Netball Techniques

Lessons

Senior 4 · Physical Education

Netball Techniques

4 lessons

Lesson 2 of 4

Footwork exercises

25 min

In netball, the feet are the rules

A netballer with the ball may not run, so everything she does after the catch depends on one foot: the landing foot. She may step with the other foot, pivot on the landing foot, or jump, but she must pass or shoot before the landing foot comes back to the ground after it has been lifted. Clean footwork lets a player land at speed, turn to see the court and release the ball within three seconds without giving away a free pass. This lesson sets out Rule 13 of the World Netball Rules of Netball, 2024 edition, explains the physics of a safe landing, and gives a set of footwork exercises.

Definition

Landing foot: after a one-foot landing, the foot that lands first (or is on the ground when the ball is caught); after a two-foot landing, the foot not first moved.

Pivot: turning on the heel or ball of the landing foot while it stays in contact with the ground.

Regrounding: putting a lifted foot back on the ground.

Stride (one-foot) landing: landing on one foot and then the other; the first foot down is the landing foot.

Two-foot landing: landing on both feet at the same time; either foot may become the landing foot by keeping it still while the other moves.

Footwork fault: an illegal movement of the feet while holding the ball; the penalty is a free pass to the other team.

What Rule 13 allows

Landing

The player may

One-foot landing

(a) step with the second foot in any direction, lift the landing foot and pass or shoot before it is regrounded; (b) pivot on the landing foot while stepping with the second foot one or more times, and pass or shoot before regrounding the landing foot if it is lifted; (c) jump from the landing foot onto the second foot and jump again, passing or shooting before either foot is regrounded; (d) step with the second foot and jump, passing or shooting before either foot is regrounded.

Two-foot landing

(a) step with one foot in any direction, lift the second foot and pass or shoot before it is regrounded; (b) step with one foot one or more times while pivoting on the second foot; (c) jump from both feet onto one foot, passing or shooting before the second foot is regrounded; (d) step with one foot, then jump, passing or shooting before either foot is regrounded.

Never allowed with the ball (Rule 13:3): dragging or sliding the landing foot; hopping on either foot; jumping from both feet and landing on both feet; falling to the ground and regrounding the landing foot. Each gives a free pass to the other team.

Footwork and defending. Rule 16 measures the 0.9 m defending distance from the landing foot. If the attacker steps towards the defender with the other foot, the defender does not have to move back.

Worked example

Worked example 1: why land with bent knees? A 55 kg player lands from a jump in which her centre of mass dropped 0.40 m. Her landing speed is $v = \sqrt{2gh} = \sqrt{2 \times 9.81 \times 0.40} = 2.80\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ . While she stops, the ground must both stop her and hold up her weight, so the average ground force is

F = \frac{m v}{\Delta t} + m g

Stiff legs, stopped in 0.05 s: $F = \frac{55 \times 2.80}{0.05} + 55 \times 9.81 = 3080 + 540 = 3620\,\mathrm{N}$ , about 6.7 times her body weight.
Knees and hips bending, stopped in 0.20 s: $F = \frac{55 \times 2.80}{0.20} + 540 = 770 + 540 = 1310\,\mathrm{N}$ , about 2.4 times her body weight.

Bending the knees and hips makes the stop four times longer and the force almost three times smaller. Landing with the knee over the toes, not collapsing inwards, also protects the ligaments of the knee. The masses and times are illustrative.

Worked example

Worked example 2: legal or not? Apply Rule 13.

Uwase catches the ball on her left foot, steps forward with her right, lifts the left and passes before the left touches down. Legal (one-foot landing, option a).
Ineza lands on both feet together, pivots on her right foot through a half turn, stepping with the left three times, then passes. Legal (two-foot landing, option b).
Keza lands on her right foot, slides it forward a few centimetres as she steps, and passes. Illegal: dragging the landing foot. Free pass.
Mugisha catches the ball standing on both feet, jumps and lands on both feet, then passes. Illegal: jumping from both feet and landing on both while holding the ball.

