How to Land in Netball
Landing technique in netball: one-foot versus two-foot landings, balance, and how landing connects to the footwork rule.
You can land on one foot (which becomes your landing foot) or on both feet at once — either way, balance and control on landing determine how well you can pivot, pass or shoot next, and neither foot may be lifted and re-grounded once you're holding the ball.
How you land after receiving the ball, particularly from a jump, shapes everything you can legally do next — it's worth as much deliberate practice as passing or shooting.
One-foot landing
If you land on one foot first, that foot becomes your landing foot under the footwork rule — you can pivot on it but can't lift and re-ground it, or drag it, while holding the ball. A one-foot landing is generally more stable for immediately driving off into a pivot or a pass.
Two-foot landing
Landing on both feet simultaneously means neither foot can be lifted and re-grounded afterwards — you have to release the ball before moving either foot again. This is often the safer technical option under heavy defensive pressure, since there's no risk of misjudging which foot landed first.
Balance and control
A controlled landing — knees slightly bent, weight centred — gives you a stable base to pivot, pass or shoot immediately. A stiff or off-balance landing often causes players to take an unconscious extra step to steady themselves, which is exactly the kind of footwork infringement umpires call most often.
Landing after a jump
Jumping to catch a high or contested ball adds an extra layer of difficulty — you're managing balance from a fall as well as deciding your footwork. Practising jump-catches at increasing height and speed, rather than only from a standing catch, builds the control needed to land cleanly under match pressure.
Practising it
Drill landing in isolation — jumping and catching, then holding a controlled landing position for a full second before moving — to build the balance that lets footwork become automatic rather than something you have to consciously think about mid-match.
Common mistakes
- Landing off-balance and taking an involuntary extra step to recover, which is a footwork infringement.
- Landing flat-footed instead of absorbing impact through the ankle and knee, which makes the next pivot or step harder to control.
- Not deciding in the air which landing option — one foot or two — suits the situation.