SKILLS AND KEY TEACHING POINTS

WARM UP

Queens of the Court

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Full length court
 Whistle
 3 defending students, rest of class as attackers
 Students start at the base line on one end of the court and my only run when
whistle is blown.

DESCRIPTION
 Attacking players begin on the base line, with one defending player (tagger)
per third.
 The aim for players starting on the base line is to get to the opposite end of
the court without being tagged.
 Whichever third the attacker gets tagged in they must stay in and become a
tagger.
 The runs are continuous from end to end, players must keep going until it is
no longer achievable.
 The final 3 then become initial taggers.
 Dependent on group size you can start with 2 or 3 taggers per third and add
the condition that defenders tag with the ball.
TEACHING POINTS
 Attackers should work on moving up court as quick as they can
 Defenders should work on defending space and moving forward to tag the
attacker
 Both attackers should work on change of direction and dodging to avoid being
caught or to tag

MODIFICATION
 Add in more defenders to start to increase difficulty for attacker to cross to the
other side
 Make tagged attackers become static defenders so they cannot move from their
spot once they have been tagged

Dynamic Court Stretches

SET UP/EQUPIMENT
 Full length court
 Cones
 Students line up at one corner of the court and follow

DESCRIPTION
1. Students start at the corner of a baseline and one at a time, students cross
diagonally to the first transverse line while performing heel flicks/butt kicks.
2. Students will then perform a side step action cross the first transverse line to
the other sideline.
3. At this cone, students must perform 5 star jumps before moving on.
4. Again, students will cross the centre third diagonally to the second transverse
line performing high knees
 5. Side steps will be performed across the transverse line to the opposite
sideline
6. At this cone, student perform 5 power jumps
7. Finally, students perform Twisties (or grapevines) diagonally to the baseline
8. Lastly, students run down the sideline back to the beginning.
9. Once the first student starts the side steps at the first transverse line, the
second student may begin.

TEACHING POINTS
 Focus on fast foot movement
 Use dynamic movements that can be used in game play
 Co-ordinate movement and timing

MODIFICATION
 Rather than running diagonally, students may perform dynamic stretches
straight from base line to transverse line and to the other baseline (YR 7-8)
 Perform modification above but also add another exercise at the transverse
and base lines (YR9)
 To have more students on one court, have small groups in each third and use
only the lines in their designated third
 Dynamic stretches can be changed to be easier or harder for the students or
to mix it up.
 Including: butt kicks, high knees, grapevine, walking lunges, distance jumps,
side steps (low and high), skipping (low and high), hopping
Passing Lines

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Large section of court
 One ball between pairs (or between 3 if uneven numbers)
 All students involved
 Have students line up facing a partner, with one ball between two (and a
group of three if uneven number of students)

DESCRIPTION
1. Students line up in pairs starting approximately 1m apart, beginning with short
chest passes.
2. One partner can then take two steps back and continue with chest passing,

TEACHING POINTS
 Chest passes: fingers and thumbs around the ball, stepping forward into pass,
eyes focused forward
 Shoulder Pass: opposite foot to throwing hand, fingers spread wide behind
the ball, rotate hips and shoulders toward target
 Lob: one hand high release, follow through with wrist and fingers
 Bounce Pass: step forward into lunge, push ball forward and down, ball
bounce close to receiver

MODIFICATION
 Increase distance of pass to make more difficult (YR 9+)
 Have students compete by setting a number of passes per pass for students
complete. When pairs have completed the number of passes required they
can sit down until everyone else has completed passes.
3 Man Weave

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Full court
 Ball between group of three
 All students involve in groups of three
 Students line up at the baseline in groups of three with one ball per group

DESCRIPTION
1. To start, the middle player has the ball.
2. They pass it to one of the other players and as soon as the pass has left their
hands, they should cut around and behind the player they passed to.
3. Then the second player should pass to the person on the other side of the
court before cutting around and behind them too. This process of passing,
then cutting around and behind that player happens all the way along the
length of the court.

TEACHING POINTS
 Students receiving ball should lead in front with their hands out as a target for
the thrower
 Passes should be strong and aimed in front of the receiver student
 Ball and students should be moving steadily

MODIFICATION
 Pass in a straight line across the three students without weaving but rather
leading out forward
 Use variety of passes
FOOTWORK
Catch pivot pass

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in groups of four or more students
 One ball per group
 Small space per group
 Group of students divided in half and lining up in front of each other

DESCRIPTION
1. Starting player passes to the player moving towards the ball from the opposite
group.
2. The receiving player who catches the ball should land on one foot, then land on
their second foot and pivot on their first landing foot to pass the ball back to the
player on the side where they started.
3. Practice landing on both feet and pivoting in both directions.

