Coaching Junior Netball Players
How to coach junior netball players: welfare first, why children play, patience with basics, short feedback, session length and working with parents.
Put players' safety and welfare first, and keep sessions fun — enjoyment is one of the main reasons children play. Be patient and build the foundation skills, giving one short cue at a time. Keep sessions to an hour to an hour and a half, depending on age, with little separate fitness work, and coach to the junior format your players actually play.
Coaching juniors isn't adult coaching delivered more gently. World Netball's coaching manual reminds coaches that, next to parents and teachers, they may be among the most influential adults in a young player's sporting life — a responsibility it describes as a sacred trust.
Welfare comes first
The manual is clear that the safeguarding and welfare of the players in your care should be your primary concern. In practice, that means safe sessions with equipment suited to the players' development, and following your club's and national association's safeguarding requirements. Where something touches on a child's health or wellbeing, involve their parents and qualified professionals rather than making the call yourself.
Why children play
World Netball's coaching cards list why players choose to play: fun, improving their skills, learning new ones, achieving goals, success, and a sense of unity and belonging. The manual's list adds friends and the social side. Its message for coaches: whatever your style, make sure players leave every session having had fun and having improved.
Keeping sessions enjoyable isn't a distraction from development — it's what brings players back next week.
Patience with the basics
The manual's view is that netball is a simple game — players throw, catch and move — and coaches tend to over-complicate it. Mastery of the foundation skills underpins everything else, and it compares them to the foundations of a house. It also names a lack of patience — expecting too much, too soon — as possibly the greatest fault of the beginner coach.
So keep checking the "minor" things: which foot players land on, where their hands are as they take the ball, what their arms do when they sprint. Left alone, small faults become big ones. See skill progression.
Keep instructions short
Long explanations lose young players. Use one short, concrete cue — the manual's examples are words like "lift" and "fingers" for shooters — and give it straight after the attempt. Demonstrate as well as tell, and guide a player into position so they feel it. See giving feedback.
Session length and fitness
World Netball's guidance is that one to one and a half hours is enough, depending on the age of the players, if the work is good quality. Juniors need little separate fitness work, since they're more active than seniors during the day — build movement into the netball activities instead. Group players by ability, keep everyone actively involved, and make sure they can see and hear demonstrations. See session planning.
Coach the format they play
Some national associations have developed modified games for young children, designed to develop the fundamental skills; World Netball points coaches to their national association for details. These often use a smaller ball, a lower post, shorter matches or simplified rules. Coach to the format your players actually compete in (see how do junior netball formats differ?).
Working with parents
The manual's section on parents describes their part: children should play because they enjoy it, not be forced; be encouraged to play by the rules and not publicly question officials' judgement; and never be ridiculed or yelled at for a mistake or a loss. Children learn best by example, so encourage applause for good play. Sharing these expectations with parents at the start of the season makes match days easier for everyone — see a parent's guide to netball.
Lead by example
World Netball's code of ethics for coaches asks them to make sport challenging and fun, recognise individual differences between players, always think of each player's long-term best interests, and lead by example — including respect for officials and opponents. Young players copy what they see.
Sources
All information on this page is given to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing (October 2026), after referring to the official sources below.
- World Netball: Foundation Coaching Manual — "Introduction", "The Role of the Coach", "Role of the Parent", "Instruction & Feedback", "Conducting a Training Session" and "Coaches Code of Ethics".
- World Netball: Foundation Coaching Cards — the introduction, "About Netball" and "Coaching".
Coaching points
- Give one short, concrete cue at a time — "two hands" or "fingers" rather than a technical breakdown.
- Praise effort and improvement specifically, not just goals and wins.
- Change activities often enough to keep everyone moving and involved.
- Check the basics every session: landing foot, hands on the catch, arms when sprinting.
Common mistakes
- Expecting too much, too soon — impatience is the beginner coach's most common fault.
- Long explanations to a group that can't take them in.
- Long queues and standing around instead of everyone being involved.
- Coaching full adult rules when the players are in a modified junior format.