Netball Game Situation

Lessons

Senior 3 · Physical Education

Netball Game Situation

3 lessons

Lesson 1 of 3

Attacking exercises: getting free, the centre pass and feeding the circle

25 min

Winning your own centre pass

In netball the teams take turns to start play with a centre pass, after every goal and at the start of each quarter. A team that scores from nearly every one of its own centre passes, and steals just a few of the opponents', wins. That depends on attackers who can get free from a tight marker in less than a second and on accurate feeding into the goal circle. In Senior 2 you learned the centre pass, attacking and defending in outline; here you refine the skills in game-like exercises.

Definition

Getting free: losing your marker to create space to receive a pass.

Dodge: a quick step one way and a sharp change of direction the other. Double dodge: two fakes before the real move.

Holding space: using your body, legally, to keep a defender out of the space where you want the ball.

Feed: a pass into the goal circle to the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack.

Landing foot: the first foot to touch the ground when you catch the ball; it may pivot but may not be lifted and put down again before you pass or shoot.

The centre pass set play

Getting free, step by step

Read the defender: where is she standing and which way is she facing?
Fake: one or two quick steps the wrong way, with your head and shoulders, to move her weight.
Drive: push hard off the outside foot into the space, with hands up and fingers spread as a target.
Land and turn: catch at the top of the drive, land on one foot, pivot to face the goal and pass within 3 seconds.

Feeding the circle and shooting

Feed with a bounce pass to a shooter holding space low, a lob over a defender who is in front, or a fast shoulder pass to a shooter who has cut free.
Only the Goal Shooter and the Goal Attack may shoot, and only from inside the goal circle.
Shooting: ball balanced on the fingertips of one hand above the head, the other hand steadying it; bend the knees, then extend the legs and flick the wrist so the ball arcs into the ring. Follow the shot for a rebound.

Rules that shape attack

World Netball Rules of Netball, 2024 edition: the centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third; the ball must be caught or touched in each third (no passing over a whole third); a player has 3 seconds to pass or shoot; and a pass must leave room for a defender to try to intercept it, or it is a short pass and a free pass to the opponents.

Exercises

Dodge and drive in pairs: attacker and defender in a 5 m square; the feeder passes as the attacker breaks free.
Centre pass 3 v 3: C, WA and GA against C, WD and GD; the first pass must reach the centre third.
Feed and shoot: WA feeds GS and GA in the circle against GK and GD; 10 shots each, recording the score.

Video: "Swifts Skills: Get free for a centre pass", NSW Swifts. Watch the change of pace and direction as the players lose their defenders, and how early they show their hands as a target.

Worked example

Worked example: shooting percentage. In a class match Keza (GS) scores 12 goals from 16 attempts and Uwase (GA) scores 6 from 10.

Keza: $\frac{12}{16} \times 100\% = 75\%$ .
Uwase: $\frac{6}{10} \times 100\% = 60\%$ .
Team: $\frac{18}{26} \times 100\% \approx 69\%$ . The coach tells the feeders to look for Keza first in the circle, and Uwase to practise close-range shots.

Tip

Fake small, drive big. A dodge only needs a short, sharp fake; the real move must be explosive and long enough to leave the defender behind.

Warning

Common mistakes and safety. Re-grounding the landing foot (stepping) gives a free pass to the opponents. Do not wave the ball about for longer than 3 seconds. Land with knees bent: in netball many injuries come from stiff-legged landings after a leap to catch.

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Practice

Define a dodge and a double dodge.
Where must the centre pass be caught or touched?
Which players may shoot, and from where?
What is a short pass, and what happens if one is made?
A WA catches the ball, lands on her left foot, steps with her right, lifts her left foot and puts it down again, then passes. Is it legal?
A GS scores 9 goals from 15 shots. Calculate her shooting percentage.
The opponents' WD always stands on the WA's inside shoulder at the centre pass. How should the WA get free?
Design a 10-minute shooting exercise for 12 pupils with two posts.

Show answersHide answers

A dodge is a quick step one way and a sharp change of direction the other; a double dodge uses two fakes before the real move.
In the centre third (by a player standing in it, or landing with the first foot or both feet in it).
The Goal Shooter and the Goal Attack, from inside the goal circle only.
A pass with no room for an opponent to deflect or intercept it; the opponents get a free pass where it was caught.
No: the landing foot was lifted and put down again before the pass, so it is a footwork fault and a free pass to the opponents.
9 ÷ 15 × 100% = 60%.
Fake inside, then drive to the outside, away from where the defender is standing, or hold her there and let the GA take the first pass.
Example: two groups of six, one per post; shooters rotate through three spots in the circle (close, middle, edge), 5 shots each while partners rebound and feed; record the score.

Remember

Get free: read, fake, drive, land and turn.
Centre pass caught in the centre third; ball touched in every third.
3 seconds to pass or shoot; keep the landing foot grounded.
Only GS and GA shoot, from inside the circle.

Sources and credits

Netball, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
Rules of Netball, 2024 Edition, World Netball: rules summarised, not copied.
Video: "Swifts Skills: Get free for a centre pass", NSW Swifts, embedded from YouTube.
Court diagram, exercises, worked example and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Winning your own centre pass

2The centre pass set play

3Getting free, step by step

4Feeding the circle and shooting

5Rules that shape attack