Netball is a popular game both in schools throughout the UK and also as both a recreational and professional sport. It has some similarities to American game of basketball. If you have ever played the games you might, like I did, wonder what all of the letters on the players vests stand for? The answer is they tell you the position the player is playing in. Each player has a set of skills needed for their role in the game and knowing what that is means that when watching Netball training videos like those available at https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Netball/drills.jsp you can focus on enhancing your skills specifically to your playing position.
Netball is played on a court that is 30.5 metres long and 15.25 metres wide. The team is made up of seven players each with a different skill need and area of play including specific areas on the court they are allowed to move within to prevent themselves from being classes as offside. Here are the defensive positions found in Netball:
- Goal Keeper – as in all sports the goal keeper is the last defence and has the main role of keeping the opposition from reaching the other goal circle and scoring a goal. They are also responsible for taking throw-ins from the base line. Traditionally the goal keeper is usually the tallest player on the team and they will be alert to all of the moves being made during the game and able to anticipate any moves that the opposition may make.
- Goal Defence – this role can be seen as a tactical one and they are a line of defence in preventing the oppositions shooters from reaching an area in which they are able to shoot a goal successfully. Again, the goal defence will tend to be one of the of taller team members and will have quick foot work and great concentration and be able to anticipate the moves of the opponent’s players.
- Wing Defence – as another defensive position the wing defence’s main responsibility is to defend the area from the wing attack’s attempts to pass the ball to the shooter in a position that would allow them to shoot on target. Players in this position are highly focused and quick to react to any situations that arise.
- Centre – this is the position where the game starts and restarts from the centre circle after each goal is scored. The position during play is one that can be both defensive and attacking. This individual usually has incredibly good levels of fitness and excellent passing skills and are also able to analyse the state of play in the game and can alter this.