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JOIN NOWU10's making space and passing the ball early?
Hello all, I have been coaching my u10's currently for 2 years now. They are a fabulous little team i.e. gs holds and defence box out etc however we are never winning games! They are currently playing up a year and after sitting back and watching what is going wrong I had noticed they all seem to be in one area so no-one can drive into a space to receive a direct fast ball. When this occasionally does happen the ball is not released fast enough and consequently intercepted! I was wondering if anyone has an tips on space, driving into space, and early passes! This team could be amazing if we sort this is out! Please help!!!!!!!!!
Mia KerseyCoach, England
TOP ANSWER
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
quick ball release will always be tough at this age, as their cognitive skills are slow. give them less options. only one person is to make a drive and it is always across court towards them in a zig zag fashion. a fun fast release game is to have all the players lined up facing each other in a zig zag fashion and just have them pass one ball up and down the line in the zig zag. make it a game of hot potato or something. once they are doing that really quick add a second ball into the mix and this one has to go around the outside of the rectangle. obviously the 2 balls will be crossing over at some point, so the players will have to be watching both balls and choose to either bypass a player or hold onto the pass. again add the pressure of time to make these decisions faster. it will give that release and thinking skills that you are looking for.
as for spreading out, teach some basic set plays to help them understand the idea of each and everyone has a place they should be and not be depending on where the ball is and where another player is or player is driving to.
the other option is to set up a larger zig zag pattern down the court (but no more than half the court wide and long depending on how many players, as 10year olds should be only passing short passes. starting on the back line the player closest drives and receives the pass in the middle of the zig zag. ensure the player is driving TO the player not on straight across court but across and towards the feeder. once they have received the ball they pivot and the next player on the next zig zag drives and receives the pass. the feeder then runs to where they received the ball. so each player runs to the spot that the person who passed them the ball was. they are always driving across court to receive the ball and then backfilling the other persons position. the original feeder runs to the opposite side of the drill (the very last spot on the zig zag where a player will be) and the drill continues up and down the court as often as you like.
hope that makes sense.
ANSWERS
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
quick ball release will always be tough at this age, as their cognitive skills are slow. give them less options. only one person is to make a drive and it is always across court towards them in a zig zag fashion. a fun fast release game is to have all the players lined up facing each other in a zig zag fashion and just have them pass one ball up and down the line in the zig zag. make it a game of hot potato or something. once they are doing that really quick add a second ball into the mix and this one has to go around the outside of the rectangle. obviously the 2 balls will be crossing over at some point, so the players will have to be watching both balls and choose to either bypass a player or hold onto the pass. again add the pressure of time to make these decisions faster. it will give that release and thinking skills that you are looking for.
as for spreading out, teach some basic set plays to help them understand the idea of each and everyone has a place they should be and not be depending on where the ball is and where another player is or player is driving to.
the other option is to set up a larger zig zag pattern down the court (but no more than half the court wide and long depending on how many players, as 10year olds should be only passing short passes. starting on the back line the player closest drives and receives the pass in the middle of the zig zag. ensure the player is driving TO the player not on straight across court but across and towards the feeder. once they have received the ball they pivot and the next player on the next zig zag drives and receives the pass. the feeder then runs to where they received the ball. so each player runs to the spot that the person who passed them the ball was. they are always driving across court to receive the ball and then backfilling the other persons position. the original feeder runs to the opposite side of the drill (the very last spot on the zig zag where a player will be) and the drill continues up and down the court as often as you like.
hope that makes sense.
