Analysing and Improving Task - Netball.

Analyse and identify in detail the strengths of the player.

Michaela has a good shoulder pass as it is powerful and reaches the person she is throwing to.  When she is catching the ball she brings the ball in, so there is less chance of dropping it. She recovers well from receiving the ball and when going to pass again she puts a lot of power and effort behind the ball, making it harder for the opponent to intercept it.  In a game situation Michaela can quickly move for the ball and get into a space, showing that she is ready for the ball to be passed to her.  If she cannot get into a space or is being marked by her opponent, she can dodge past and receive when necessary.  She has a good knowledge of most of the rules as she knows what parts of the netball court to go in and what parts she cannot.  At a centre pass she is aware and can speedily run out for the ball and receive.

Analyse and identify in detail the weaknesses of the player

In a game situation Michaela does not always mark her opponent, as she does not always stay with her, when the opponent has the ball. But on the occasion when she does, she doesn’t stretch her arms far enough and doesn’t for the ball, making it easy for her opponent to pass the ball to whoever she wishes.  She also tends to just stay in her space and doesn’t try to intercept the ball when it is being passed from one third to the other. When the ball is being passed to her, most of the time she is being ‘pulled up’ for her footwork, as she is taking too many steps when landing.  Michaela doesn’t encourage team mates or shout out for the ball, this could be because of her lack of confidence in herself. She also finds it hard to read the game- predicting what a player is going to do next and where the ball is going to go next, making it hard sometimes to be in the right place at the right time.

Suggest what training/ practice methods might be used to improve performance

To improve her marking skills, jumping up and reaching out for the ball she could try the ‘lift and elevate’ practice.  This involves two people. Michaela would have to first stand in front of a player and stretch her arms over the ball.  She would then have to jump up for the ball when the over player passes it.  She would then hopefully catch it.

To help her intercept the ball she could do a training method which involves three people. Set up like this.

To do this player 1 feeds to player 2 and then runs diagonal to intercept the ball from player 3.

To improve her footwork Michaela could take part in the ‘England practice’. This involves quite a few players who should be set up like this:

The feeder passes the ball to one of the outside player, they would then pass the ball back to the feeder and run to a space in the middle and receive the ball again. AS the player is in motion whilst catching the ball the player is able t practice her footwork and correct it. They then pass the ball to the next person. To help with he confidence and ability to read the game, she should practice being in a game, se will the be able to get used to the flow and movement of the other netball players, helping her predict where the ball is going to go to next, therefore she can be in the correct place and to help her team.