Spacing

No.1 - Quick Feet

The Set Up: 2 players working with 1 ball.

The Practice: Player A puts the ball down by her feet and runs on the spot until Player B runs to pick up the ball taking it to another spot. This continues as the ball moves round the court moving from space to space. Players to work for between 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on fitness levels.

Teaching Points

• Players are to react using a sprint when collecting and re-placing the ball
• Running on the spot is to practice ‘quick feet’
• Players are to be aware of surrounding players making sure they are running in to space each time the ball is to be positioned
• Bend the knees when picking up the ball from the floor
• Use arms when sprinting to the ball to collect it
• Head up

Common Errors:-

• Players keep their head down therefore not aware of other players
• Players jogging rather than sprinting. It’s better to do the practice well for a shorter amount of time than do it half hearted

No.2 - Pass to Space

The Set Up: 2 players working with 1 ball. Player B is the feeder and Player A is the worker.

The Practice: Player A puts the ball down and runs into a clear area. The feeder runs to pick the ball up and passes to Player A who is in space. Player A puts the ball down and runs again. The feeder sprints to the ball and passes it to player A. This is a continuous practice and depends on fitness levels as to the length of the practice.

Progression 1: Pass to Space with Change of Direction - Player A runs into space but makes a change of direction as the feeder picks the ball up to receive the ball

Progression 2: Player A signals for where they want to receive the pass.

Progression 3: Pass to Space with Forward Run - Player A to run forward to receive each pass.

Progression 4: Pass to Space with High Ball - Player B to feed the pass into the air so that Player A has to react to get under the pass before the ball hits the floor.

Teaching Points

For the feeder:-

• Concentrate on feeding the pass to the where the worker is running in to

For the worker:-

• Make sure the ball is taken to each 3rd of the court during the practice
• Always run into an area where there are no other players, run to another area if this is the case
• Player A to commit to each run so easily seen by the feeder
• Make sure balanced before putting the ball down on the floor
• Keep head up to be able to react to other players

Common Errors:-

• The feed is too far behind the moving player
• Head is down so unable to react to other players movement
• Worker just runs into 1 or 2 spaces therefore not testing their peripheral vision