TEACHING POINTS
 Pivot on landing foot
 Non-grounded foot is lifted and land re-grounded to help maintain balance
 Strong accurate pass to other players to allow for good landing

MODIFICATION
 Increase distance between groups so that students need to pass stronger and
more accurately
 Change up passes
Hula Hoop Landings

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Four cones
 3 hula hoops
 Place the four cones in a 6mx2m square and 3 hula hoops inside the cones in
a zig-zag formation approximately 1.5m apart

DESCRIPTION
1. The player runs to land in the first hoop on 2 feet
2. They then run to land in the second hoop landing on their right foot first, then
place their left foot on the ground.
3. The player then runs to the 3rd hoop and lands on their left foot first followed
by the right foot

TEACHING POINTS
 Too-foot landing: land feet shoulder width apart, bend knees, body upright
 One-foot landing: weight on outside foot, placing other foot on ground to
provide balance

MODIFICATION
 Add a pass and return element as players land in the hoop. This can be just
for the final hoop or at all three hoops with more experienced players.
Figure 8’s

SET UP/EQIPMENT
 Three cones
 All students in pairs
 Small area per pair
 The feeder stands above the top of the triangle and the receiver between two
other cones

DESCRIPTION
1. Split players into pairs with one ball and three cones, placed in a triangle.
2. Using quick, small steps the worker has to rotate around the cones in a figure
of 8 before then receiving the ball and returning it to the feeder at the top of
the triangle.
3. Start slowly before gradually increasing the pace

TEACHING POINTS
 The worker should keep their head up with their eyes on ball at all times.
Shoulders should also always be square to the feeder, rotating their hips as
they move in a figure of 8 around the cones.
 Players need to be aware of the body positioning and the angle of their body
when moving quickly and carefully around the cones.
MODIFICATION
 Increase pace and intensity through setting a target for number of completed
circuits in 1 minute.
 Move cones further apart to develop endurance - work time is increased to 1
minute.
 Move cones closer together to refine the quick steps - shorter working time to
increase intensity.
 Increase distance from feeder to worker.
  Add an extra feeder towards the back of the worker and ball can be fed in at
any time from any direction.
 Feeder can call 'change direction' at any point to keep the worker thinking.

Landing Shuttles

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in groups of three players
 Four cones in a 5mx5m square
 Two feeders stand at opposite cones while the worker moves between the
two free cones

DESCRIPTION
1. Worker starts at one free cone and runs towards the other.
2. The worker receives the ball from the feeder in front of them and passes it
diagonally to the other feeder.
3. Worker then moves across the other cone and receives from the other feeder.
4. Feeders should only pass to the cone parallel to them to the worker

TEACHING POINTS
 When worker receives the ball, they should be leading with arm in front as a
target for the ball
 Worker should land with outside foot as they receive the ball and land

MODIFICATION
 Add two balls and pass back to the feeder in front rather than diagonally to the
other feeder
 Increase speed
 Change passes
PASSING
Bump

SET UP/EQIPMENT
 All students in pairs
 One ball per pair
 One third of court
 One partner stands on side line and other partner stands 2m in front (distance
increase/decreases depending on pass)

DESCRIPTION
1. Players work in pairs over varying distances depending on the pass
2. Each pair should stand opposite their partner
3. Each pair are given a number. The first pair are 5, the following are 10 and so on
going up in denominations of 5.
4. Players have to make their allocated amount of passes. Once they have done their
set amount of passes, the pair shouts ‘bump’ and swaps places with their pair next
to them with the higher number. They then start their passing again but add 5 to
their original number. The pair who got ‘bumped’ have to start again subtracting 5
from their starting number.

TEACHING POINTS
 Chest passes: fingers and thumbs around the ball, stepping forward into pass,
eyes focused forward
 Shoulder Pass: opposite foot to throwing hand, fingers spread wide behind
the ball, rotate hips and shoulders toward target
 Lob: one hand high release, follow through with wrist and fingers
 Bounce Pass: step forward into lunge, push ball forward and down, ball
bounce close to receiver

MODIFICATION
 Have all students complete the same amount of passes and sit down when
complete. The pair that come first, second and third are to move to the “top” of
the pairs of other students (YR7-8)
 Change the type of passes used
Pass and Drop

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in pairs
 Two cones
 Ball
 Small space per pair
 One student at each cone, facing each other

DESCRIPTION
1. Feeder starts with the ball and receiver stands approximately 7m from the
feeder
2. Th receiver will make a straight lead towards the feeder who will make a chest
pass for the receiver half way through their lead.
3. Once they have caught the ball, the receiver will pass the ball b ack to the
feeder, continue running to then touch the ball with one hand.
4. The receiver will them run towards their original spot to receive a lob pass
overhead.

