Netball drills

8 drills coaches already run every week, each written out with the setup, the coaching points and how to make it harder — and each one animated, so your players can see it before they do it.

Add any drill to a practice plan in one tap and it prints on your run sheet with its time and its coaching cue. Free, and it does not use up a saved play. Plan a practice now, no account needed

• Age 7 and upPassing in pairsMost turnovers in junior netball are not interceptions. They are passes thrown at the wrong height or speed, or to where a team-mate was standing a second ago. Passing in pairs fixes the basics before anyone is chasing the ball: the right pass for the distance, thrown to a target, caught in two hands and moved on inside three seconds. 10 min Pairs, one ball each
• Age 8 and upDodge and driveA junior netballer standing still with a defender beside them will not get the ball, however loudly they call for it. Getting free is a skill: take the defender one way, then go hard the other way, towards the ball, at the moment the passer is ready. This drill teaches that timing in pairs against a marker, and it is the movement that every centre pass and every feed into the circle is built on. 12 min Groups of 5: a feeder, two attackers and two defenders
• Age 8 and upPass and move in threesJuniors pass the ball and then stand and watch it. The best habit a netball team can have is the opposite: pass, then move straight into new space so the ball can come back. Three players working it up the court, with nobody running with the ball and nobody holding it for longer than three seconds, is the simplest way to build that habit into a session. 12 min Groups of 3: centre, wing attack and goal attack
• Age 7 and upLanding and pivotFootwork is the call umpires make most often in junior netball, and it is almost always the same mistake: a player catches the ball on the run, cannot stop, and takes an extra step. The fix is a clear landing, on one foot or two, and a pivot on the landing foot to face the next pass. This drill drills exactly that, at walking pace first and then on the run. 10 min Groups of 3: a feeder, a driver and a receiver
• Age 9 and upCentre passEvery goal in netball is followed by a centre pass, so a team that wins its own centre pass keeps the scoreboard ticking over. In junior netball it is also where most free passes are given away: players over the line before the whistle, a centre outside the circle, a first pass caught in the wrong third. This drill sets the centre pass up exactly as the rules say, then runs the first two passes against two defenders. 15 min Groups of 5: C, WA, GA, and a WD and GD defending
• Age 9 and upFeeding the circleMost goals in junior netball come from a short, simple pass into a shooter who is standing still close to the post. That sounds easy and in a match it is not: the shooter has a goal keeper behind them, and the feeder is on the edge of a circle they may not step into. This drill teaches both halves. The shooter holds their space without contact, and the feeder puts the ball where only the shooter can take it. 12 min Groups of 4: C, WA, GS and a GK defending
• Age 8 and upMarking at 0.9 mObstruction is the penalty that frustrates junior defenders most, because it punishes them for trying hard. A defender who stays tight to the player with the ball, arms up, is giving away a penalty pass every time. The rule is simple once it has been drilled: tight before the catch, then step back to 0.9 m from the landing foot, and only then go up to defend the pass. 10 min Groups of 4: C, WA, GA, and a WD defending
• Age 9 and upShooting with a reboundJunior shooters miss, and that is fine, as long as somebody is there when the ball comes off the ring. A netball team that wins its rebounds gets a second shot, and usually a closer one. This drill puts both shooters to work: one drives to the post and shoots with a defender in front, and the other is already on the far side of the post, where most missed shots land, before the ball is released. 15 min Groups of 5: WA feeding, GS and GA shooting, GK and GD defending