Strength 3: The bounce pass is a strength of mine and I think it’s a really good pass to be good at. You use it for short distances and I’ve noticed from observing myself that it works well when you find defenders are closing in on you and you need to act quickly. It’s the best short distance pass to use when players like the Centre and Wing Attack need to pass the ball into the semi-circle to the Goal Attack and back out again. When I do a bounce pass I use both hands as I find I get a lot more power behind it, but if you find it more comfortable you can just use one hand. I hold the ball at chest height and make sure my fingers are pointing towards the floor of the court. I stand with one foot forward so that I can bend my knees as I make the pass. I use the power from my arms and knees to release the ball from my waist-height. In my opinion my best bounce pass is when I aim to bounce the ball in the right place, which is just over halfway between me and the receiver. The final thing I do is I flick my wrists when releasing the ball and like the shoulder pass I make sure I follow through.
Strength 4: Chest Pass is one of my strengths as I find it really easy to perform and by using a chest pass it helps me get the ball around the court in the most accurate and fastest way. I think I perform this skill well as it’s a really easy one to master. I think I hold the ball correctly (like shooting, your hands have to form a W behind the ball), I then step into the pass (this will give my pass more power), then I keep my elbows close to my body, push through with the ball, then release the ball with my arms and fingers straight and finally I keep my eye on the receiver. Like with the other passes I follow through at the end as well.
Strength 5: Pivoting is one of my strengths and like the chest pass I find it really easy to perform. Pivoting is used to open up space on the court by changing the direction of the game. For pivoting a key fitness component you need is balance as you are only standing on one foot throughout the skill. I pivot just after I have caught the ball. I land with one foot on the ground. This becomes my landing foot and the foot I use to pivot on (I cannot lift this foot off the ground or else I break the footwork rule). In a game situation I would never think about pivoting if I had lost control of my balance. I find the best way to control my balance is to stand with my knees slightly bent, my feet shoulder width apart and to have a firm grip on the ball. When pivoting you can pivot in both directions and I think it’s best to keep an eye on your team-mates so you know which way to pass the ball. When I am facing in a new direction I keep my head up and make the pass.
Weaknesses:
Weakness 1: Footwork is one of my weaknesses because I have noticed that in a game situation I perform the wrong footwork and get pulled up for it by the umpire. The reason for performing the wrong footwork could be because I’m off balance when I receive the ball or I could not be co-coordinated. For correct footwork, having received the ball, I can land or stand on one foot whilst the foot I landed on remains grounded, my second foot can be moved anywhere any number of times and I can also pivot on my landing foot if I want to. Once my landing foot is lifted, it must not be re-grounded until the ball is released.
Weakness 2: The high-running pass is definitely one of my weaknesses as I find it really hard to understand and perform. I think I don’t react fast enough, I am sometimes not in the right position, and I anticipate for too long and am not fast enough on my feet. A high-running pass is used when a player is trying to get the ball into an attacking position quickly. The ball is caught while a player is in mid-run and then released by jumping into the air. You have to run towards the ball with both hands open ready to catch it. When you have caught the ball you don’t stop moving. You have to remember which of your feet hit the ground first as this is your landing foot. You then step forward with your other foot (the larger the step the better) and you have to keep your balance and the ball. You have to hold the ball close to your body, to protect it from defenders, and keep your head up so you can see which of your team-mates is in the best position to pass to. For a high- running pass you must release the ball before your landing foot hits the ground (if you don’t you end up breaking the footwork rule). You then have to launch yourself from just one foot, bend your knee slightly, and keep your body straight as you rise off the floor. You then release the ball from above your head and flick your wrist to send it faster through the air. As you can see it’s a lot to take in just to perform one pass which means I hardly ever use it and therefore have not had much practice which could be another reason why I’m not good at it.
Weakness 3: Reaction time is one of my weaknesses because, for example, in a game situation I find it difficult to intercept a pass as I am often too slow. Also another example is when I make as shot and it hits the ring and rebounds off I am too slow and do not catch it. As I play Goal Attack it is important that I get the rebounds otherwise my team could lose possession of the ball. Reaction time is the time it takes for a motor response in reacting to a particular stimulus. It is most important in open skills.
Weakness 4: Agility is one of my weaknesses as I find it really hard to change direction. For example I find dodging hard as I am not quick enough on my feet. If I improved my agility I would get a lot more possession of the ball. Agility is the ability to maintain speed whilst changing direction.
Weakness 5: Speed is one of my weaknesses because in a game situation my opponent usually beats me to the ball. I often get out-run very easily and this sometimes affects how often I get the ball. If I improved my speed I could out-run my opponents and therefore gain a lot more possession of the ball.
Vicky Davis
Section 4:
Strength 1: To maintain my strength of shooting, the practice I will set-up will take place in the semi-circle and will require at least 5 people. Two people stand at either end of the semi-circle and one person will stand at the top of semi-circle like this:
The person at the top of the semi-circle will be the feeder (the person who throws the ball to the rest of the players). One of the people standing at the sides will run into the middle of the semi-circle to receive a pass from the feeder. They will then pivot if they need to so they are facing the netball post and will then take a shot. Having taken a shot they will then catch the rebound if necessary and pivot again so they are facing the feeder. They will then pass the ball back to the feeder and run and join the opposite players on the other side of the semi-circle. The practice will then start again with a different person receiving the ball. Through out the practice the feeder can swap over so everyone gets a go.
Strength 2: To maintain my pivoting a practice I could do is one where there are 3 or more people. The group split into equal sides but one side will have more people if there is an odd number. This is fine as the practice still works. The side which has the most people starts with the ball (if equal sides then any side can start with the ball). A person from the opposite side, which didn’t start with the ball, runs either diagonally left or diagonally right to the side and signals to receive the ball. The feeder throws the ball to them then the receiver pivots correctly to throw the ball back to the side that they ran from. They then run to the opposite side that they ran from and join the back of the queue.
Weakness 1: To improve my agility I will do a test called ‘The figure 8 agility run’. There are two lines that are about 30 feet apart, (to make it specific to netball you can use the lines that make up a third. This should be a suitable distance.), with a chair placed on each line. Also there are two additional chairs that are placed between the two lines so that there is an equal distance between all four chairs. Like this:
The person has to sprint from the starting line to the far line touching the ground with one of their feet, then returning to the start line. They then have to around the chair placed on the starting line and then run in and out of all the other chairs up to the far line. They then run back to the starting line to finally sprint up to the far line, touching it with one foot and then sprinting back to the starting line.
Weakness 2: To improve my reaction time I have a choice of 3 different practices. Practice one is where there are two people standing back to back in the middle of two lines and a third person standing behind one of those lines. The third person shouts go whenever they feel like it and both people will have to run to each line that they are facing. The fastest person to react will get to their line first.
Practice two is where two people face each other and one of them has the ball. One person has to have their back to a wall. When the person with the ball throws the ball against the wall the person without the ball has to turn around quickly to receive the ball once it has rebounded off the wall and catch it. The more practice the person has the quicker the person will react and to catch the ball.
Practice 3 is kind of similar to the previous one. One person faces the wall and the other person stands behind them with the ball (about a metre behind). The feeder throws the ball against the wall and the receiver has to catch it quickly.
Weakness 5: Speed can be improved by doing shuttle runs. Shuttle runs are where you run a short distance for a certain period of time. So for netball a person will run from the back line of the court to the end of the first third and back again for a number of times and then will increase the amount of times they run per session to progress their speed.
