Landing and pivot
Netball drill · Age 7 and up
Footwork 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.
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- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- Groups of 3: a feeder, a driver and a receiver
- Equipment
- 1 ball per group
- Position bibs (C, WA, GA)
- 2 cones to mark where the driver starts and lands
Setup
- The centre (C) stands in the centre third with the ball.
- The wing attack (WA) starts a few metres away and drives forward and out towards the sideline to receive.
- The goal attack (GA) waits in the attacking third and, as the WA lands, leads back out on the other side.
- The WA catches, lands, pivots on the landing foot to face the GA, and passes. Rotate after every rep.
- Start at walking pace with a one-foot landing, then jog, then drive at full speed.
Coaching points
- Catch with both hands in the air, then land. The first foot down is the landing foot.
- Bend the knees on landing so the body stops. A straight-legged landing skids.
- Pivot on the ball of the landing foot. It can turn, but it cannot slide, hop or step.
- If you land on two feet you may choose either as the pivot foot, and the other one may step.
On the run sheet: Catch it in the air, land on one foot, stop, keep that foot down, pivot on the ball of it to face the pass, then throw
Progressions
- Land on the other foot: call left or right before the pass.
- Put a passive defender behind the driver, so the pivot has to turn away from pressure.
- Make the GA lead late, so the WA has to stay balanced on the landing foot and wait without travelling.
How it runs
The wing attack drives forward and wide, the centre passes, and the wing attack catches it and lands, still facing the sideline. The goal attack leads back out of the attacking third on the far side. The wing attack pivots on their landing foot until they face the goal attack, and passes. In the animation the wing attack does not move from the moment of the catch to the moment of the pass, because a player with the ball can turn but cannot travel.
Walk it first. Most juniors can land and pivot at walking pace long before they can do it at full speed, and a drill that is all footwork calls teaches nothing. It is a non-contact drill.
The rule it is practising
The footwork rule. A player who lands on one foot may pivot on it, step with the other foot, and lift the landing foot, but must pass or shoot before the landing foot is grounded again. Hopping on it, dragging it or sliding it is a footwork infringement, and the other team gets a free pass. A player who lands on two feet chooses which one is the landing foot.
It also practises the three-second rule, because a pivot is quick or it is not a pivot. Junior formats such as Bee Netball and NetSetGO teach the same footwork, and at the youngest ages some leagues ask umpires to explain the call rather than penalise every one. Check your league's version.
The mistakes to watch for
Catching the ball on the ground rather than in the air, so the run carries on through the catch. Shuffling the landing foot while turning. Pivoting on the heel, which slides. And throwing before the pivot is finished, so the pass goes where the body was facing rather than to the receiver.
More netball drills
Put Landing and pivot in Tuesday's session
It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.
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