Developing basic defensive skills for beginners
DATE VENUE DURATION NO OF PLAYERS ABILITY / LEVEL EQUIPMENT
Netball Court 1hr 15minutes Minimum of 14 Beginner/Youths Bibs, cones, whistle and balls
players
SESSION GOALS PERSONAL COACHING GOALS
This session aims to demonstrate the importance of grasping the core defence techniques to This session will help your players really focus on their basic defending skills; holding and
effectively mark and hold a player to limit the chance of them receiving the ball and also look at shadowing a player to force an error or for them to make an interception. Your players need to
forcing them to make an error. understand the importance of these basic skills when applying pressure to the attacking team and
for them to gain possession. The players needed to go back to basics and home in on these skills
Players will be working through fun and challenging practices to home in on these basic core skills. and execute these effectively in a competitive situation in order for them to move on to zonal
Each practice has progressions to stretch and challenge the more able players and conditions to defence in the future.
support your developing players throughout.
WARM UP
TIME TASK / ACTIVITY / SESSION CONTENT COACHING POINTS
KING BALL
Split the team into even teams and
Coaching Points
set up a per diagram. You can use a
conned area if you do not have a
bench available or are outside. Players need to be working together as a team in order to get all of their team on
Each team has a King (player) the bench before the other team does. Communication is key in this game so they
standing on their bench. need to call the catcher or signal to ensure they catch the pass.
The aim of the game is to get all Players need to decide on tactics before they start i.e. are they going to try to get
your team's players (Kings) onto the players over as quick as possible?, Are they going to have defenders on the
their bench. opposing team's king? etc...
To become a King, the players on Encourage the players to dodge and drive into space to receive the ball and get
the same team must successfully closer to the bench, therefore, increasing the success of the pas to the King.
pass the ball between themselves to With the focus being on the defence in this session players need to be encouraged
their existing Kings, abiding by the to limit the space of the ball carrier by defending tightly.
rules of netball, and the king must You can award bonus points to players who demonstrate these effective defensive
catch the ball without falling off the skills.
bench!
Some players may choose to defend
the other team's king(s) etc.
Developing basic defensive skills for beginners
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Progression Progression
For the Less Able (LA): For the More Able (MA):
Make the working area smaller less space to cover for the defending team more Players must complete a set number of passes before being allowed to pass to their
likely to make an interception and force an error to gain possession King.
Players are only allowed 2 seconds to pass the ball
Overload one team
Limit the size of the area the King has to move in
Add an extra ball to increase players work rate and have to split their focus
between the two balls
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SKILL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES
1 V 2 GUARDING BALL SIDE
Split players into groups of 4 with
Coaching Tips
one ball and set up as per diagram.
Slowly, the two attacking players
pass the ball back and forth and the For the Defenders:
defender should move to the ball The defending player needs to stay on their toes and constantly keep watching the
side of the spare attacking player to ball and the player - using their peripheral vision.
prevent the pass. For the Attackers:
The feeder occasionally feeds the Easy feed at the start so the defence succeeds then gradually make the attack more
ball to the far side of the spare active.
attacking player i.e. When 1 has the
ball, the defence will be on blue 3's
left and the ball will be fed to blue
3's right.
The defending player in this
situation must try to make the Teach
interception.
*** AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON ***
Firstly, try to not let your shooter
set up a holding position, however if
she does...
Keep moving your feet around the
shooter to put pressure on her and
ensure she has not free space to
hold into
Try to stay as close as possible but
without contacting the shooter
Ensure you move around the
shooter both in front and behind for
the best chance of success
Maintain and narrow foot base and
use your arms to move quickly
around your player
Ensure you can always see the ball
and the player
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Progression Progression
For the LA: For the MA:
Start passive gradually building up to fully active (the attack) this gives the defender Attackers can now move more - defender has to respond
a chance to grasp the practice and the skill of holding their player by using the
correct technique (see the video in teach section).
