ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
Practical sport
Introduction
In this document I am going to be talking about numeoures things and the
first one being about my sport such as handball. I’ve only recently developed
the sport of handball in my recent years of being in high school, having
played a tournament at a different school and many games at Meols cop. In
a game of handball there will be 14 players on the pitch, 7 players for each
team, these positions being a goalkeeper, a right back and a right wing, a
left back and a left wing, centre and finally a pivot.
Goalkeeper; The goalkeeper is the only player on the pitch that can stand in
the D whilst if any other player steps into the D a penalty will be rewarded to
the opposing team. The goalkeeper’s job is to stop the ball going in the net
by using every part of their body to defend the ball. The goalkeeper is also
the only player on the pitch that is allowed to use their feet via saving the
ball, if any other player other than the goalkeeper uses their feet then a foul
will be given to the other team. Goalkeepers in handball have to be very
flexible to make the quality saves that are needed.
Right back; The right back is based on the right side of the pitch and is
necessarily used to create space and to create opportunities for the pivot
and for the centre. The right back is also positioned for passing to everybody
across the team to try and create more opportunities and for everything to
run more smoothly, this position is a massive role for the team as it creates
most of the opportunities and brings the team together if they play it
properly.
Right wing; The right wing is again positioned on the right side of the pitch
and is somewhat
similar to the right back. Ways they are similar is how they create
opportunities and positioning on the pitch. The reason the right wing is unique
and different is because it does most thing the right back does but also
scores many goals. The right wing his to be quite athletic because obviously it
will constantly be running up, down and around to create more goals and
more opportunities for the team.
Left back; The left back is the player that is positioned on the left side of the
pitch and is very similar to the right back but just on the opposite side. The left
backs job is to again create opportunities and to spread the pitch out a bit
more to create more space. The left back is such a big role because it is not
there to only just get the ball off the opposite team but they are there to
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
make the rest of the team drive up the bitch so they can long pass the ball to
them.
Left wing; Again, the left wing being very similar to the right wing but just
positioned on the other side of the pitch. Obviously, they both have their own
techniques and own unique values but the role they play is very similar. The
left wing is there to create space and opportunities and also to drive up the
pitch to get as many goal opportunities they can. They need to be able to
be creative with their ideas such as the passes they make and the shots that
they take, they also have to be good at communicating with the team and
make sure their voice is loud so they can create as many opportunities as
they can.
Pivot; The pivots position is in the middle of the pitch and is there to create
opportunities for the team but mostly there just to drive up the pitch as they
are mostly more dominant and quite strong. The pivot would be better if they
are taller and stronger because they won’t have as much difficulty getting
past the opposing team guarding the D. The pivot is there to drive up the
pitch and create opportunities for the team and for themselves. The pivot is
also the man dictator for the team who chooses a lot of the decisions to
make the team to the best of their ability.
Centre; The centre is arguably one of the most important players on the pitch
who is supposed to be scoring most of the goals. The centre is positioned in
the middle of the pitch just like the pivot but the centre starts with the ball
from when their goalkeeper passes it to them then dribbles the ball up the
pitch and passes it along the players to whoever is in space to try and create
goals and opportunities. Most of the time the centre is looking to be driving
up their opponents D and jumping and shooting with a lot of power.
Key Skills & my strengths and weaknesses
There are many skills in handball that are needed to create a good team
and to create a good enough ability to play a competitive game of
handball. The skills needed in the sport consist of: Passing, Shooting, Dribbling,
Communication, Defending, Tackling, good reaction time and many more
skills needed. All these skills are needed in a game of handball to create the
different standards, depending on if you want to be at a professional
standard compared to an amateur standard where you wouldn’t use them
skills.
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
SKILLS IN
HANDBALL
STRENGTHS/ WEAKNESS TYPE OF SKILLS
Dribbling with
ball using
dominant hand
Strength – because I
find this a lot easier
considering it is my
dominant hand and a
can play in a more
controlled manner.
This is also a strength
as I am confident that
I can dribble with my
dominant hand.
Weakness – because I
find this more difficult
as this is my weaker
hand and I'm not as
confident meaning I
can't play as well as I
would with my
dominant hand.
Strength- because I
know that I can easily
catch the ball with
both hands with
getting nervous or by
worrying that I will
make a mistake.
Strength- because
communication is an
easy skill for me and a I
can happily speak in a
team scenario even if I
don’t know the team I
am playing with.
Weakness- because I
haven't focused on
this skill as much as I
should of, I'm going to
agree it is a weakness
but could easily
become a strength if I
focused a bit of my
time into it.
