Handball Game Situation
Senior 3 · Physical Education
Handball Game Situation
3 lessons
Lesson 1 of 3
Introduction to offensive play: the counter-attack and the positional attack
25 min
Two ways to score
Handball teams score in two ways. The fastest is the counter-attack: win the ball and sprint past the defence before it is organised, for an easy shot against the goalkeeper alone. When that is impossible, the team builds a positional attack against a set defence, moving the ball and the players until a gap opens. In Senior 2 you practised the counter-attack and goalkeeping; now you learn the positional attack, its six positions and its basic moves, and how the rules on passive play force you to keep attacking.
Definition
Counter-attack (fast break): an attack launched immediately after winning the ball. The first wave is one or two players sprinting for a long pass; the second wave is the rest of the team arriving quickly to attack before the defence is set.
Positional attack: an organised attack against a set defence, with players in fixed positions.
Cross: two attackers run diagonally across each other's paths and the ball is passed between them, to confuse the defenders.
Piston movement: a back player runs forward to threaten the gap, passes, and then moves back to his position, ready to go again.
Passive play: keeping the ball without a recognisable attempt to attack or shoot.
The positional attack
Figure: the six attacking positions against a 6-0 defence. In the cross, the defenders must decide in a moment whether to stay with their own attacker or switch; any hesitation leaves a shooter free.
Basic moves
- Attack the gap. A back player runs between two defenders. If both close on him, one teammate is free; if only one comes, he can shoot or break through.
- Piston movement. Back players move forward and back in turn, like the pistons of an engine, passing on the run so that every defender has to step out.
- Cross. The player with the ball runs diagonally; a teammate runs behind him in the other direction and receives the ball, ready to shoot.
- The pivot. The pivot works among the defenders, sets screens for the back players and receives passes close to the goal area line.
- The wings. Wing players stay wide to stretch the defence, and shoot from narrow angles by jumping into the goal area and landing inside it after the ball has gone.
- The jump shot. From beyond the 9 m line, take off on the foot opposite to the throwing arm, rise above the block and throw at the top of the jump.
Rules that shape attacking
- A player with the ball may take at most 3 steps and hold the ball for at most 3 seconds (IHF Rules of the Game, 2025 edition).
- Only the goalkeeper may stand in the goal area. An attacker may jump into it to shoot, as long as the ball has left the hand before he lands.
- Passive play: if a team does not try to attack, the referees raise an arm as a warning. After the warning the team has at most 4 passes in which to shoot; if a teammate receives a 5th pass, the opponents get a free throw.
- After a goal, play restarts with a throw-off from the 4 m throw-off area in the centre, so a fast restart can catch the defence out.
Exercises
- 3 v 2 counter-attack: three attackers against two defenders from the halfway line, finishing within 3 passes.
- Piston drill: three back players against three defenders on the 6 m line; each back must run at the gap before passing.
- Cross and shoot: CB and RB cross; RB shoots from beyond 9 m against a goalkeeper.
- 6 v 6 with passive-play rule: after the coach's signal the attack has 4 passes to shoot.
Video: "Tactical Moves in Offense Set-play by Peter Kovacs", European Handball Federation. Watch the crosses and piston movements; notice how the back players run at the gaps before passing.
Worked example
Worked example: is it a goal? The left wing jumps from outside the goal area, throws while in the air above the goal area, and lands inside it. The ball goes in.
- Entering the goal area is a violation only if the player touches the floor inside it with the ball still in his possession.
- He released the ball before landing.
- Goal. Wing players use exactly this to shoot from closer to the goal.
Worked example
Worked example: counting passes after a warning. The referees show the passive-play warning. Team A then makes passes 1, 2, 3 and 4. The player who receives the 4th pass passes again instead of shooting.
- After the warning, a team may make at most 4 passes before shooting.
- When a teammate receives the 5th pass, the limit is broken.
- A free throw is awarded to the defending team.
Tip
Threaten first, pass second. A pass is only dangerous if the passer first made a defender step towards him. Run at the gap, make the defender commit, then pass.
Warning
Common mistakes and safety. Standing still to wait for the ball makes passing slow and invites passive play. Never throw at the goalkeeper's head: under the 2025 rules hitting the goalkeeper's head with a 7 m throw earns a 2-minute suspension unless he moved his head into the ball. Land on both feet after a jump shot, and watch for defenders' feet.
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Practice
- Define counter-attack and positional attack.
- Name the six attacking positions.
- How many steps and how many seconds may a player have with the ball?
- After the passive-play warning, how many passes may the attacking team make before it must shoot?
- A pivot is standing with one foot on the goal-area line when he receives the ball. Is this legal?
- A wing jumps into the goal area, lands, and then throws. Is the goal allowed?
- The opponents' defenders never step out to the back players. Which move would you use, and why?
- Plan a 15-minute exercise for 14 pupils that teaches the cross.
Show answersHide answers
- A counter-attack is an attack straight after winning the ball, before the defence is set; a positional attack is an organised attack against a set defence.
- Left wing, left back, centre back, right back, right wing, pivot.
- 3 steps and 3 seconds.
- 4 passes; the shot must come before a teammate receives a 5th pass.
- No: the line belongs to the goal area, so touching it with the ball is a goal-area violation.
- No: he landed in the goal area while holding the ball, which is a goal-area violation; the defending team gets a goalkeeper throw.
- Shoot from the back position, for example with jump shots over the defence, or use piston movement to make them step out; if they stay back, the backs have time and space to shoot from 9 m.
- Example: two lines at the CB and RB positions against two passive defenders, then active defenders; 6 repetitions each way with a shot at the goal; finish with 3 v 3 in which a goal from a cross counts double.
Remember
- Counter-attack: first wave, second wave; then the positional attack.
- Positions: LW, LB, CB, RB, RW and pivot.
- Attack the gap, piston movement, cross; threaten before you pass.
- 3 steps, 3 seconds; after a passive-play warning, at most 4 passes.
Sources and credits
- Handball, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
- Handball positions, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
- Rules of the Game: Indoor Handball (1 March 2025 edition, in force from 1 July 2025), International Handball Federation: rules summarised.
- Video: "Tactical Moves in Offense Set-play by Peter Kovacs", European Handball Federation, embedded from YouTube.
- Court diagram, exercises, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.