Korfballexercises for u21
Last update: january 2026
Play on 1 basket 3 (+1) against 3.
The extra attacker may not give initial support. From the rebound, the attacker is allowed to give a full attack.
The 3 attackers have to create chances by playing together. There is always an extra attacker, so make sure they focus on the shot.
The difficulty is that the attackers have to create enough bonding, otherwise they will definitely collapse to catch the rebound.
Goal attackers:
The extra attacker may not give initial support. From the rebound, the attacker is allowed to give a full attack.
The 3 attackers have to create chances by playing together. There is always an extra attacker, so make sure they focus on the shot.
The difficulty is that the attackers have to create enough bonding, otherwise they will definitely collapse to catch the rebound.
Goal attackers:
- Making sure they can get free and shoot.
- Which pass do I play and when?
- What do I do if I don't get free? Emphasis on functional running.
- What do I do when a fellow attacker shoots?
Goal defenders:
- Make passing difficult
- Take away lines, where can my attacker go?
- Intercept pass (defend with the whole team)
- Concentrated defence 1-1
- Try to choose the moment to steal the rebound.
Swap roles after 2 minutes. Also swap with the regular attacker.
3 attackers of which 2 with (passive) defender in front court (around the basket) and rebounder with defender under the basket:
- Getting out of the passing to shot (what lines do I run when the shot is taken?).
- Attacker without a defender plays the assist.
- In between in support, which of the 2 attackers do I choose? And where do I take my second chance (attacker without defender is support).
- After 2-2 again to 3-1.
- Bringing in intermediate support again.
- Rebounder goes out to chance.
- Support turns to rebound.
Exercises with speed ladder: agility and coordination exercises. Each exercise 4x
The intention is also to emphasize balance. So use your arms as well.
The intention is also to emphasize balance. So use your arms as well.
- 2 foot contacts per section forward.
- 2 foot contacts per square sideways (only in the ladder).
- Icky shuffle (in-out).
- Icky shuffle backwards.
- In and out (2 feet in, 2 feet spread out from the ladder) explosively.
- 1 foot in-out: start next to the ladder, always in and out, other foot stays out of the ladder in a nice rhythm.
- Sideways in-out the ladder 2 foot contacts.
- Cross-over: move sideways, always bring the 'back' leg in front.
- Sideways through the ladder, changing foot each time you jump.
- Reverse cross-over: about the same as icky-shuffle, but always bring the outer foot back through the ladder.
- Carioca: lateral through the ladder, front to back.
- Like icky-shuffle, but with 2 feet together (out-in-out).
- Same as previous, but now on 1 leg.
- 2 foot contacts per compartment, 2 compartments in front, 1 compartment back.
Divide the group into different teams. Use playing cards and redistribute after each task. Winning team earns one point each:
- Shot at 4 meter from movement: score 10x
- Knock on wood: score 15x
- Shot on the move 4 meter behind the basket: score 8x
- Penalty throw: score 15x
- Shot from movement 6 meter: score 7x
- Shot through with 1 hand: score 12x
- Penalty throw behind the basket: score 12x
- Free throws: score 8x
- Shot (2p), run-through (1p), short-handed shot (1p): score 20 points
- Swerve and run-through: both inbound is 1p. score 8 points
Team
- Player 1 under the basket with the ball;
- Player 2 moves to the right; shoot;
- To the left; shot
- After that walkthrough ball;
- Then player 1; x score
- As before;
- Shooting with eyes closed (not through ball)
- Players take a walkthrough;
- Score x
- Passing ball;
- When you get the ball, you bend your knees, touch the ground and shoot when you come up.
- Players score x chances with 1 foot on the ground (do not jump away)
- Player 1 under the basket with the ball;
- Player 2 at 6 meters;
- Player 1 throws the ball high, low, left, right or at least in such a way that 2 has to sprint to catch the ball;
- Player 2 shoots;
- Change after 3 shots; x scoring
- 3x shot, then walkthrough to 20
- Pawns in a large circle. walk in circles
- Start with 'jogging' between the pawns (snake movement);
- Arms take turns (warming up).
- At indication of the trainer "yes" sprint to the middle and back again;
- At "goal" sprint to the pole and 5 balls.
- Next exercise:
- Zig-Zag (left to right) between the pawns,
- Run sideways outside, and make rainbows (knee up) with the left foot over each cone.
- Runsideways (inside) and make rainbows (knee up) over each cone (with right foot).
- Short dribble with the feet forward and backward between the cones, but keep on turning.
Power squat
- Stand up straight and hold a ball in front of the body.
- Shift the weight to the left foot and bend the right knee so that the right foot goes towards the buttocks.
- Bend the elbows and bring the ball to the right ear.
- Keeping the back neutral, bend from the hips and knees.
- Lower the torso to the left and bring the ball to the left ankle.
- Tighten the left leg and stretch the knee and torso and return to the starting position.
