How to get fit for handball pt 2

How to get fit for Handball part 2

In our previous article about Fitness for Handball, we looked at the physical characteristics required to play the sport. Now, after a year of coaching Handball, Matt reflects on his experience of  Handball Training practice.

Handball training for fitness in your sessions

When planning the ideal training schedule of a Handball team, I would probably include 2 or 3 team technical/tactical sessions, a couple of gym based strength sessions and a court based agility or speed session. However, like many amateur sports teams around the country, the Handball players I coach only train together once a week.

Fitting everything in then becomes a bit of a conundrum.

To counter this, I include elements of Handball fitness throughout the sessions.

1 Warm up:

• Start by working large muscle groups to get the body warm, ideal time to practice fundamental movement skills (foundation for all athletic performance).
• Progress to more Handball specific actions, time to practice multi-directional movements which occur during the game
• Build the intensity gradually; exercises should be looking more game related and improving work capacity.

2         Skill Training:

Coaching certain skills also allows opportunity to work on areas of fitness e.g.

• To prepare for coaching fast breaks, we first work on acceleration and/or sprinting technique to improve speed of running.
• When preparing for feinting drills (i.e. sidestepping an opponent), the players will practice breaking and turning mechanics.
• These skills are then applied to the specific Handball skills.

Community of practice

I recently completed my Handball Level 2 coaching certificate, which gave me the opportunity to meet fellow Handball coaches, who hailed from various backgrounds.

There were experienced Handball players with little experience of coaching, and experienced coaches and teachers with little experience of Handball.

The theme throughout the course was developing “how to coach” skills, such as effective demonstration, checking for learning and appropriate feedback. These are key skills in any coaching environment, knowledge is irrelevant if you are unable to convey that so the athletes understand.

Coaching many newcomers to the sport has certainly tested my creativity, as I have had to come up with new ways to explain certain principles of the game.

Part of the course involved delivering an element of fitness such as speed, agility or power. Most of the coaches chose drills such as repeated shuttle runs for speed, or various slalom type runs for agility. Due to my background in conditioning, many of the coaches asked for my feedback on these sessions.

My overall feedback was that most of the sessions contained drills which involved expression of speed or agility, rather than working on the quality of the skills.

For example, repeated sprints will improve endurance of current speed (at least at the start of the session). Drills to improve coordination and efficiency of movement would be more effective at improving speed.

Summary

Although many coaches have limited time with players, there are opportunities to work on improving elements of fitness within a normal coaching session. Planning is vital to make the most of each part of the session and include the most relevant exercises. Focus should always be on improving quality of the skill rather than just repeating the exercises numerous times.

For more information on aspects of this article, see:

• Speed
• Agility
• Warm ups

Matt Durber