Offensive tactics: throwing to score

1Why this matters

Three defenders lying across a 9 m goal can cover most of it. A goal comes from a throw the defence cannot locate in time, or cannot reach. Offensive tactics decide where, how and when to throw so that the defenders' ears and bodies arrive a fraction too late.

2Getting ready to throw

Before every throw, the thrower finds her bearings using the tactile lines, the goal post or crossbar behind her, and her teammates' voices. She then strides forward, bends low and releases the ball close to the floor, just behind her own high-ball line, so the throw is legal.

3Three kinds of throw

4Where to aim

• The gaps. Aim between two defenders, where each may think the other will block, or into a corner beyond the wing.
• The player who is down. A defender who has just dived needs time to get back into position. Throw quickly, towards the space they have left.
• Across the court. A throw from one wing towards the opposite corner travels diagonally and is harder to judge than a straight one.

5Tricks within the rules

• Vary the thrower. Teams may pass the ball between themselves before throwing, as long as it crosses the centre line within 10 seconds. The defence then does not know where the throw will come from.
• Vary speed and type. A slow roll after three fast ones catches defenders who have moved too early.
• Move quietly. Soft footsteps give the defence less to hear. Making unnecessary noise to hide the ball is a penalty, so the aim is silence, not distraction.

Worked example

Uwase's team has the ball. She heard the opponents' right wing dive to her left to block the last throw, and that player is still getting up.

Decision. Uwase's teammate passes to her quickly and she throws at once, diagonally into the corner that right wing normally covers. Speed matters more than power here: the gap is open only for a second or two.

6Throwing drills with little equipment

• Target gates. Stand two plastic bottles 1 m apart at the far goal line. Roll the ball between them from your team area, eyes shaded. Score a point for each clean pass through.
• Sound targets. A partner at the far end claps once; roll towards the sound. Change the partner's position every throw.
• Orientation race. From a hash mark, find the goal post with your hand, return to the mark, and throw, all within 10 seconds.

Practice

Solution. While the ball is in the air its bells make little sound, so the defenders lose track of it, and it can bounce over an outstretched arm.

Solution. The spin throw.

Solution. A ten-second penalty. Passing is allowed, but the ball must cross the centre line within 10 seconds of first defensive contact.

Solution. Quickly into the middle, into the space the centre normally covers, before she is back in position.