- Do 15 times on each leg.
Standing Crunch
- Stand upright with left leg in front of right leg. Hands up.
- Shift weight onto left foot and pull right knee up to hip height.
- At the same time, stand on the toes with the left foot and bring the elbows down by the sides.
- Make your hands into fists.
- Stop at the highest point, hold for 2 seconds and return to the starting position.
- Do this 10 times with each leg.
Chair position
- Stand up straight
- Arms above your head, bend your knees and bring your upper body forward at a 45-degree angle.
- Keep feet flat on the floor and press heels against the ground.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
Low Lateral Lunge
- Stand up straight with hips extended and arms straight out.
- Step to the left and squat down on the right leg.
- Bend at the hip and keep the back neutral.
- Extend the left leg while keeping the feet flat on the ground.
- Bend the right knee until the torso is parallel to the ground and the left leg is fully extended.
- Keeping the arms forward, tighten the glutes and push the right leg against the ground to come up.
- Do this 10 times on each side
Eight turns with the ball
- Take a ball, place the legs far apart with the buttocks back, bend forward with the back straight.
- Bring the ball forward and bring it between the legs to the other hand.
- Grab the ball behind the leg and swing it forward and through the other leg.
- Pass the ball 20 times this way and then 20 times the other way.
Standing flat twist
- Stand upright with a ball in your hands, holding it at chest height with your hands bent.
- Keep your feet still and turn your torso from the waist to the left.
- Then turn to the right.
- Keep the ball at the right height and do this 30 times.
- Distance shot
- Shoot 5x and you must hit 2x.
- One hit means you have to sprint back and forth across the width of the field once.
- A 0x is sprinting twice. Not hitting the basket twice is also sprinting.
- Shoot 5x and you must hit 2x.
- Take evasive action and move the ball to the other hand and make a through ball.
- 4 out of 5 hits, you have to sprint the shortage of hit balls.
- Practice free balls with pairs.
- Each 5x, of which 2x hit.
- Each 5x, of which 2x hit.
- Each pair a basket and a ball.
- One of the two teams has a ribbon on his head.
- So you have a team with and a team without a ribbon.
- One player is the shooter and the other the catcher.
- Alternately a player with a ribbon and a player without a ribbon stand under the basket.
- We all start shooting at the same time.
- When a goal is scored, you change places.
- The team that is first under the basket has won.
- So if all players with/without a ribbon are under the basket, you've won.
Per task 1x quiet to practice and 3x fast.
- Left foot next to the ladder, right foot in the ladder.
- Right foot next to the ladder, left foot in the ladder.
- Sideways stepping through the ladder with both feet in all areas.
- Sideways hopping in and out of the ladder (so forward in and backward out and then diagonally to the next square) left leg.
- Sideways hopping in and out of the ladder (so forward in and backward out and then diagonally to the next square) right leg.
- Passing position and rebounder under the basket, attacker in front: (if with 4, a defender will run on the long line and give passive pressure).
- Declarer plays a moving striker, who comes out with the ball.
- Outgoing attacker gets the ball back.
- Attacker runs long and shoots. (Pay attention that you run clearly in 2 lines, often there is a tendency to run in 1 line).
- After the shot, fall inside for a walkthrough ball with one hand.
- Shot inside is 2 points, pass ball is 1 point.
- Goal is to score 20 points.
- When reaching 10 points, change direction.
- Crucial is the passing, and the 'attacking' of the ball by the shooter.
- Two of you are responsible for a good pass.
- Shooter at about 4 meters in front of the basket, 2 declarers each with a ball and each at one side of the post at +/- 3 meters:
- Shooter runs wide and gets the ball on the outside hand, plays it back to the attacker with that hand.
- Then he/she runs wide to the height of the other attacker, and again receives the ball on the outside hand.
- Pass the ball again.
- Then run wide again to the first spacer, and this time, you shoot when receiving the ball.
- Repeat by starting again at the other initiator.
- Turn after 2 shots.
- You notice that you start shooting on both the left and right side.
- Which basket scores first 15x.
- 2 cones 5 to 6 metres from the basket, and the same distance wide apart.
- Attacker under the basket with the ball (possibly rebounder).
- Shooter in the middle of the 2 cones.
- Lateral movement towards the cone.
- Play by declarer.
- When declarer shouts 'YES', he can shoot.
- If declarer calls 'NO', you have to pass back and start over to the other cone where everything will be repeated.
- Change every 2 shots.
- Per basket 15x scoring.
- Take turns taking 5 chances:
- Shot from movement on right leg in front of the basket. (competition distance)
- Idem on left leg.
- Then take a through ball.
- Take a short shot behind the basket.
- Finish with a penalty throw.
- The goal is to individually score at least 3 out of 5 chances (you finish the assignment despite everything).
- Everyone has to succeed in this, if not we repeat the exercise and they get a running lane at the end.