TEACHING POINTS
 Lead hard and fast for the chest pass
 Land on one or both feet safely
 Keep eyes on ball for lob pass with arm reaching out as a target for the feeder
 Pushing off on outside foot for the lob lead

MODIFICATION
 Add in another feeder on the opposite side of the receiver, so that when the
receiver gets the ball they pivot and pass to the other feeder to continue the
same drill.
 Lead for the lob facing both left and right
Passing Reactions

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in pairs
 One ball between a pair
 Small space
 Feeder and receiver standing 2m apart

DESCRIPTION
1. Feeder starts with the ball and passes to the receiver in any way they like.
2. Feeder has the option t throw high, low, left or right and the receiver must
react fast to be able to catch the ball
3. Receivers need to be making fast feet while waiting for the feeder to give a
pass
4. Once pass is made and caught successfully, the receiver must throw the ball
back as quickly as possible.
5. Continue this for 20 passes and then switch so the feeder is now the receiver

TEACHING POINTS
 Keep eyes on the ball at all times
 Moving quickly in direction of pass
 Catching with two hands around the ball
 Arms out as a target for feeder to pass to

MODIFICATION
 Use in a group of three rather than two and have one feeder and two reactors
 Change it up by the feeder calling out different passes such as lob pass or
ground ball
 Change distance between students. Further away, the more time students
have to react, closer the faster the receiver needs to react.
Give and Go

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in groups of four
 Two balls
 Two feeders, two workers
 Feeders and attackers facing each other, feeders both start with a ball each

DESCRIPTION
1. Workers receive the ball from the feeder opposite them then return the pass
2. Workers then accelerate quickly to receive from the other feeder
3. The drill should be continuous

TEACHING POINTS
 Landing on outside foot when receiving pass
 Arms out as a target for the feeder to pass the ball
 Accelerate quickly when leading
 Quality of pass should remain high even if fatigued
 Workers should be stable when making a pass

MODIFICATION
 Make students pivot with the ball when they’ve caught it so students can
practice pivoting before a pass
ATTACKING
Forward Running Evasion (3)

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in pairs
 One ball
 Three players
 Feeder approximately 5m away from attacker and defender

DESCRIPTION
1. Attacking player aims to dodge their defender to receive a clear pass form the
feeder using a variety of forward evasions
2. Double cut back:
a. Attacker runs one way, stops abruptly and changes direction before
again changing direction for a second time to go and meet the pass.
3. Cut back:
a. Attacker runs one way, stops quickly - changes direction and runs into
space to meet the pass.
4. Double bluff:
a. Attacker runs and stops, making it look as though they are going to cut
back before continuing their run in the direction they were already
running to meet the pass.
TEACHING POINTS
 Pushing off outside foot when changing direction
 Strong 3-4 steps after dodge
 Time running correctly to get as much space between attacker and defender

MODIFICATION
 Use in a game setting with on feeder, two attackers and two defenders at the
centre circle and transverse line to mimic a centre pass. Both attackers work
together to receive a pass from the feeder.
Free for Centre Pass

SET UP/EQUPIMENT
 All students in groups of three
 Ball per 3 players
 6 cones
 Area over transverse line or marked line
 Line up three cones on a 45-degree angle both left and right

DESCRIPTION
1. The purpose of this drill is to encourage Attackers to get into a position near to
the transverse line when receiving a Centre pass.
2. Set up 6 cones, beginning with 2 close to the middle and near the transverse
line and then 2 more pairs of cones moving out and further away. The nearer
cones are worth 3 points and as they get further away this decreases to 2pt
and then 1pt.
3. Aim is for the Attacker to get free and move into the centre third ready to
receive a Centre pass.
4. Attacker should look to shift he defender's bodyweight enough to reach the
cone without being tagged by the Defender.
TEACHING POINTS

 Getting free effectively with minimal running

 Being ready to take the ball close to the line - this means that ground is being
gained, whereas the 1pt cones are nearly in line with the Centre.
 When Centre is introduced make sure they provide an early release of the ball into
the space
 MODIFICATION

 Put the Defender behind the line

 Put Defender in front of the line
 Add a 2nd defender
 Introduce a Centre and a ball