Strength- because
when defending in a
Dribbling with
ball using weak
hand
Catching ball
using two hands
Communication
Tackling
Defending
Simple Skill because this is a necessity in
handball, without it you would not be able
to play a high-level game of handball
Complex Skill because this is a harder skill to
accomplish, this is because people may find
it harder to use their weaker hand
Simple Skill because catching the ball with 2
hands is a vital skill in the handball game
play
Simple Skill because this is needed in
handball, without communication a solid
team wouldn’t be able to be made
because nobody talks
Complex Skill because people with different
abilities may find it harder to tackle people
or people may feel uncomfortable doing it
which gives them a disadvantage
Open Skill because this is needed in a
handball game meaning tackles have to be
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
Jump passing
Shot whilst falling
Jump shot
Movement
game scenario I make
myself big surrounding
the D making it harder
for the opposing team
to even shoot on
target.
Strength- because I
find passing very easy
and adding a jump
doesn’t change that, I
am just as good with a
jump pass and if not
better as I can throw
the ball with a lot more
power and it would be
a lot faster than the
original normal pass.
Weakness- because
this is a low point for
me as I start to
concentrate where i
am going to land in
the D instead of
focusing on striking the
ball properly. This skill is
one that is quite hard
to master and would
take a while to learn.
Strength- because I
am very confident
with this as I am with
the jump pass, these
two skills are very
similar, the only
difference is one of
them you focus on
shooting the ball and
the other skill is just
passing it to a
teammate.
Strength- because in a
game scenario I can
move around the
pitch creating space
being very calm.
Movement in a game
isn't a worry for me as I
timed correctly as the attacker may be
constantly moving
Complex Skill as people have difficulties
doing harder skills such as jump passing
Complex Skill because people (including
me) find it hard to concentrate on the goal
and instead focuses on where they are
landing
Complex Skill because again people don’t
believe that they can’t do more complex
skills so they don’t try it meaning they are
putting themselves at a disadvantage
Simple Skill because this is a very much
needed thing in handball because a main
thing in handball is to move around and
create space to make goal opportunities
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
am always successful
when moving around
the pitch.
Tactics in
handball
Fake shot
Effective or Ineffective
Description of tactic
Effective
Fast Break
Effective
Man for man
marking
Effective
Jump Shot
Effective
Transition
defence
Effective
This tactic is when you go to shoot and you
fake the ball and carry on into space to
create more opportunities. This is basically
trying to catch the other team off guard.
This can be so effective because the other
team will be concentrates onto something
else whilst you have already moved into
space.
This is when you and your team mates push
up the pitch when gaining possession and
putting pressure on the opposing team to
hopefully score a goal or at least make an
opportunity. This can also create
opportunities for your team mates as well as
yourself and can create a good game
every time.
This tactic is when the opposing team gets
possession of the ball, they rush up the pitch
and your team have to mark man to man
as many players as possible to stop the
opposing team from making more
opportunities for themselves.
The jump shot is when you make it harder for
the opposite team to defend your team’s
shots. The jump shot is so effective because
it is near enough impossible to defend if you
do It the right way and it should near
enough be a goal every time you make a
jump shot.
This is when a team defends when the
opposing team is on a fast break. The main
players to do this are the wingers as they are
mostly on the top half of the pitch and can
steal the ball from the opposite team to
create a counter attack.
Types of skill
Simple skill
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
A simple skill is when you don’t have to process anything to make a decision.
Simple skill is a skill that a mass majority of people can do. For example,
Passing is a simple skill because it is easily done, and everyone does it without
even thinking most of the time. It is just a natural skill that people do without
even being aware of them doing it.
Complex skill
A complex skill is a skill when the performer or player must process what
they’re doing a bit more because the skill takes a bit more thought to do. An
example of a complex skill would be dribbling with your weak hand. This is
more difficult because some people find it harder to move around with the
ball especially with their weak hand.
Closed skill
A closed skill is when the environment and your surroundings cannot affect
your game play. A closed skill can occur in quite a few different ways during
a handball game especially in regard to penalties getting given if people
aren’t careful around the D or even when the goalkeeper starts from his net
by throwing the ball would be a closed skill because it can’t be affected.
Another example would be a penalty. This is because when you’re taking the
penalty it cannot be affected other than by the goalkeeper but still is classed
as a closed skill.
Open skill
Open skill. This is when players and anyone on the pitch can affect your
game play and can intercept the ball. They are also affected by the
environment, and they must be comfortable with being calm and collected
whilst getting pressed by the opposing team. An example of this would be
blocking. This is because the opposing team are creating this meaning it is an
open skill.
