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JOIN NOWTeenager new to coaching... Suggestions welcomed
Hi all, My daughter is about to start coaching for the first time and it's expected she'll have a group of 10 years olds in C or D grade.
I'm struggling to remember what her capabilities were at that age and she's looking for some suggestions for drills to start off with until she gets a handle on where they're at. Is anyone currently working with kids around that age/ability bracket? Does anyone know if any of the weekly drills are aimed at beginners/introductory levels?
From the ones I'm seen, they're aimed at an intermediate level so I'm assuming some of the games would be OK, but most of the drills would be beyond their capability.Thanks in advance.
Lyn Coach, Australia
TOP ANSWER
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
Hi I coached U11 C grade last year. I had 4 girls that were returning players, and 6 that had never played before. The first year i coached i went straight to the library and got netball coaching books out. there are some awesome ones out there for younger players. great place to start to get some inspiration. other places are other coaches in her club, or friends that might already coach.
but to get her started, just remember a number of these girls are just starting and have never probably done a team sport before. so start with footwork drills (cones and ladders make for a great tools here) and basic ball skills (ensuring they are catching and throwing balanced, and catching with their hands out in front with correct finger placement to avoid jarring or breaking fingers) using smaller balls like tennis balls, or those mini soccer balls are great here as they are easier to catch and really promote good hand eye coord without the issue of finger injuries.
you can then move onto running onto the ball. i like to start out really simple by making sure they can run and take off and land without the ball. make sure they have a strong take off, chest and eyes up, balanced even landing (i prefer 2 feet landings not landing on one foot and stepping onto the other as this promotes better balanace and less likihood of stepping). i then introduce the ball, but from a standing position. i hold the ball on outstretched hand to the side of me and have the girls run up one by one to take off and take the ball out of my hand and then land. make sure their takeoff is before you and their landing is behind you to ensure they are running onto the ball. once they are confident with this and have a good landing, you can introduce a catch pivot throw situation by having someone standing to the side who they can throw to and then throw to you. then the worker runs to the passing position and that person runs back into line.
from there you continue the development and pass them the ball as they run onto it. make sure they dont stop before they get the ball. this will require a lot of work. some will pick it up easily and others will take more time.
work on shooting skills, and movement in the cirlce. some basic defence (in front only at this point) and spreading out. if there are girls who have never played before you will have to slowly discuss basic rules and positions (i did a worksheet up for this so they could take it home and read it, and then answer some questions and return it)
if you can get a very basic warm up and cool down session that they can master on their own (ie as a team) and do on the day of games as well this is also good as if you are running late, or setting up the drills sessions they can be doing this on their own. keep it simple and use the lines on the court as a means to follow an easy routine. just remember to have fun and enjoy it, but keep the girls in line. lots of positive praise, but correct them when they are mucking up or not performing a skill correctly. and the big thing to remember is that EVERY parent thinks their child is the next Diamond representative. dont let them tell you how to run your team. be polite and thank them for their imput, but let them know that it may not be inline with your plan, and that you have the entire team to consider.
hope that helps.
ANSWERS
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
Hi I coached U11 C grade last year. I had 4 girls that were returning players, and 6 that had never played before. The first year i coached i went straight to the library and got netball coaching books out. there are some awesome ones out there for younger players. great place to start to get some inspiration. other places are other coaches in her club, or friends that might already coach.
but to get her started, just remember a number of these girls are just starting and have never probably done a team sport before. so start with footwork drills (cones and ladders make for a great tools here) and basic ball skills (ensuring they are catching and throwing balanced, and catching with their hands out in front with correct finger placement to avoid jarring or breaking fingers) using smaller balls like tennis balls, or those mini soccer balls are great here as they are easier to catch and really promote good hand eye coord without the issue of finger injuries.
you can then move onto running onto the ball. i like to start out really simple by making sure they can run and take off and land without the ball. make sure they have a strong take off, chest and eyes up, balanced even landing (i prefer 2 feet landings not landing on one foot and stepping onto the other as this promotes better balanace and less likihood of stepping). i then introduce the ball, but from a standing position. i hold the ball on outstretched hand to the side of me and have the girls run up one by one to take off and take the ball out of my hand and then land. make sure their takeoff is before you and their landing is behind you to ensure they are running onto the ball. once they are confident with this and have a good landing, you can introduce a catch pivot throw situation by having someone standing to the side who they can throw to and then throw to you. then the worker runs to the passing position and that person runs back into line.
from there you continue the development and pass them the ball as they run onto it. make sure they dont stop before they get the ball. this will require a lot of work. some will pick it up easily and others will take more time.
work on shooting skills, and movement in the cirlce. some basic defence (in front only at this point) and spreading out. if there are girls who have never played before you will have to slowly discuss basic rules and positions (i did a worksheet up for this so they could take it home and read it, and then answer some questions and return it)
if you can get a very basic warm up and cool down session that they can master on their own (ie as a team) and do on the day of games as well this is also good as if you are running late, or setting up the drills sessions they can be doing this on their own. keep it simple and use the lines on the court as a means to follow an easy routine. just remember to have fun and enjoy it, but keep the girls in line. lots of positive praise, but correct them when they are mucking up or not performing a skill correctly. and the big thing to remember is that EVERY parent thinks their child is the next Diamond representative. dont let them tell you how to run your team. be polite and thank them for their imput, but let them know that it may not be inline with your plan, and that you have the entire team to consider.
hope that helps.
Lyn Coach, Australia
Thank you very much Lee-Anne. You`ve covered plenty there and given her a great starting point, and the the time and effort you put into the reponse is amazing.
Great suggestion in going back and breaking the skills down. I coached her this year and because they are that little bit older the drills and training in general was a little more complex than she`d need to start off with, but trying to think back to real basics has been a bit of a challenge.
Thank you again.
