Planning your netball teams In-season microcycle

Published on May 20, 2024

Hey #netfitters! 👋

We come to that time of the year where we are right in the heart of our season, which is the perfect time to step things up and re-energise our focus as coaches and players. A “microcycle” is your training week, which may be broken down into court work, strength training, regeneration training and game day.

Our weekly netball training has transitioned into the competition period, which varies in length according to the schedule of everyone’s seasons. The intensity of our training should remain at a high level, while the volume of our conditioning parts can decrease slightly. It is important to note that short “top up” fitness (quality running) session are crucial to maintain the fitness base we developed over the pre-season. High workloads on game days will support the fitness/skill development and stabilization of most player’s individual peak performance.

NETFIT Annual Training Plan and Promoting Performance Improvements in Netballers.

It’s now the time of our year to focus on developing individuals and teams tactical abilities, as well as keeping an eye on giving our players more and more regeneration sessions as the season progresses.

How we create a tactical focuses within the team.

1. Set Plays

Set plays are sets of movements that can be planned and practised and allow our team to get in a good positions to score.

Creating set plays for our players is a crucial part of the game from grassroots level to professional clubs, where we see an increasing amount of value is being placed on these structures. Now we all know, the plays don’t always come off, but what this will do is help players raise their awareness on court to particular situations and give them opportunities to have prepared for challenging moments.

Over the next 6 weeks we will be dropping one video per week of a *new* set play for our members.

See our full library of set plays including sideline throw in, centre passes, goaler to goaler connection, mid-court feds and intercepting

2. Short Team Fitness Top-Ups

Because there’s a lot of talking during court work, it’s important to add in a quality block of running, which is what we call “top-ups”. It could occur half way through training when we have just completed a drill. I would send the team to the baseline for our fitness component. It’s either shuttles or partner ball related sprints. My favourites one, as most NETFIT Members will know, is Flying 60s of 10 sets, over 60m sprints on a 20sec timer.

The aim is that players are fatiguing and then when we go back onto court, focus must switch back onto skill training. I love to throw in long-court plays after “top-ups” because it makes players really concentrate and prepares them for what the last quarter feels like- where the body is under fatigue- but we still have to perform.

3. Team Game Strategy.

A team strategy, is a broad layout or structured plan that a team follows across attack, defence and full court connection. Every coach is different and will develop their own strategies with years of experience and also getting to know the strengths of their team. Over my elite netball playing career, coaches have tweaked these strategies according to their own style.

What I will share over this in-season period on the NETFIT App is a focus on all players playing their own role to build up to the success of a team. I have always believed if each player “wins their own position” the team wins. So to do this, each player needs to be very clear of what role they play in each position and within the area unit.

Over the next 6 weeks we will be dropping one video per week of a *new* netball strategies in full court and specialist areas for our members.

See our full library of team strategy including full court defensive pressure, full court attack timing, goaler rotations, centre passes and circle defence.

Regeneration training.

Regeneration sessions should be implemented within our microcycle training week to recover the body. Without regeneration after training and games, there is no increased performance.

These sessions can be given in the form of:

1. Warm down

At the end of a every intense training session or after a game warm down via walking, or bicycle (we call it ‘flush the legs’) for 5-10 minutes in order to increase the circulation to the exercised muscles. The benefit is instantly apparent. The light exertion redistributes the accumulated lactic acid without causing further cell damage.

2. Alternating hot and cold showers, ice baths or cold water walking

3. Exercise routines can you add to your training week.

As coaches, we have the opportunity to control what happens at training and game day, but we rarely have a chance to come together as a team for mid-week regeneration workout or session.

This is why using these extra resources in players own time, 1-2 times a week, is so important. These sessions only need to be 10-30min max.

Most netballers know how important regular training is for improving performance. However recovery is often overlooked when plays become so focused on the high intensity nature of improving their game. The regeneration workouts need to be prioritised and communicated to your players as an equally important role. You’ll only improve your performance if your body is given enough time to recover. Fatigue worsens your performance and increases the risk of injury.

That’s why active regeneration workouts are important in netball. We recommend working on the following areas of the body: