes rather then being flat footed , so you are ready and able to move quickly in any direction 2) Stay side on to your opponent so you can see both them and the ball in your peripheral vision , so you can react to any movement or pass accordingly 3) Always try to use your outside arm to intercept or tip a pass as there is less likelihood of making contact than if you use your inside arm 4) Get familiar and practice the three stages of defending - Stage 1 , mark your player in order to make it difficult for them to receive a pass and force them into making a mistake. Stage 2 , when your player has received the ball make it difficult for them to pass , abiding by the three foot rule both arms up defending the ball to make it awkard for them. Stage 3 - Once they have passed the ball impeded their progress by making it hard for them to get past you in order to receive another pass. Hope this helps for starters.

Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

if you have young or inexperienced players i would suggest coaching them to start off in front of their attacker and staying close. as Tony has already mentioned, stay on your toes, head turned slightly to the side to keep one eye on your player (to see if they are moving to one side or the other) and the other on the ball, keep your knees soft, arms beside the body, and always staying light on your toes so you are quick to respond to a break to either side. you can do shadowing drills to help your players to stay close to the attackers, no ball at first, just the attackers standing behind, and then move to one side, then back to center, then break to one side and then return. introduce a ball and see if the defence can intercept. once they have the basics then side on defence is the next step.