(intercept [f. the vb.] 1. An interception, esp. of a ball passed or thrown towards an opponent).

One of the keys to enable you to make an interception is to work on anticipation of when your opponent is going to make the pass. Things to be aware of include:

• The positioning of the feet indicating likely path of the pass.
• Visual awareness from where your opponent is looking.
• Picking out as soon as possible early hand movement indicating a pass is imminent.

These should give you assistance in making as earlier movement as possible to make your interception.

Another area vital to helping you make interceptions is gaining good elevation. A good practice technique for this is to jump up against a wall while holding a piece of chalk and see how far up the wall you can mark. Then go away and train for a couple of weeks with some leg strengthening exercises etc. and see how much higher you can place your chalk mark on the wall.

Polish your skills: Passing

This time around we look at some drills that you can use to work on your passing.

A good pass is:

• accurate;
• strong; and
• well timed.

In order to achieve this, the passing player must set themselves into a balanced position whereby they achieve control on the pass. The faster that you can catch the ball, stop, get balanced, and identify the pass the better your individual game and that of the team will become.

Know where your options are for the next pass before you receive the ball. This will help you to catch the ball in the correct hand in preparation for the subsequent pass, increasing the fluidity of the move.

The timing of the pass should reflect the lead runs made by the receiving players. The pass should meet the receiving player in the optimal position for that player to execute the next phase of the move in the most space and with the most time. Timing will become a natural consequence of practice.

Example: Box Drill

Description:

A min. of 8 players standing in four corners of 1/3 of the court, one player with a ball. Player 1 passes the ball into the space ahead of player 2 who runs on to receive the ball and passes it into the space ahead of player 3 etc. Players move on to next group after the pass.

Progressions:

Additional skills/warms ups.......................