Types of practice
Whole practice = Whole practice in handball is when something is taught and
shown in one piece, another way of saying this would be an action that is
done in one motion. So instead of somebody practicing a skill individually
they would just practice the skill as a whole.
Part Practice= part practice is when you break down an activity or certain
thing in handball and practice independently for a while until you master the
skill. This type of practice is useful because it is a good way to master a skill
and become perfect at it so in a real game scenario you don’t have to
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
worry. This is useful to me as it helped me be able to learn my drills in different
types of environments
Fixed practice= Fixed practice is when you do something repeatedly to gain
muscle mass. This is useful so when I play in a game scenario it is a lot easier
and it just happens naturally. For example, when practicing my shooting I
would jump into the D in the same exact position every time to get the
muscle memory in my head. I even evolved this by using my weaker hand
but still from the same position, so I got an idea of a harder version of it.
Varied practice = This is when you practice something but from different
areas, so you get more of an idea of your surroundings. Varied practice is
breaking down all the drills you have but all over the court. I used varied
practicing in my dribbling as this is a strong point of mine when I'm all over the
court because I can calmly carry out practiced skills. Using varied practise in
my dribbling helped me because it made me more aware of how to play on
the court and it made me realise how I can give my teammates more
opportunities to create chances.
Methods to improve my perfromance
Strengths
My 3 strengths are:

As a right back. I am needed for many reasons such as, being able to
create opportunities for the rest of the team. This is a massive point for
the right back as they push the ball up the bitch and most of the time
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
are very tall and strong so that it is much easier for the opposing team
to defend. The right back has also got to have the capability too move
around the pitch so that they can score goals and also create them.
Without the right back the team wouldn’t be as useful because not as
many of the opportunities would be made and the team’s confidence
would lack massively and as it should because the right back is a vital
part of the team.


Another strength as being a right back is being able to make long
distance passes to your teammates. This is another important strength
as this is another massive way that a team can create opportunities
and not only needed from the right back but also it is useful for the
whole team to be able to make long passes so the team is stronger.
Most of the time it is better for the left back and right back to have
accurate long-distance passes as they are the ones who move up the
pitch with the ball and create a mass majority of the opportunities for
the team.
The last strength of mine would be long distance shooting which can
be portrayed in many different ways. Long distance shooting is
different in each scenario such as if you are just outside of the D and
you are shooting then most people would just focus on power and
hope and if players have skill, then they will know accuracy and
placement is a massive part as it would be a more secure goal instead
of just shooting with power and hoping for the best. Personally, I vary
between power, accuracy and placement depending on my
positioning on the pitch and where I am taking the shot from. If I am
closer to the goal then I will focus on placing the ball and mostly on
accuracy but if I am a far distance from the goal and I have nobody
to pass to then I will just power shot the ball and hope for the best.
Weaknesses
My 3 weaknesses are:
A weakness for me is being able to fast break because mostly the right back
is there to launch up the pitch to pass it to the wingers the centre and the
pivot. The right back isn’t needed to push up the pitch but is more needed to
pass around and create opportunities for themselves and each of their team
mates. The reason I classify this as a weakness is because the right back
doesn’t need this skill because that is a skill that the wingers need to be able
to run up the pitch.
Another weakness for me would be shot whilst falling. This is because every
time I get the confidence to attempt this shot, I am more focused on where I
am going to land instead of focusing on where I am going to place the ball.
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
This shot is never going to be an easy shot as there is a lot going on unless you
master this skill it will take a good while for you to be able to perfect this shot.
My last weakness in handball would be fast hand dribbling. This is a weakness
for me because I find it hard to keep the ball under control whilst using my
weak hand especially when there are players on the opposing team trying to
tackle the ball off me. This is the reason I have decided to have my last
weakness as this. I would improve this by being put under pressure in a some
like game scenario to get an idea of what it is like so I can get used to it.
Strengthening weaknesses
Drill one- fast break
In drill one I am going to be working on
fast breaks in a game scenario. This
includes re-gaining posession then
fastly breaking up the pitch with the
ball or even without the ball just
creating space instead.
Progression one
One way that would make this drill harder would be by adding defenders
during the fast break too try and stop the counter attack. This would make
the drill harder because there is now a player trying to stop your fast break.
Progression two
Another way too make a drill harder would be making a certain amount of
passes before shooting or before making any aggressive gameplay etc. This
would be harder because it is harder to stay calm and keep gameplay
active without losing posession.
