Teach and Play Mini Handball

Developing handball skills at Elementary Schools, shown during a Pro-D Day

presentation at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School in Vancouver on October 22 2010.

Presented by: Marcel Sachse, Youth Program Coordinator BC

Team Handball Federation.
Email: marcelsachse@hotmail.com
Internet: www.vancouverhandball.ca; Mini Handball Vancouver
on Facebook

Contents:

I. Ball Handling and Warm Up

II. Dribbling and Passing
III. Throwing and game
IV. Additional Resources
V. Where to buy equipment

I. Ball Handling and Warm Up

1 From a standing position throw the ball up above the head with one hand.
Catch the ball with both hands. Repeat until signaled to stop. Variations
could be: High throw, low throw, use of weaker hand.

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 2 From a standing position throw the ball up above the head with one hand.
Sit down and catch the ball again with both hands.

3 From a sitting position throw the ball high above the head with both
hands. Stand up and catch the ball with both hands.

4 Roll the ball in a figure of 8 round the legs/feet. Variation: Throw the ball
in a figure of 8 between the legs and around the right and left knee.

5 Roll the ball around the body. Easiest is to do around the waist in the
standing position, but try also to steer the ball around the thigh, neck,
shoulder or down the back. This can be also done when walking or
running slowly.
6 Throw the ball against the wall. Allow the rebound to bounce, catch it
with both hands and assume the ready position for a one-handed throw. A
partner could also be the “receiver” and assumes the role of the “thrower”
after.

II. Dribbling and Passing

1 Walk around in any direction, at the same time bouncing the ball against
the floor as many times as possible without losing control of it. Variation:
Follow a line or go round a circle or similar markings on the floor. Bounce
the ball while walking/running backwards.

2 Throw the ball forward gently. Run after it and grip it properly ready to
throw.

3 Carry out the throw with one hand and have a partner grip the ball
properly with two hands. Vary the distance between two players.
Variations: Bounce the ball in a hula ring between players. Use the weaker

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 hand. 2 students bounce the ball to one another while moving at walking
pace. Distance between them about 3 meters. Move to running speed as
technique improves.

4 Group exercise “Ten Passes”: Split students into groups, 3 to 5 players is

a good amount per group. 2 groups play against each other and run slowly
around in a marked-out area.. The team with ball possession is attempting
to make 10 passes without the opponents capturing it and without the ball
leaving the marked area. The team reaching 10 passes is given 1 point.
The ball is then given to their opponents who try to do likewise. If the
opponents succeed in capturing the ball they then commence trying to
reach 10 passes. The ball can only be captured by interception of a pass or
from a dropped ball “running loose”. On a foul occurring (physical contact
is not allowed) the ball goes to the non-offending side.

5 Group exercise “Relay Ball”: Positioning as shown. One ball per team.

B throws to A who returns the ball to C whilst B runs back around the
marker and takes up position at the back of the row. C to A, A to D, C
runs and so on. When the whole team has gone through the exercise, B
takes A’s place and A runs to the back of the row. The game continues
until the whole team has had a turn in A’s original position. Which team
finishes first? Special rules: Run backwards until past the marker.

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 6 Group exercise “Quick Passes”: Positioning as shown. A throws to B

who throws to C. Immediately after A has thrown the ball he/she runs to
the end of the opposite row and takes position there, and so on as shown.
Distance between rows: 4 to 8 meters. To begin with, players receive the
ball standing still. As they develop the necessary skill they can receive,
first walking, then jogging, then running. Players must always run to take
up their new position.

7 Include passing into tag games.

8 Group exercise “Capture the flag”: Form teams of 5 to 7 players. Two

teams play against each other. Place on a mat or in a box on each side of
the court 5 to 10 balls. The goal is to empty your own mat or box by
passing all balls to your team mates and eventually place them on the
opponent’s mat or box. The game is won as soon as the last ball of one
team is either on the opponent’s mat or box. Running with the ball is not
allowed. Opponents can attempt to capture a ball but must be in their own
half in order to do so (see “10 passes”).

III. Throws and game

1. Practice targeting: Teachers holds up one or two hoops at shoulder/head

height. The students throws the ball through the hoop, fetches it and runs
to the back of the opposite row. Distance from target, about 6-8 meters.

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2. Place smaller targets against a wall, i.e. cones or other balls. Have students
aim at the target and throw as hard as they can.

