Netball Centre Pass Strategies in Attack
An attacking centre pass in netball is a great chance to score a quick goal and use set plays to get there quickly.
SSN side West Coast Fever’s centre pass success to goal is 73.1%, in an average game this translates into 46.9 goals from their centre pass. This means they only need to score 12.6 goals from a gain or an opposition turnover to give themselves an 81.3% chance of winning. With a centre pass success rate in the 70% range, no wonder they’re so successful. Equally Superleague champions Loughborough Lightning achieved an 80% centre pass-to-goal success rate in the NSL Grand Final.
What does all this this mean?
It means we need to treasure our centre passes.
Ensuring your team has a couple of strong centre pass strategies in attack will keep goals flowing and increase the overall confidence of your team. In the third blog of our centre pass series, Nat Panagarry looks at three netball centre pass strategies in attack.
ONE OVER THE LINE
Ideally, you don’t want both your WA and GA coming over the transverse line on a centre pass.
Players should communicate who is going to try and beat their opponent and get the first phase. Then the other player is prepping for 2nd phase with depth down the court and feeding a 1 v 1 to the GS in the circle.
If either the WA or GA get free easily there’s no reason for both of them to be over the line for the centre pass. Players can sometimes think it’s good to have more options for the centre however, it will only hold up the players trying to get ahead of the ball and down the court for 2nd phase.
Having the WA and GA caught in the centre third also means your GS will often need to drive out of the circle to make this 2nd phase offer. This leaves the GS with the ball outside the circle, and a GA, WA and C in the centre third.
As we don’t want both front attackers coming over the line, a lot of coaches call this centre pass structure, “giving a player the line.”
Make sure WD and GD are the 2nd & 3rd options for the centre pass. If the centre pass goes to one of the back players, you want to encourage them to get ahead of the centre and as close to the attacking transverse line as possible.
This means the WA or GA could still receive a driving ball 2nd phase down the court, with the centre always getting ahead with depth.
SIDE STACK
As attacking players, you constantly want to keep the defenders guessing. Having a variety of start positions will make defenders feel uncomfortable and will put you on the front foot.
To execute a side stack, WA and GA will pick a side and stand together close to the sideline. This should leave a lot of space in the middle of the court, which is perfect for them to attack.
Communication is key for this to work. We don’t want both players over the line, so they decide who’s going to take the 1st phase drive and try to receive the ball in the middle of the centre 3rd. If this ball lands the other attacking player drives down the court for 2nd phase.
The centre, once they’ve passed to one of the players in the middle of the court, should also attack with depth and offer for the 2nd phase ball, this should be on the opposite side to the other attacking player. We don’t want players running into each other, we want them to use the whole width of the court and space.
If the ball can’t be received by the 1st attacker taking on the middle drive for phase 1. The 2nd attacker can come over the line to receive while the first attacker resets and goes for depth on phase 2.
For this to work, attackers need to read off each other, keep their vision up and be confident in taking on defenders.
BACKUP Centre Pass Attack
A backup centre pass is the perfect way to take some pressure off your front-attacking players.
WA and GA’s can put a lot of pressure on themselves thinking their main role is to get out each time for 1st phase. If this is the case it also makes it a lot easier for switched-on defenders as they’ll know who’s going to get phase 1.
So having a backup Centre Pass Attack is important. The WD and GD are going to take the lead and try to get phase 1. With backup options, the front attackers must stay active and look like they are coming over the transverse line so it keeps their defenders busy. A WA or GA should signal by either sticking their hand up or if your centre pass attacks are numbered, shouting the number out so they know it’s their job to work hard to get phase 1.
A defensive take on the centre pass should be taken ahead of your centre, so you are gaining depth on your pass. Then either WA or GA can get a driving ball close to the circle edge for phase 2 to feed the GS. However, if the ball does go to WD or GD and it’s behind the centre, I’d recommend centres doing a quick give-and-go with them to get some depth before looking forward to the WA or GA on phase 3.
A solid centre pass
“Have a set centre pass attack set up the team enjoys doing – this can be your fallback“
As coaches, we can see when an opposition team gets a run on your players and as a player out on the court, this can feel overwhelming. It starts to feel like everything is going wrong.
Having a specific centre pass attack that your team uses to score an easy goal can be the perfect way for your players to reconnect and regain control. It could be the perfect settler that the team needs.
Drill your players at your training sessions to use their fallback play every time the opposition team scores 3 – 4 goals in a row. Hopefully, they can take some confidence knowing that this is a good structure and there’s an easy goal for the team to put on the scoreboard. This can be led by any player on the team or as a coach for younger players.
How many centre pass setups should you have?
You don’t need an endless number of centre pass setups – having more than a few for young teams will be confusing and decrease their chances of all players setting things up correctly.
Focus your efforts on mastering a handful of structures. Two for younger players and three to four for older players. You want to know your team can execute them well and remember them under pressure.
It’s also important to remind your players that even though they have centre pass structures they aren’t going to work every time. They are just good practices for your teams to have to stay connected and offer good structures on the court.
I hope these netball centre pass strategies in attack help give your players more confidence on the court.
Nat
