5 Netball Drills That Don’t Feel Like Training

Staying motivated in training sessions is important in building skill levels.  But every netball coach knows it can be hard to keep everyone focused, especially if the team just wants to play a netball game.

Repetitive exercises designed to train muscle memory are essential for skill development but they work best when they are fun! To help keep your netball team training on track with these netball drills, we have put together a list of easy use coaching resources.

1. Hunting

This drill will help improve passing accuracy, spacing and teamwork.

This game is played with standard netball rules and the players are divided into two groups, Hunters and Prey. The Hunters must tag all the Prey, who then join the Hunter team. The Hunters will have to work together to get the ball to a player in position to tag and the Prey can only be tagged by a Hunter if they have a netball.  

This is a fun and fast drill to play on the netball court to get your team warmed up, or a good finish to a netball training session.

2. Pass Chasing

This is a great passing and communication netball drill, with an element of pressure. Eight players stand in two groups of four in two squares, as below.

Starting with the netball on opposite sides, both groups must pass it around the same direction, trying to be the quickest team to overtake the other with their netball by passing. Tally points for every time you overtake your opponents netball.

This netball drill can be done almost anywhere and can be adjusted for longer or shorter passes.

The players (circle) pass the ball clockwise around their square, trying to overtake the other group.

3. Heads Up!

This training drill teaches fast reaction times and transitioning from catching to moving.

Teams are divided into two groups, one in the centre third of the netball court and the other in the goal third and are given an equal amount of netballs (between 4 and 6 generally). The aim of the game is to score as many points as possible by throwing a netball into your opponents third. Teams score a point for every netball that hits their opponent’s zone. Players must defend their zone by catching the netballs as they enter, as well as attempt to score on the other team.

Standard netball rules apply. This drill is best used on a netball court and can be adjusted for number of players and skill level.

4. Kill Or Be Killed

This is a high stakes netball shooting drill, you can also wager squats or laps for added pressure.

In this drill, players attempt to make shots at the hoop from the top of the D. Line up in a straight line and give a netball to the first two people in line. The first player shoots at the basket, if they make it, they pass it to the third person in line and go to the back. However, if they miss, they must retrieve their netball and try again. At this point, the second player may attempt to shoot, and if they make a shot before the first player, that player is eliminated. Continue this process until there is one winner.

The added pressure from the second player is ideal for simulating netball game situations. If you’ve got a few deadeye shooters on your team, you can give them a handicap like using their off hand or balancing on one leg.

 5. Numbers

This is a great teamwork and improvisation drill. Players will have to communicate quickly with randomly chosen teammates to score on their opponents.

The group is divided into two even groups and are numbered, with the same numbers on both teams. The ball is placed in the centre of the netball court, and the coach calls out three numbers. The three players whose number is called on each team must run on to the court, grab the netball and try to score using normal netball rules. Possession is determined by whoever gets to the netball first. Once a goal is scored, three more numbers are called.

Try mixing this drill up with different numbers of players (two on two, four on four).

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