Four Corners

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Groups of 8 or more
 Four cones
 Two balls
 Cones placed in a 7m x7m square
 Small even groups of students standing at each cone
 A ball starts with two groups who are diagonal

DESCRIPTION
1. Minimum of 8 players with 2 balls (balls start on diagonally opposite corners).
2. Players 1 and 3 run to their left towards the player that is going to feed the ball
to them.
3. Before reaching the player who is going to feed them the ball the receiving
player should make a sharp dash towards the centre to receive the ball,
accelerating as they do so.
4. Once the ball is received the player passes it to the player diagonally across
from where they started and follows their pass and joins the back of the
queue.
5. The drill continues.
TEACHING POINTS
 Ensure that the movement inwards is sharp and direct, with a clear changing
of pace.
 Players need to drive out pushing off their outside foot to change direction and
pace to beat a defender to receive the ball.
 Encourage players to inject a change of pace into the cut back movement -
this will help to lose the defender.
 Players need to communicate with each other and signal for the ball to ensure
a success pass and maintain possession of the ball.
 Time the pass so that player receives the pass in the centre of the square
MODIFICATION
 Change the side at which the pass is received from
 Change the type of pass (chest, shoulder, bonce)
 Change size of square

Number Chasers

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 One ball
 One third of the court
 8+ players

DESCRIPTION
1. Assign each team member a number from 1 to 8 (or however many people
you have). Work in one third.
 2. Players are to move around the third passing in sequence from 1 to 8 and
then back to 1. Keep working for a set period of time.
3. Players must drive for the ball when it is their turn to receive. When they are
not receiving the ball, they should be clearing space and creating space for
others.
4. Nobody should be standing still. Ensure that the space remains balanced at
all times.

TEACHING POINTS
 Time lead by reading available space
 Read cues
 Eyes on the thrower

MODIFICATION
 Extend the drill by changing the number order (e.g. go backwards, go from
1,3,5,7,2,4,6 etc). You can also gradually add defences so eventually it is one
team against the other.
DEFENDING
Guarding Ball Side

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Groups of four players
 One ball
 Four students (one defender, one attack, tow feeders)
 Feeders and attacker form a triangle and the defender stands with the
attacker

DESCRIPTION
1. Slowly, the feeder’s should pass the ball back and forth and the defender
should move to the ball side of the attacking player to prevent the pass
2. Occasionally the feeders may pass the ball toward the attacker and the
defending payer must try to intercept this pass

TEACHING POINTS
 Eyes should always be on the ball
 Remain close to the body of attacker
 Keep on balls of feet and low defending position

MODIFICATION
 Make the attacker more active by getting them to move side to side. The
defender will then need to move with the attacker while still remaining ball
side at all times
Court line Shadowing

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 All students in pairs
 Side line of full netball court
 Students in pairs standing at the corner of the base line and side line

DESCRIPTION
1. Players run in pairs along thee length of the court
2. The defender runs alongside the attacker, trying to keep the attacker on the
side of the sideline
3. The attacker may move left and right to dodge the attacker as they remain
running forward
4. The defender must always have eyes on their player to keep them towards
the sideline

TEACHING POINTS
 Defender must keep eyes on attacking player
 Remain close to the attacker
 Keep low defending position

MODIFICATION
 Add in a feeder at the end of the court that the attacker should try to get a
pass from. The defender should try to intercept this pass (YR9+)
1 on 1 Shadowing

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Groups of three
 Ball
 Feeder stands approximately 5m away from attacker and defender
 Defender stands in front of attacker

DESCRIPTION
1. Defender stands in front of attacker slightly to one side so they can see the
attacker in their peripheral vision
2. Both attacker and defender must move side to side using a side step motion
3. The attacker can change direction at any time and the defender must shadow
the attacker’s movements
4. The aim for the attacker is to get enough space away from the defender to
receive a pass from the feeder. The defender’s aim is to stop the attacker
getting away or intercept the pass
5. Attacker has 10 seconds to receive a successful pass

TEACHING POINTS
 Defenders remain in low defending position
 Keep on balls of feet to be able to move quickly in either direction
 Keep eyes on attacker and ball

MODIFICATION
 Attacker has three seconds to receive a pass from feeder to mimic game play
(YR9+)
 Remove the feeders pass and replace the feeder with a cone that the attacker
must get to by creating space (YR 7-9)
 To involve more students at the same time, have a feeder at the first and
second transverse line and a third feeder at the end baseline. Other students
must line up in pairs (one attacker, one defender) at the beginning baseline.
The defender must shadow their attacker and stop them from receiving a pass
 in each third. When one pair has moved on to the next third another pair may
begin

