u/14 team with no netbal experience/skils.

I have a u/14 team with no netbal experience. I myself have never played netbal before. How do I start and what is the most important rules and patterns they need to know?

Hello Janine,

Looking through previously answered questions I found this one which is fairly similar to your situation:

• I have just started coaching a team of 9 year olds, most of whom have never played before. How can I teach them the rules of the game without mass confusion?

Fiona, who answered this question, suggested playing games that involve players running to different positions on the court when you call them out. This will help them to learn the positions and areas of the court.

Here's a selection of drills which might help and are related to positions. You can search for other drills using the search bar (top right).

Hope this helps and good luck!
The Sportplan Team 

PS. Here are some other useful links for you:

• The warm up drills section of the site has lots of fun games for players - great if you need some extra game ideas for your team.
• Answer: Teaching year 5s when I've never taught netball before?
• Answer: New to coaching - where to start with my Under 7s?
• Answer: Coaching 9-11 year olds - order for teaching the game?

wow thats a big task ahead of you, and well done for standing up and helping.

almost 10yrs ago i started coaching trampolining when my kids coach was doing it all on his own.  i have done this sport, but i use to do gymnastics 20years earlier.  i just taught what i new, and learnt by listening and watching the coach to what he was doing.  7 years later, i was helping prepare kids to go to state competition.  

biggest suggestion, be very disciplined and strong with the girls.  they need leadership.  draw on experience of other sports you do know, and teach those skills, maybe running, and fitness, find some books on netball and read.  talk to other coaches, and learn the basics yourself ie, basic rules, how to catch and throw, positions on the court.  look on you tube for games your national team has played, or other big teams like australia, new zealand or england and watch just for basic rules and technique.  just watching these teams will inspire you and if you can get your girls to watch them too they too will get an idea. use this site and any other sites to get ideas of what and how to coach particular skills.  explain to your team that this season is all about learning for you all.  and that you will need their support and dedication if they wish to succeed as a team.  and if you feel compelled, join a social team yourself, and you will quickly learn what you need to teach in the beginning.  good luck and well done.

Hi Janine,

I know the feeling too well. This is my first year of coaching and I have a team of 12 and 13 year olds. 4 of which have not played before and the others are varied skilled levels.

The first thing I started doing with the girls were the very basics such as passing (types of passes and when they should be using them).  And stepping/footwork skills which this site has some good ones. Also incorperated learning the positions with warmups (they had to run to different positions when called out).

After working on those I then realised when we had a practise match that the girls had no idea how to actually get the ball so then moved onto attckacking and getting free. Some great drills on here. I found stick to the basic ones as the more details, the harder to explain and for them to understand.

Now we are concentrating on defending and adding a little game play/sense to the mix. But every session we go over passing techniques and footwork etc to make sure they are still practising these basics. I find that sometimes we go over stuff but they need remiding LOTS! lol

Good luck!