Drill two- shot whilst falling
In drill two I am going to be focusing
on the fall shot which is literally falling
into the opposing teams D whiulst
shooting to get closer to the goal. This
drill would be used when the team
you are in is attacking the opposing
team in a fast break.
Progression one
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
One way to make this drill harder in a game scenario would be by trying to
do the shot whilst falling but with your weaker hand. This would be more
difficult because you arent necessarily used to playing with your less
dominant hand which makes the drill harder.
Progression two
The second progression to make the shot whilst falling more difficult would be
by trying the shot at a different angle that you wouldn’t normally shoot from.
This progression would make the drill harder because for example coming
from the side of the opponenets teams D would be a lot more difficult than
coming from the front of the D because there would be a lot less of a target
to get passed the goalkeeper.
Drill three- Fast hand dribbling
In drill three I am going top be
discussing about fast hand dribbling
and how it can have an effect on a
handball game. I will be dribbling
with my right hand in a fixed position
and then swap to my left hand doing
the same, I will be doing this for a
minute per hand and 5 different
times. Using fast hand dribbling is
essential because it is a massive way
to carry the ball up the pitch to create opportunities for yourself and for your
team.
Progression one
In progression one I am going to be moving with the ball between cones, this
will help my understanding of where my hand placement is of the ball. This is
making the drill more challenging as you are learning the little bits in handball
such as the placement of the ball to use in a game scenario.
Progression two
The second and last progression to make this drill more diffcicult would be
fast hand dribbling through a defender or through any of the opposing teams
players. This would make the drill more tough as there would be a player or
numerous of players trying to receive the ball off you as you are trying to
dribble up the pitch.
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Week ALFIE
1
Drill onefast gym
Drill two
Rest
WEBSTER
BATCHELOR
break
shotwhilst
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
X 10
falling
X20
Week2
Drill one- fast Rest
Drill two
gym
break
shotwhilst
Plus
falling with
progression1
progression
X 10
1
X15
Week 3
Drill one- fast Rest
Drill twoRest
break
shot whilst
Plus
falling
Progression2
X 10
progression
2
X15
Week 4
Drill one- fast Rest
Drill two
gym
break
shotwhilst
X 20
falling
X40
Week5
Drill one- fast gym
Drill two
Rest
break
shotwhilst
Plus
falling with
progression1
progression
X 25
1
X30
Week6
Drill one- fast Rest
Drill twogym
break
shot whilst
Plus
fallingProgression2
progression
X 20
2
X30
Fri
Sat
Sun
Drill three
Rest Rest
Fast hand
dribbling x
10
Fast hand
gym gym
dribbling –
with
progression1
x 15
Fast hand
DribblingWith
Progression2
X15
gym gym
Drill three
Rest
Fast hand
dribbling x
25
Fast hand
Rest
dribbling –
with
progression1
x 30
Rest
Fast hand
DribblingWith
Progression2
X30
gym
Rest
The days that I am not doing drills during the 6 week plan I will be in the gym
doing full body excercises to stay fit and healthy.
Methods to improve perfromance
Different types of practice
Altering context of perfromance
Using drills is important as it makes you more confident in areas that you
weren't confident in before, and you become a lot more calm in a game
scenario. Playing better players also makes you improve as being in a more
gym
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
skillful environment forces you to work harder therefore makes you work to a
higher standard.
USe of tools to aid evaluation
How to measure improvement in skills
Futher ways I would be able to maximise my full ability in handball would be
by going over many drills over and over until they are mastered. For example,
trying many shooting drills, going from different areas of the D mastering my
shots and even putting it into a game scenario. Doing these different type of
drills would be beneficial to me because it would make me memorise what it
would be like in a real game scenario so I can perform just the same as I do in
practice and if not even better. All of these drills will help me a lot and
improve my handball performance.
Video Diaries
Video Diaries are when you record yourself to check how far you have
progressed since your last recording. Video Diaries can also be used to
identify mistakes or flaws in your performance, this makes it easy to correct
the way u execute your drills. This was useful to me as it helped me realise
where my negatives and positives were and where I could improve on,
overtime I mastered skills because of videoing myself to see where I was at.
completion of profiency awards
peer observations
Peer observation is useful for players who are trying to improve their handball.
During practice in my drills I had my coaches and teammates observe my
performance as a second pair of eyes can help point out flaws and tell me
where I am going wrong in my game play.
ALFIE WEBSTER BATCHELOR
LO4- practice methods to support improvement in a sporting activity
monitoring results over time