Figure 8 Intercepts

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 Groups of three
 Two cones
 Ball
 Throwers stand approximately 8m apart passing the ball to one another. The
defence starts about 4m away from the thrower

DESCRIPTION
 Work in 3s. Two throwers, one defender.
 Defenders time their move to take an intercept as it heads from feeder 1 to
feeder 2.
 Defenders try to take the intercept with 2 hands, then throw it back to the feeder
1. They then move in a figure 8 around feeder 1, ready to time an intercept
again, this time for the pass from feeder 2 to feeder 1.
 The two throwers just continue to pass backwards and forwards to one another
the whole time

TEACHING POINTS
 Time running correctly to intercept ball
 Stay on ball of feet to allow for quick acceleration
 Eyes on ball
MODIFICATION
 If the defence does not make the intercept, they recover instead to 3 feet and
put their arms up to defend the next pass from the feeder.
 Adjust the length of the pass. Having a shorter pass means the defence has
to have quicker reflexes and footwork.

SHOOTING
10 Passes to Shoot

SET UP
 Groups of 5
 Goal third
 Ball per group
 Non-shooters stand around the goal circle
 Shooter in goal circle

DESCRIPTION
1. The three attackers start at the transverse line and must make five passes
before passing to shooters.
2. A further five passes must be made before a shot can be made.
3. The attackers should be aiming to receive the ball on the edge of the circle
when they come to pass to shooters.

TEACHING POINTS
 Attackers must make positive moves –making leads away from defenders
 Defenders giving attackers limited free space

MODIFICATION
  Give players only 3 seconds to pass the ball or there will be a turnover to mimic
game play
 Add a real goal shot. Players must move the ball from transverse line to the goal
post with 10 passes and score by shooting a goal.
 Add in defenders

Beat the Shooter

SET UP
 Four shooting students, 6 runners per half court
 4 balls
 Goal post
 Court
 Split players into runners and shooters
 No more than 4 shooters at one time who start in the shooting circle, each
with a ball.
 The runners line up on the middle transverse line facing the shooters.
DESCRIPTION
1. Shooters need to score 10 goals before the runners finish their shuttles. They
can shoot from anywhere in the circle and must keep count themselves.
2. The runners must complete 15 lengths of half the court before the shooters
score their 10 goals. Each time the runners touch an end line that counts as 1
shuttle run.
3. When both groups have finished change the 4 shooters this means some
players will be running again which is good for their fitness and all players will
run twice. You could allow them to complete 10 shuttles if they are struggling.
TEACHING POINTS
 Runners need to maintain steady breathing, pumping with their arms, head up
and lifting their knees.
 Shooters should be demonstrating their correct shooting technique with every
shot. Ball over head, bent elbows and knees, body facing goal post.

MODIFICATION
 Make run shorter (to first transverse line) to put pressure on shooters to shoot
faster (YR10 +)
 Make shuttle run longer (to second transverse line) to allow shooters more
time to get in the amount of shots they need (YR 7-9)

Follow Your Shot

SET UP
 One feeding student, 6+ other players
 Ball
 Goal post
 Feeder stands at the top of goal circle
 Line of students at each corner of the goal circle

DESCRIPTION
1. White player 1 throws to feeder, then runs quickly into circle and receives ball
back.
2. White player 1 then shoots, collects the ball, and passes to Red player 1,
before joining the back of the Red player's line.
3. Red player 1 does the same from the other side and the drill continues.

TEACHING POINTS
  Body facing goal post
 Elbow and knees bent
 Flick ball with wrist

MODIFICATION
 The game can be progressed by adding a defender into the game, making the
attacker move and find space to receive the second pass before shooting
under pressure (YR n9+)

Rebound

SET UP/EQUIPMENT
 6+ students per goal post
 Ball
 Goal post
 Two groups of students lined up at top of goal circle

DESCRIPTION
1. White player 1 throws to Red player 1 and then follows in to mark and catch
the rebound from the Red player's shot.
2. The White player returns the ball to the next player in their line and joins the
back of the Red player's line.
3. The Red player in turn joins the back of the White player's line.
TEACHING POINTS
 Pass in front of player running onto the ball
 Bending knees, hips and elbows when shooting
 Ball above head
 Eyes on the ring and ball while waiting for rebound

MODIFICATION
 Players who pass the ball to the other can defend and receive the rebound