How to defend a tall shooter in netball
Circle defenders we hear you. One of the hardest things to do is defend a tall, holding shooter. The game can feel relentless and no matter what you try, they get the ball.
But there is hope.
Here are our top tips for how to defend a tall shooter in netball:
When defending a tall shooter, stay off the body
Wanting to be on the body is understandable, as it makes the defender feel as though they’re covering their opponent. But it also means the goal shooter has a clear and defined space to receive the ball. This limits a defender’s ability to jump and contest the ball – when a ball is thrown into clear space there’s not a lot you can do to defend it, especially against a tall shooter.
Solution:
Staying a foot or two off the body gives the defender room to move their feet and have a proper jump at the intercept – getting “back and up”, as we say.
Defend a tall shooter – drill 1
Practice foot pattern drills around a chair or a static attacker. The feeder places the ball into the back space defender gets under the ball and takes it with two hands.
Drill focus: To practice back and ups – taking an extra step (moving your feet) to reach the flight of the ball
Top tip – Work your feet and confuse the space when defending a tall shooter
Staying off the body is one thing – the next step is for the defender to continuously work their feet and change their position around the shooter’s body.
The moment the shooter starts to set up a hold and give the feeders a clear option, the defender needs to adjust again to cover that space and put doubt in the feeders’ minds.
Defend a tall shooter – drill 2
The next few drills are footwork patterns a GK or GD can practice at home or on court –
Work your feet around the front of a chair or a static attacker. Come around the player/chair with your outside arm – less likely to contact or get the umpire involved.
Defend a tall shooter – drill 3
Start with movement in front of a chair or static attacker. Drive out a few steps and then attack the line of the ball back into the attacker. Tempting the interception.
Defend a tall shooter – drill 4
Practice roll movements around a chair or static attacker. Confusing the space and getting around the player early. This is good back and up practice too – focus on getting your feet under the ball (make sure you take that extra step) and take the ball with two hands.
Defend a tall shooter – drill 5
Practice all drills/movements together. Focus on a constant work rate and footwork around an attacker to confuse space on the feed.
Want to see the how to defend a tall shooter drills in action?
Exclusively available to members, all the drills mentioned in this blog are available to view in our Member’s Area in the > Coaches and > Player sections.
Defending a tall shooter is a team effort
People often ask me how to defend as a GK in netball and this is a gentle reminder that it’s not all down to you. Can your team create a unit defence and a strategy that can win ball early?
For example:
If the opposition lands on the circle edge leaving the GS and GK on a 1v1, 9 times out of 10 that ball will land with the GS and likely go through to goal.
So, what can we do before that happens?
Centre pass defence is so important when you have to defend a tall shooter in netball. What is your team doing in phases 1 and 2 to stop the flow? We want to create lots of passes so there are opportunities for your defenders to win the ball before it gets to the circle edge.
One way you can do this is to force the opposition apart and wide! Split them!
Keep them away from the circle with no depth. This will create winning opportunities and will help your team defend a tall shooter.
For this style of defence players must be fearless. You can’t sit back and let the opposition make 5 to 10 passes with no challenge to the ball. They must have a crack to build pressure and force a misplaced ball that your team can try to intercept.
More defensive drills and resources are available in our Member’s area:
We hope this blog has given you some skills on how to defend a tall shooter in netball.
About the author:
Nat Panagarry
Superleague-winning captain Nat Panagarry is Elite Netball’s Performance Coach Consultant and Head Coach at our Manchester Academy.
