Small games
Ready when: Catch and chest pass (b2) done.
What you are learning
Playing as a team with netball's main rules: no running with the ball, pass within 3 seconds, no contact; first in grid ball (keep the ball), then end ball (score by passing to a team-mate behind the end line). Everyone tries more than one position.
Words on this card Positions, Footwork rule, Contact, Free pass, Clear, Mark, Grid ball
- Positions
- Goal Shooter (GS), Goal Attack (GA), Wing Attack (WA), Centre (C), Wing Defence (WD), Goal Defence (GD) and Goal Keeper (GK), each shown on a bib.
- Footwork rule
- The first foot to land after a catch is the landing foot; it may pivot but not step away.
- Contact
- Touching or bumping another player in a way that stops their play; not allowed.
- Free pass
- A pass given to the other team after a rule is broken.
- Clear
- Ways of getting free: running out of a crowded space; holding a defender off with the body to keep a space; stepping up, then sprinting back.
- Mark
- Staying close to an opponent to stop them getting the ball.
- Grid ball
- Practice games. Grid ball: throw and catch to keep the ball in your team. End ball: score by passing to a team-mate behind the end line.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Mark the grid and an end line at each end.
- Walk through grid ball: catch, land, pass within 3 seconds.
- Show end ball: one player from each team stands behind the far end line; a catch there scores.
Your part while they practise
Referee; rotate positions and keep equal playing time.
Step by step
- Grid ball: throw and catch only; keep it in your team.
- Then end ball: score by passing to a team-mate behind the end line.
- Swap the end-line player often.
How much: 2 games of 6 minutes 15 min a session once a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: End ball
Score by passing to your team-mate standing behind the other team's end line.
Who plays: two teams of 3 to 5 against each other; you referee.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Each team puts one player behind the far end line; the rest play in the grid
- Start with a pass from the middle
- Pass up the grid; a catch by the end-line player scores, and that player swaps with a team-mate
- The other team restarts from the middle. Two games of 6 minutes
- Fair play
- Start with no defenders on the ball holder; a grown-up plays only as the end-line player.
- Points
- 1 point for each catch behind the end line.
- Fouls
- A free pass to the other team
- Running with the ball or moving the landing foot
- Holding the ball more than 3 seconds
- Contact, or defending closer than 0.9 m
- Winning
- More points after two games.
- 1 points for 1 star
- 3 points for 2 stars
- 5 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
No defenders.
A defender at 0.9 m.
What you will see, and what to say
- a player holds the ball
Pass within three seconds
Count in your head. - one child dominates
Pass to a new player
Everyone touches the ball.
Self-check
Each child touches the ball in a 10-minute game: 1 touch or more each.
Stop and get a coach when
A child is hurt.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains passing, space, teamwork.
Basic is done when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b4.
awiseathlete.com/sports/netball/netball-b4