All it takes is one game of netball to make you realize how fit you need to be to play. Netball is a sport where you’re constantly moving, jumping, twisting and turning. These netball fitness drills will help improve the entire team.
Another great reason to work on your fitness is that it will massively reduce the risk of injuring yourself. This will be very helpful in the long run, especially for players playing at a more professional level.
We’ve done the work for you and have compiled four great netball fitness drills which will not only help you improve your fitness but also allow you to work on those important skills needed in netball such as passing and running. These drills are great fun too.
Two Steps Forward One Step Back Drill:
- Place 5-6 cones 3-5 meters apart
- Accelerate and sprint the length of 2 cones then back 1 cone
- For example, a player runs to the third cone then back to the second. Then they run from the second to the fourth then back to the third. Then to the fifth then back one, then they repeat. This drill is great for working on acceleration, footwork and speed
Here is a video demonstration of this netball fitness drill.
Hurdle Bounds To 7 Meter sprint:
- Place 4 hurdles in front of each other in a straight row
- Jump over each hurdle then sprint to the seven meter mark and repeat
- This drill will really help you to improve your jumping skills, which is extremely useful when it comes to netball, as well as improve your explosiveness
Here is a video demonstration of this netball fitness drill.
Lateral Cone Jumping Drill:
A great netball exercise to improve cardio while also working the muscles needed for jumping.
- Fast explosive jumps over a low obstacle
- Obstacle could be a ball, cone, or even a shoe etc
- Perform 3 x 8 reps
Here is a video demonstration of this netball fitness drill.
Running Box Drill
An awesome netball fitness drill that also helps players with their passing.
- For this drill you need to be in groups of five
- Set up a large box with cones with one player at each corner
- Have one player on a middle cone with a ball (the cone in between two corners)
- This player passes to a corner player
- The players run to the next cone whilst receiving the pass
- The players continue passing along while running
- Focus on good passing technique and throwing the ball in front of the next player to not slow down the run
- Increase the pace and cut into the box when passing once players become more comfortable with this drill
Here is a video demonstration of this netball fitness drill.
