”When you do things right,
people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”
– Zimmerman’s Law of Complaints-
In the video from our summer handball camp, you can see our U11 players celebrating after one of them scores a goal. The reason for their excitement is simple — that goal secured the win for their team.
There are many different types of shooting practice, each with its own objective. Sometimes the goal is to bring players—most often senior players—into competitive form. At other times, the focus is on learning shooting biomechanics, or on goalkeeper-specific training. It is the coach’s responsibility to design shooting practice according to the objectives of the training session and the age of the players.
I believe that players of all age groups, and especially children, enjoy competition.
Mark Lausen-Marcher gave the idea:
We organized this competition so that the players of one team shoot against the goalkeeper of the opposing team. Each team has one ball, which the players pass to one another before shooting in sequence according to their attacking positions: from left wing, through the 9m positions, to right wing, and finally the pivot. The first team to score 10 goals wins.
In the camp video, the 9-meter line is treated as a no-entry line for the back players, and dribbling is not allowed. This brings the players in a situation where, in addition to executing quality shots, they must also perform quick, long, and accurate passes and catches—an appropriately challenging task for boys of this age.
The game can be modified in many ways by introducing different rules and tasks, depending on the objectives of the training session. For example:
* Limiting the shooting angle for the wings by placing a marker or another obstacle on the floor.
* Teaching proper jump-shot biomechanics for the backcourt players by using a screen (see the linked post) or by positioning a defender from the opposing team to block the shots.
* Increasing the challenge of passing accuracy by assigning one defender to each team whose task is to intercept passes and slow down the attacking team’s progress.
Author: David Henigman