A footwork session (about 25 minutes)

Warm-up (5 min): skipping, side steps, small hops on two feet, then single-leg balance for 20 s on each leg.
Landings (5 min): in pairs, a short throw to a partner who jumps, catches and lands (one foot, then two feet), holding the landing still for 2 s with the knee over the toes.
Pivots (5 min): catch, land, pivot through 90° and 180° on the landing foot, and pass back within 3 s; then both directions.
Step and pass (5 min): catch on the move, step with the second foot to widen the passing angle around a passive defender standing 0.9 m away, and pass.
Game (5 min): a small-sided game in which every footwork fault is called by a pupil umpire.

Video: "Netball Footwork and Movement skills", Netball Australia. As you watch, identify the landing foot after each catch and check that it does not move until the ball is released.

Tip

"Land, lock, look." Land balanced, lock the landing foot to the ground (you may pivot on it), and look for the pass before you move the other foot.

Warning

Common mistakes. Shuffling or sliding the landing foot while looking for a pass. Forgetting which foot landed first. Landing with straight legs or with the knees turned inwards. Hopping to keep balance after a catch at full stretch.

Safety. Land on the balls of the feet with the knees and hips bending. Practise landings on a dry, even surface, and build up the height of jumps gradually. A twisted ankle: stop, rest it, cool it with a cold pack wrapped in cloth for no more than 10 minutes at a time, and see a health worker if the player cannot bear weight.

✦

Practice

Define the landing foot for a one-foot landing and for a two-foot landing.
List the four things a player with the ball may never do with her feet.
A player lands on her right foot. Describe two legal ways she can pass after it.
Calculate the landing speed of a player whose centre of mass falls 0.30 m (g = 9.81 m s⁻²).
For the player in question 4, of mass 60 kg, calculate the average ground force if she stops in 0.15 s.
Explain why landing with bent knees reduces the force on the body.
An attacker with the ball steps forward with her second foot to within 0.4 m of a defender who stood 0.9 m from her landing foot. Is the defender obstructing? Explain.
A coach skips footwork drills because "players learn footwork by playing games". Evaluate this decision.

Show answersHide answers

One-foot landing: the foot that lands first (or the foot on the ground when the ball is caught). Two-foot landing: the foot not first moved.
Drag or slide the landing foot; hop on either foot; jump from both feet and land on both feet; fall and reground the landing foot.
For example: step forward with the left, lift the right and pass before the right touches down; or pivot on the right foot while stepping with the left, and pass.
v = √(2 × 9.81 × 0.30) = √5.886 = 2.43 m s⁻¹.
F = 60 × 2.43 ÷ 0.15 + 60 × 9.81 = 972 + 589 = 1561 N, about 2.7 times her body weight.
Bending the knees and hips lengthens the stopping time, so the change in momentum is spread over a longer time and the average force is smaller.
No. The distance is measured from the landing foot, which has not moved, and the defender was 0.9 m from it; the attacker reduced the distance herself.
Weak. Games give practice, but footwork faults then cost free passes and poor landings risk knee and ankle injuries. Short, regular footwork drills build safe, legal habits faster, and games then reinforce them.

Quick check

A player lands on both feet at the same time while catching the ball. Which is her landing foot?

Remember

One-foot landing: the first foot down is the landing foot. Two-foot landing: the foot not first moved.
You may step, pivot or jump, but you must release the ball before a lifted landing foot is regrounded; never drag, hop, jump and land on both feet, or fall and reground.
The 0.9 m defending distance is measured from the landing foot.
Land on bent knees and hips, knee over toes: a longer stop means a smaller force, $F = \frac{m v}{\Delta t} + m g$ .

Sources and credits

World Netball, Rules of Netball, 2024 edition: Definitions and Rules 13 and 16 summarised, not copied.
Netball, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: footwork. Adapted by Ganzaa.
British Red Cross, Strains and sprains: the 10-minute limit for a cold pack.
Photo: Refugee netball tournament in Kyangwali settlement000, Samson Ssemakadde, Wikimedia Commons, released under CC0.
Video: "Netball Footwork and Movement skills", Netball Australia, embedded from YouTube.
Footwork diagram (drawn to scale), tables, session plan, worked examples, practice and quick check: written by Ganzaa. Masses, heights and stopping times are illustrative.

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

1In netball, the feet are the rules

2What Rule 13 allows

3A footwork session (about 25 minutes)

In netball, the feet are the rules

What Rule 13 allows

A footwork session (about 25 minutes)