How to Pass in Netball

Passing is netball's only way of moving the ball — there's no running with it and no dribbling — so every other part of the game depends on it. World Netball's coaching material puts it plainly: a team's success is decided by its players' ability to pass accurately with well-timed throws.

The four foundation passes

World Netball's foundation coaching focuses on four passes, and its advice is that players who can throw these four accurately have a very sound grounding for more advanced passes later:

• Chest pass — two hands, from the chest, flat and quick.
• Shoulder pass — one or two hands, from behind the shoulder, for distance.
• Bounce pass — bounced about two-thirds of the way, to get under a defender's arms.
• Lob pass — a high arc over a defender into space.

Choosing the pass

The throwing technique isn't usually what players find hard. As World Netball's manual notes, deciding which pass to use and when to use it can be much more difficult. It lists four factors:

1. Where the attacker and defender are. A defender between you and the receiver with arms up suggests a bounce pass; a defender fronting the receiver suggests a lob over the top.
2. The length of the pass. Short and clear suits a chest pass; longer needs a shoulder pass.
3. Where your own defender is, at 0.9m. Their arms and position close off some passes and leave others open.
4. The timing of the attacker's movement. The pass has to meet the run.

Place it into space

Correct placement lets the receiver catch the ball in the right position and turn quickly to find the next pass. Placing the pass into space can be hard for some players to see, so World Netball's advice to coaches is to keep showing where the defender is and throwing into the space away from them. Pass to where the receiver is going, not where they are now.

Timing the release

The passer has to choose the exact moment to release the ball — otherwise even a well-timed run won't link with the pass. A pass released as a teammate starts to move into space is far harder to defend than a hard, accurate pass to someone already standing still and marked.

Passing under pressure

• Three seconds. You have three seconds to release the ball once you have it (see held ball). Having a likely first option in mind before you catch it helps.
• 0.9m. Your defender must stay 0.9m from your landing foot while you hold the ball — but they can arms-up from there, and close down as soon as you release it.
• Footwork. You can pivot to find a better angle, but the footwork rule still applies throughout.
• Disguise. Staring at the receiver gives defenders time to react; scanning the court makes your passing harder to read.

World Netball's manual lists ways pressure can be added in training: less space to move in, adding defenders, a time limit, or competition between players. Its reminder is that balance and control come before speed.

Learning to decide

World Netball's decision-making progression builds passing decisions from simple to complex. It starts with a player facing away from two stationary teammates, who throws the ball up, catches it, pivots, sees both and chooses one. Then the teammates move in different directions; then a defender marks one of them; then three attackers and two defenders; then a defender on the passer at 0.9m; and finally the same decision in a real court situation.

How to practise

Start stationary and unopposed for each pass, then add movement, then a defender, then a decision. The triangle passing drill and the four-corner footwork drill build passing on the move; pair them with how to catch and how to pivot.

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 — "Passing Skills", "Catching, Throwing & Moving When Under Pressure", "Timing" and "Decision Making".
• World Netball: Foundation Coaching Cards 2 and 6 — passing skills, decision making and ball placement.
• World Netball: Rules of Netball — for held ball, footwork and the 0.9m distance, as explained on our linked rules pages.