3. Group exercise: “Shooting range”: Two groups of 3-5 students line up

on opposite ends of the court (can be half court). On a bench in the center
of the court, place up to 10 balls (use different sizes). Each group has 3-4
handballs to throw with. The goal is to shoot as many balls off the bench
into the opponent’s half as possible. Students can pick up any “free”
handballs in their own half. They then have to return to the base line in
order to shoot the remaining balls of the bench. The game is over when no
ball is left on the bench. The team with the most balls on their half lost the
game.
4. Practice jump shoots: Start with proper footwork, 3-step sequence. A right

handed player steps forward with the left foot (first step), then jumps onto
the right (second step) and then again jumps onto the left foot and jumps
up to throw the ball (third step). For left handed players, sequence is
exactly opposite (right-left-right). During the entire sequence, the student
is holding the ball, no bouncing. Use hoops to better visualize the
sequence for your students.

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5. Throwing on goal: Use mini handball goal or tape goal on wall. Make sure
you pre-determine the crease (either semi-circle or straight line 5m away
from goal, see section IV). Use 3-step sequence to jump and throw at goal.
Ensure that students jump off before stepping on the crease-line.

6. Practice switch from catching to throwing. Same as in 5 but play a pass to

the student before he/she does 3 steps to throw. Passing distance: 4-5
meters.

7. Group games: Place a bench in each “end zone” of the court. Two teams
with 5 players each, depending on the court size available. Each team
selects one player who stands on the bench on the opposite side of the
court. There is only one ball in the game and similar to the “10 passes”
game the ball has to be passed from player to player in order to eventually
pass the ball to the player on the respective bench. The team gets one point
when the player on the bench catches the ball. Dropped balls do not count.
Other rules: You can disallow bouncing to animate the students to pass the
ball more often. No running with the ball across the court, max. 3 steps are
allowed per player once the ball is in his/her hands. If students try to beat
the distance by a single long pass to the bench, demand that at all or a
number of players must have received the ball first before a pass to the
bench can happen. You can also divide the court into zones, which players
can’t leave. Players then have to pass from zone to zone to get to the
bench. The ball can only be captured by interception of a pass or from a
dropped ball “running loose”. On a foul occurring (physical contact is not
allowed) the ball goes to the non-offending side.

8. Group game: Mini-Handball: In contrast to the game explained in 6, use

mini handball goals or taped goals instead of benches. Add a crease
around the goal and start playing. No player is allowed in the crease
besides the goalkeeper. Defenders and the offending players have to be

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 outside the crease at any time. Players can drift into the crease by jumping
off in front of the line and releasing the ball before touching down again.
You can allow dribbling, 3-step rule applies.

IV. Additional Resources

Online:

Handball

You can find additional lesson plans on our website

www.vancouverhandball.ca

From time to time I post useful articles and pictures from schools on
Facebook – Mini Handball Vancouver.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-Handball-
Vancouver/164288099946

YouTube videos about Mini Handball can be found here:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLfnAHG_LhI&feature=player
_embedded 


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
r1LANv2mvg&feature=player_embedded 

More information about handball can be found on the websites of the

International Handball Federation www.ihf.info and the European
Handball Federation www.eurohandball.com.

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 Sport in general

http://www.truesportpur.ca/en/home is a fantastic Canadian website

showing ways to engage kids in sports and also teach fair play and
community spirit. Make sure to print the principles for sport and
community.

http://www.canadiansportforlife.ca - In this website you’ll find information

explaining the importance of sport for all ages and stages by giving
children the skills that they need to develop Physical Literacy for both
healthy life long enjoyment and for sporting success.

http://www.bodysense.ca/en/home The BodySense web site is full of

helpful information, tools and tips to guide you to positive body image and
strong self-esteem.

http://www.youthsportspsychology.com/youth_sports_psychology_blog/?
page_id=2 Sport Psychology Blog with useful articles.

Books:
Clanton, Reita and Dwight, Phyl (1996). Team Handball. Human Kinetics.
Includes great introduction to the game and explains step-by-step specific
exercises for field players and goalkeepers. Highly recommend this book!

V. Where to buy equipment

Balls: Balls can be purchased through a number of online providers.

Keep in mind that for Elementary Schools size 1 handballs are the
right size. If you only teach grade 6&7, you can move to size 2

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 handballs. The two companies listed below are providers I have
used in the past year.
 http://www.barnettsports.com/barnettca/canada/handball.html
(recommend “GRIPY”) 


 http://www.selectsportcanada.com/products/balls/20/
Very good quality handballs, recommend “Solera” 

Goals: Our office still has sets of mini handball goals for sale. The same one we
used for our demonstration. Email Deborah
info@vancouverhandball.ca to find out about cost and availability.

For High Schools, indoor soccer goals (2m H x 3m W) can be used

as well, as they are of the same size. Elementary Schools can use
those goals as well, but might want to use a string or tarp to
“lower” the cross bar.
Otherwise you can use tape to mark the goals on the wall.
Hockey nets are too small for handball purposes.

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