Aljaž Pavlič, EHF Master Coach (in collaboration with) Marija Papić, EHF Master Coach
In addition to learning and repeating the good biomechanics of defense movement, we also include learning to focus on the ball in the basic position.
Focusing on the ball begins with exercises with tennis balls on which we draw geometric shapes, letters, or numbers in different colors.
When the coach raises the hand in which the ball is, Leo directs his attention to the ball looking for details on it (color, letter, or number) and should tell the coach what he sees.
As we shoot tennis balls, Leo is not afraid of hits to the body because they are not painful, so he reacts freely without fear of being hit in the head.
In the next exercise, in addition to learning the position of the hands in the basic position, the focus on the tennis ball is learned by the described method.
In the next exercise, Leo should tell the color of the ball and the goal is to catch it, which encourages him to react most effectively to the trajectory of the ball.
When players shoot with handball balls, which are mostly colorful today, we tell them to try to find some detail on the ball while it is in the shooter’s hand.
After the shot, Leo should tell how the ball spun in flight.
In this way, we encourage him to turn his attention to the ball at all times. As handball balls are mostly colorful today, there should be enough balls in training to carry out this task.
Repeating a series of this type of exercise and Leo focusing on the ball also requires maintaining a high level of concentration.
With the addition of various additional contents with a focus on the ball, in the exercises we encourage the development of various motor skills necessary for successful defense:
