Tactics may involve:
- Goal shooter and goal attack
- Wing attack and centre
- Centre and wing defence
- Goal defence and goal keeper
- Penalty passes and shots
- Plays to maximise weaknesses in the opposing team members
- Free passes
- Width balance is making sure the court is covered in terms of the width.
- This is accomplished when players move into different channels, freeing up space and getting open.
- The diagram on the right shows a drill. The court is divided into three channels, one player in each channel. The coach calls a number (1, 2 or 3), and the player in that channel has to move to another channel. Following someone must quickly move into the free channel to balance the court.
Netball : Strategies and Tactics
Strategies and Tactics in Netball
Court Balance
Introduction to Netball
Positioning and Timing
Strategies and tactics are used to give structure to attacking and defending situations during play. Despite their differences, both strategies and tactics involve planning and seeting goals prior to a game.
- Fast-paced, non-contact sport played by men and women.
- Adapted from basketball, and has been played since the 1900s.
- Unlike basketball, players CANNOT run with the ball (stepping) and NO dribbling (replay).
- Objection is to pass the ball to your goal end to allow the shooters to score a goal.
- Elite players are able to position themselves between other players and the ball.
- Awareness to avoid crowded areas, instead move into space, creating more oppurtunities and giving their team the best possible chance for success.
- Positioning is especially important in the shooting circle, where defenders have to position themselves correctly in order to intercept the ball or defend the shot away.
- Devised before the game ( general plan / goal )
- When and where tactics are used to beat a specific opposition.
- Pre-plan strategies to meet the demands of the play.
Each team has 7 players on court who all have different positions. Each player has a designated area on the court where they are allowed to move:
Practicing centre passes without defence will teach players about space awareness and timing. It is the attacker's responsibility to deliver the ball into the goal circle. A players positioing is harder to set in the centre court, as the movement around it varies.
- Goal Shooter (GS - 1 & 2)
- Goal Attack (GA - 1, 2 & 3)
- Wing Attack (WA - 2 & 3)
- Centre (C - 2, 3 & 4)
- Wing Defense (WD - 3 & 4)
- Goal Defense (GD - 3, 4 & 5)
- Goal Keeper (GK - 4 & 5)
- A procedure used to achieve an individual game objective.
- Executed in response to the situations in a game.
- How a team organizes and applies knowledge to secure possesion of the ball, or create maximum oppurtunities to shoot.
- Working together using structure and a plan.
This clip is taken from the netball final match between New Zealand and Australia. The attacking centre player throws the ball (overhead) into the ring, and the GA attempts to shoot. However, the ball hits the post, bouncing back into play. The GD immedietly reacts (accurate timing) and regains possesion by catching the ball.
- Width balance is making sure the court is covering terms of depth of each third.
- Doing so allows players to receive the ball without the defender being able to read the play and intercept.
Fitness Benefits of Netball:
Timing is an essential part of netball, as it' crucial that players have the ability to time their movements. When taking the shot, it is particularly important for the defenders to accurately time the rebound (doesn't go in the net), which will increase their chances of getting the ball once the ball leaves the shooter's hand.
Game Strategy may include:
- Patterns of play when attacking and defensing
- Roles of individual players in the game strategy
- Improves hand-eye coordination by practicing passing and shooting skills.
- Builds muscle and strength in the legs and arms.
- Increases stamina due (bursts of sprinting and longer jogging up and down the court).
MLA Citations
Tactical Knowledge
- Improves the body's cardiovasuclar system.
- Quick changing of direction and pace can improve mental sharpness, and the body's nibleness.
- Tactical knowledge allows players to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team.
- An attacking strategy can be initiated from a side-line throw, a centre pass, or from a backline pass.
- Tactics can be changed during the game depending on the situation and play.
- Tactics used by the GA and GS determine how the rest of the team will feed the circle.
- Good netball players can use the tactical knowledge to detect the opposing sides weakness', and make decisions based on these judgments.
1. "BBC SPORT | Netball: Bounce Pass." BBC News. BBC, 10 Oct. 2005. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/netball/4187744.stm>.
2. "Physical Education." The British Medical Journal 1.3088 (1920): 338-39. Web. 8 Dec. 2016.
3. "Chapter 6 - Strategies." (n.d.): 76-77. Netball.asn.au. Web. 8 Dec. 2016. <http://www.peninsulanetball.org.au/courtstrategies.pdf>.
Teamwork and Communication
Reading the Play
In the video clip, when Charlotte (GD) was in possesion of the ball and was taking a free throw, the defending team player (Chun Yu - GK) saw the direction where GD was looking. From this, he was able to read the play so when Charlotte (GD) released the ball, he could easily intercept since the ball was loopy (not very sharp / powerful). Another intercpetion is made later in the clip by the goal keeper, who successfuly read the play, and anticipated that GD was going to pass to the goal shooter inside the ring.
This video is taken from the final match between New Zealand and Ausralia (elite players). In the clip, the Goal Shooter (GS) attempts to pass the ball to GA to score, however the Goal Keeper from the opposing team is able to read the play, as she anticipates the ball will be passed to the middle of the ring before it even leaves the Goal Shooter's hand. By predicting the Goal Shooter's pass, the New Zealand goal keeper was able to intercept and hit the ball out.
- Proper communication is vital for team success (verbal and non-verbal)
- In netball, it's essential that players have the ability to communicate with their team mates effectively.
- Defenders are able to communicate efficiently in the ring so they know when to switch shooters to defend, giving their team the best oppurtunities.
- Communicate with each other about catching the rebound, and where each other are in the ring to pass the ball in the attatcking direction.
- Use hand signals, eye contact, code calls and other communication methods to interact with other players, and for the team to know what strategy is put into play.
- This being said, be careful that the opposition doesn't work out the communication between players on your team. This can be avoided by devising many different options and strategies.
- It is important in Netball that players are able to 'read the play', meaning they can anticipate where the ball is going and when.
- 'Read the play' and immedietly take action accordingly.
- By thinking like the attacking team, player can begin to think about what they might do, and not just their own play.
- Can be trained through making observations of the oposition's position and movement, as well as regular practice.
- A player who can successfully read the play and intercept the ball shows an understanding of the game, as they implement strategies to create more oppurtunities for their team.
This picture shows a player attempting a side-line throw (tactical knowledge) based on the situation of the game, which is defended by a player from the opposing team.
Skill Selection
The purpose behind 'reading the play' is to predict where the ball is going and the timing of the pass. It is also the ability to anticipate the opposition's next move. It is essential in a Netball game, as doing so allows the defending team to easily intercept and gain control over the ball.
- Skill selection allows players to efficiently make decisions during a game.
- Includes many things, for example deciding when to use what type of pass, who to pass it to, also taking into consideration where they're located on the court.
The short clip above is taken from the final game between New Zealand and Australia. In this example, the centre player uses a bounce pass. In this situation, a bounce pass was appropriate as the defenders are closing in and she needed to act quickly.
This short video clip is a great example of effective verbal communication within a team. In the clip, the GD is open, so he yells the name of the GA, indicating to her he is free to recieve the ball.
This video clip taken from a game between New Zealand and Australia is an example of non-verbal communication. The Australian players in this short clip used good non-verbal communication through gesturing to their teammates, so they knew who to pass to and when.