1 VS 1 DEFENDING IN THE CIRCLE
Split players into groups of least 7
players with one ball using the goal Coaching Points
third.
Remember this session is focusing on the defence so reinforce this as coach by positive
Slowly the two attackers pass the ball praise and rewards for the defence throughout.
back and forth down the court towards
the circle. The defender must move to The defender must remain on their toes and keep moving as the two attacking players can
the ball side of the player inside the put the ball into the circle at any point.
circle.
The defender must watch the ball and use quick footwork to get around the attacking
The defender must remain on their toes player.
and keep moving as the two attacking
players can put the ball into the circle at Keep reminding the players of the FUNDAMENTAL skill of holding their player from earlier
any point. in the session - peripheral vision is KEY!
The defender must watch the ball and use quick footwork to get around the attacking
player.
Progression Progression
For the LA: For the MA:
Attackers start passive gradually building up to fully active Add an extra attacker into the shooting circle to apply extra pressure on the
defender
Add an extra defender into the circle for support and then these two have to
communicate Attackers have 2 seconds on the ball therefore requiring both the attackers and
defenders to react to what is front of them a lot quicker as they have less time to
Add a floating defender round the circle edge to apply extra pressure on the set themselves up
attackers
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ADDITIONAL DEFENCE - GOING FOR AN INTERCEPTION
Split players into teams of 7 or 8 with
one ball using a third of the court and Coaching Tips
set up as per diagram.
The defenders need to be alert and ready on their toes watching not only the ball but the
The first team starts with the ball inside players too. The need to be shadowing or holding the player waiting to pounce to make the
the attacking third, with all the other interception at the right time.
players except one stood outside the
area. When the additional defender/s enter the game they must work together and communicate
throughout the practice in order to take possession of the ball.
The aim for the team in the area with
the ball is to complete as many sets of 5 Defenders need to get themselves between the ball and the attacking players making sure
passes as possible. Every time they they can always see the ball and the player
complete 5 passes another defender
from outside the area is allowed in to
try and intercept the ball.
Once all of the defending players have entered the playing area, or after an interception has Teach
been made, the teams change over and try to beat the first teams score.
*** AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON ***
When you go for an interception
you do not want to try to intercept
the ball AT the player as this is likely
to result in contact (as shown)
Instead you want to intercept the
ball away from the attacker and cut
the line of the ball - this will ensure
you avoid contact
When you are going for the
intercept make sure you have a
small foot base and fully commit to
the interception
Progression Progression
For the LA: For the MA:
Reward the defence with a point for every 30 seconds they stop the attack from Only when an interception or tip is made can another defender come in.
stinging 5 passes together and award points for any interception or forced error
Compete against teams using a stopwatch - who can complete the task the
Attackers start passive gradually building up to fully active quickest?
Make the working area smaller easier or the defenders to intercept
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MODIFIED GAME
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
Split players into 3s. White players are
attackers, the blue players are the Coaching Points
defenders.
Encourage players to work together to dominate the defenders up and down the court and
The 3 attackers aim is to get to the to maintain possession of the ball.
other end of the court.
The defenders need to work together as a unit to close down and deny the attackers space
They must make 3 passes in each third in their third of the court. They can achieve this by using their body to force the players in
before progressing to the next one (3 the desired position.
defenders in each, this can start as static
defence and gradually become more
active as the attack progresses).
Players attack up the court twice and
then down the court twice before
switching with the next group of three.
Progression Progression
For the LA: For the MA:
Add an extra defending player/s to the practice to maximise a turnover or force an Take way a defender/s to increase the intensity of the practice for the defenders
error
Attackers only have to make two passes in each third before moving onto the next
Attackers have to make at least 4 passes in each third before moving to the next to
give the defenders higher chance of intercepting as they should be holding the
attackers nd not allowing them to create and penetrate space
OTHER COMMENTS EVALUATION
"Winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else". - Vince
Lombardior
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