NetballExplained
Drill Beginner

Footwork Landing and Pivot Drill

A focused drill for building clean landing and pivoting technique in isolation, before adding the pressure of a defender or a game.

Written by Claire McDonald · Last updated

Players
1–2
Duration
10 min
Difficulty
Beginner
Equipment
Netball
Skills
Footwork, movement

Footwork is one of the most commonly infringed rules in netball, and it's best fixed with dedicated, slowed-down repetition rather than only in the flow of a full game.

Purpose

Builds clean, legal landing and pivoting technique — the specific skill behind the footwork rule — in a low-pressure setting where players can focus entirely on their feet.

Setup

One player with a ball, and an optional feeder to toss passes. A cone or marker can be used to give the player a target direction to pivot toward.

Pivoting on the landing foot Seen from above. The landing foot stays in place in the middle, turning on the ball of the foot. The other foot starts in front, nearest the defender, and steps round the landing foot in an arc to finish behind it, so the player turns away from the defender to face a teammate. D Defender T Teammate 1 2 3
The pivot, from above. The filled foot is the landing foot; the outlined foot is the other foot.
  1. The landing foot stays where it landed and turns on the ball of the foot.
  2. Step round with the other foot as many times as you need, turning away from the defender.
  3. Head first: the eyes find the pass as you turn, with the ball held close to the body.

Instructions

  1. Toss the ball to yourself (or have a partner feed it) and catch it, noting which foot lands first.
  2. Hold the landing position for a full second to check balance and control.
  3. Pivot on the landing foot to face the marker or target.
  4. Reset and repeat, alternating which foot lands first each time.

Common mistakes

Rushing the drill defeats its purpose — footwork technique is built through slow, deliberate repetition, not speed. Save pace for later progressions once the base technique is reliable.

Progressions

  • Easier: Practise landing and holding position without adding a pivot at all, focusing purely on a controlled, balanced landing.
  • Harder: Add a light defender applying token pressure, or combine with the wall toss catching drill to add a reactive catching element before the landing.

Pair with the triangle passing drill once footwork feels automatic, to bring it back into a passing context under light time pressure.

About this drill: this is one of our own practice designs, built around the techniques explained in our skills guides, which are based on World Netball's Foundation Coaching resources. Adapt it to your players' age, ability and space. For World Netball's own practices, see its free Foundation Coaching cards and manual.

Coaching points

  • Slow the drill right down initially — footwork habits built too fast tend to break down under match pressure.
  • Call out which foot to land on before the toss, then remove the call as it becomes automatic.
  • Check players aren't unconsciously dragging or re-grounding the landing foot, which is easy to miss without close observation.