Schoolofhandball.pdf

Display of handball skills to assist young players, their teachers and coaches

Handball is a simple yet varied game which helps to equally develop all physical abilities of the youngsters. If they learn to catch, pass and shoot correctly, they are bound to become good players. Our instructions, assembled to assist, also apply for somewhat older players. Most of the exercises can be done in a front yard, with family members, friends, while some are designed to be executed by a single player, facing a wall; this way the youngsters can "enjoy handball, the best game in the world," virtually anywhere!

Offensive game and skills

There are two important pieces of advice for the offense players.

(1.) When players gain possession of the ball, they should not wait for the pass form the goalkeeper at their gate ( picture 1 ); they should, except for one or two players, run forward an attempt to develop a fast break. The defense will follow them, making more room for the initial goalkeeper's pass ( picture 2 ).

(2.) Offensive players should not heap around the ball ( 3. ), since the ag me is more fluent, if they spread the offensive line; this also makes defending more difficult ( 4. ). In a 4 on 4 game the players should assume the positions of the center attacker, left and right wing and the pivot who plays close to the 6 meter line. The attackers should remain on their positions and should only run towards the ball after establishing eye-contact with the player in possession!

When attacking, the players should play in offensive stance! ( 5., 6. ). The offensive player should hold the ball in the level of the head, in an open palm, turned up- and outwards. This way the player is ready to shoot, break (penetrate) or pass to anyone and is also more difficult to defend than when the ball is held in front of the body. Immediately after catching the ball should be lifted above the shoulders!

Opening for a pass: if a player wants to receive the ball he should not stand next to a defensive player, since the guard could intercept the pass or impede the catch. The offensive player should suddenly and quickly run towards his teammate in possession or away form him. Two exercises:( 7. ) the "rooster" game involves a lot of opening for passes: two players pass the ball to each other while the third one attempts to touch it; ( 8. ) playing one on one where the offensive player first has to receive the pass. The defensive player guards an attacker who has to open for

a pass, receive it and return it to the teammate. The latter should hold the ball in the offensive position until his teammate opens; if he fails to do so in three seconds, the player in possession should bounce the ball once.

Catching and holding the ball with two hands

( 9. ) When passing to a beginner, the low pass is most convenient, since it is easier to catch. Hands should be stretched towards the ball with wrists relaxed, held form the sides and raised above the head. Carrying the ball to the chest is unnecessary and time consuming. ( 10. ) After correctly catching the ball, the palms are behind it, the thumbs form the shape of letter "A" and the

middle fingers are in the middle of the ball.

( 11. left ) For a correct swing and a powerful and accurate throw it is inadvisable to hold the ball with one hand from the upper side or hold it too much from the front side, thus closing the palm after the swing ( 11. right ). ( 12. ) To make sure our catching technique is correct, the ball should be thrown in the air, caught above the head solely by a movement of the wrist, the carried in front of the body to see, whether it is held as described with picture 10.

( 13. ) Exercises for catching and throwing the ball: the ball is thrown towards the wall with hands almost stretched out. The palms and fingers should be relaxed. The hands should be stretched as if following the ball. To practice throwing after bouncing the ball, the ball should be bounced once before throwing it at the wall.

Holding the ball with one hand

( 14. ) If the ball is caught too much to the front, it is held with the whole palm ( a ); if it is caught with fingers only, the thumb will be placed too much to the inside ( b ); in both cases, the throw will be less

powerful and less accurate. If the ball is caught correctly, it should be held with fingers and fingertips in such way that there is about a centimeter of space between the ball and the palm (c ).

Throwing the ball

( 16. ) When practicing throwing the ball, the children should first imitate the throw without the ball, with their arm relaxed (a); then, they should throw tennis balls (b) and after that smaller handballs (c). Too large balls will impede their learning to throw correctly. They should be able to hold the ball easily in one hand.

( 17. ) Exercise of shooting the ball at the wall from approx. 6 meters. After a diagonal swing backwards the ball should be thrown downwards so that the ball will bounce from the floor about 1 meter before the wall; the arm should be flexible, raised high and almost stretched out. The same exercise should be done for the jump-shot and after bouncing the ball once. The arm should not be bent during the swing or the throw. When throwing the ball, the elbow should be moved in front of the ball for as long as possible. At the end of the throw, the ball should be covered by moving the palm downwards in the wrist.

( 18. ) When passing, the ball should be given a back-spin with the fingertips; this makes it easier for the teammate to catch it.

( 19. ) The exercise for the back-spin: the ball is thrown high at the wall from a close distance. If the ball isn't given the spin, it will bounce over the player's head.

( 20. ) For short passes towards the wall, it suffices at first to simply open the hand in the wrist and stretch the arm to follow the ball, initially facing the wall, then standing with the side towards it. The passes following a bounce should also be practiced, taking extra care to open the hand as soon as possible – see (15.).

Jump-shot from the line

( 21.) Pre-exercise: taking diagonal swings, simultaneously releasing the body twist-tension, raising the swing-side knee and raising to the toes of the jumping leg. With every swing the players should jump forward and land on the same leg. After a while they may start shooting by jumping over the line, as in real game.

( 22. ) Jump-shot from sprint running: first, while standing in place, the arm is swung backwards.

Then, with the arm above the head level, the player runs diagonally towards the gate. The three steps of the jump-shot should be started with the left foot, then the right one, jump from the left foot just before the line, shot and landing on the same, i.e. left foot.

Moving with a single bounce

Offensive play (i.e. play while in possession), faking the pass and the three second rule can be practiced in the 3 on 2 rooster game (24.) .

The ball may be held by the same player for a maximum of three seconds, which is actually longer than it may sound. While looking for an open player to pass the ball to, the player in possession should fake passes with short moves of the shoulder. The ball should constantly be in the offensive position.

Breaking past a defensive player

If a defensive player is guarding by standing closely to the offense, the attacking player should not turn his back against him. Rather he should raise his hand high and run – break past the defense. The ball should be bounced after breaking past the player. Breaks both to the left and the right side should be practiced ( 25 a, b ).

Defensive skills

A few pieces of advice for the defensive play: - Children should start with a man-to-man defense;

- As soon as the team looses possession, each player should start guarding one of the opponents by standing between the attacker and his own gate ( 26. );

- While in defense, players should not run after the attacker but only move enough to stay between the attacker and the gate;

- Defensive player should not keep his eyes on the ball but rather stay aware of what the attacker intends to do. - If the attacker breaks past the defense's teammate, the next

defensive player should assist/ help by "taking over" the now open attacker.

Guarding the attacker

Obstructing the player in possession of the ball

The defensive player should stand next to the attacker with his feet spread widely. One hand (both palm and fingers) should be placed on the attacker's elbow while the other hand should be stretched out, prepared to prevent the break (29.).

If the defensive player grabs the attacker's arm with his fingers, he will easily slip ( 30. ). If the offensive player succeeds in breaking past the defense, the guard should not pull him back since he will be called for penalty.

The Celje School of Handball invites every year:

• School of handball at the seaside for girls and boys aged 9 – 14. Last week in June in Izola, Slovenia. • International mini-handball tournament for girls and boys aged 10 – 11. January in Celje, Slovenija.