Sticky fingers

Good handling habits will last players all season. First, we need to identify what these habits are. Then we need to put them in repeatable activities that develop the good ones and identify the bad ones.

However, before we go any further, we must take a reality pill. We know we have good and bad ball handlers. We cannot expect to even up this disparity, even over many seasons. There is no point in overstretching some players who may find it dispiriting to face constant failure.

What we can do is make sure players can do the basics well and under pressure.

There are four good habits:

1. Call for the ball. That means using clear, accurate and timely instructions.
2. Be ready to catch the ball. The player doesn’t have to reach for the ball or even have their hands in a “W” shape every time. But their hands must be active and be prepared to take the ball before it goes into the body.
3. Pass the ball for the player and not to the player. However the pass is delivered, the ball must be passed in such a way that the receiver is not having to adjust their run, or significantly reach for it.
4. Follow through the hands or hand with the pass. This is a good habit to finish the pass. A lot of the technique can look bad before the ball leaves the hands but if the follow through is good, these ills can often be remedied.

You might ask: “What about the details, like hand placement, where on the body the ball is carried, the elbows and so on?” These exact points actually are very much dependent on the body shape, hand size, relative strengths and ability of the player involved. Work on the other habits first before you get lost in these details.

Use Chris Chudleigh’s passing activity on page 4 to work on a good repetitive passing exercise, while I show you how you can develop a passing activity with a difference on page 5.