- If someone succeeds in scoring 5 out of 5, he/she can free one person who doesn't have 3 out of 5.
- Exercise is done a maximum of 4 times (suicide with max 4 turnovers).
Rules
- We play in excess for attack.
- Per 3 or 5 on a pole. (When there are enough exercises, 7 or 8 on a pole is also possible).
- The goal is not to stay in the same place, so move around a lot and get in shooting position as much as possible.
- Use all the space around the basket.
Task 1:
- Player 1 is the attacker, player 2 and 3 stand around the basket.
- Player 1 plays player 2, and goes out.
- Player 2 passes the ball on to player 3 who shoots.
- Player 2 cuts in to catch the ball.
- After catching, you again play to the shooter, who in turn plays to the next one to get a shot, etc.
Task 2:
- All players stand around the basket and start playing.
- Move after passing.
Task 3:
- All players stand around the basket and start playing.
- Move after passing. (even when you are in the support).
- Aim to score and not because you are free.
Task 4:
- All players stand around the basket and start playing.
- Cross every time after passing. (play with 3 attackers).
- Get ready to score.
Task 5:
- Play with support, but it is filled in by someone else after each pass.
- 2 teams each put themselves next to each other in pumping position:
- The first takes a jar with the left hand and puts it between the 2 arms.
- Then move it with the right hand next to the other side of the body.
- The 2nd player repeats this until all pots on the other side of the row are on top of each other.
- Per player in the row a pot is provided, use a trainer to put a pot ready when the first player has made the displacement of the previous one.
- Each time 5 times through the rope ladder Starting slowly and increasing your speed slightly each time, so that the 5th time is at full speed.
- Walk through with two feet inside the ladder.
- 2 feet inside the ladder/ two feet outside the ladder with knee in angle of 90 degrees.
- Hopping left twice from left to side, to the middle, then hopping right twice to right side and right back in.
- Sideways 2 feet in and two out.
- 2 forward, 1 backward, 2 forward etc.
- 3x planks normal (player stands in pump position but not on his hands but on his elbows)
- 3x planks left (player lies down sideways and stretches his whole body on his elbows and ankles)
- 3x planks on the right (same as previous)
- 3x leg lifts (lie on back, lift legs stretched for a certain time, can be made easier by putting hands under the buttocks...legs as low as possible above the ground)
- 3x superman (on hands and knees, at the start of the time they simultaneously extend their left arm and right leg, then right arm left leg etc...)
- The ball is played to a moving lady at about 4 meters.
- The person passing on determines whether the ball is placed to the left or to the right of the lady.
- The passing must be tight and at eye level of the shooter. score 10x pp
- Next, a defender comes to stand in front of the take-off lady.
- Now you see that, if you do not keep the ball up, it will be difficult for the receiver to see it
- So if you hold the ball up high, she can see which way you are going to pass and can therefore react properly
- If she does not get free, check the position of the defender, make sure you are playable and the person taking the ball steps outagain
- Again with the defender, but now you pretend to throw.
- For the receiver, this is the signal that she must come for the breakthrough. score 10x pp
Per task 1x quiet to practice and 5x fast.
- Left foot next to the ladder, right foot in the ladder.
- Right foot next to the ladder, left foot in the ladder.
- Sideways stepping through the ladder with both feet in all areas.
- Sideways hopping in and out of the ladder (so forward in and backward out and then diagonally to the next square) left leg.
- Sideways hopping in and out of the ladder (so forward in and backward out and then diagonally to the next square) right leg.
- Play the ball deep into the box.
- The one who plays the ball takes the catch.
- The second lady passes the ball on to one of the other players and uses the block near the post to pass.
- The player with the ball plays the ball in and the other lady makes at that moment a breakthrough or dodge and shoots.
- The one who catches the ball puts out to the fans again.
- She then goes to the post again to catch.
- If the position is taken and it is not possible to shoot, the next passer comes in to pass.
- After receiving the ball, she passes it out, etc.
- We practice this first without an opponent and then with an opponent.
- Play 2:2, which pair scores 5 goals first. (We do this 2 times against another pair).
- 4:4, where in a small space 10x must be played over, without the ball being intercepted or dropped.
- If this exercise is too easy, you can play the ball within 4 seconds.
- The most important thing in this exercise is that the players run free, complete in time and keep an overview.
- This is an exercise in which you can increase the understanding of running free
- Especially if you speed up the game. (which team will score first 3 times)
- 3 or 4 players.
- On 8 meters opposite each other.
- Player 1 of the pair throws the ball to the other side and runs after it.
- Throw over and run after it.
- Player gets the ball back.
- Player swings out of the way and gets the ball back underhand. (all with 1 hand).
- Player makes half circle jump and plays ball back; player runs to the other side.
- Player gets ball from number 2 from behind and plays ball to the other side.
- 3 or 4 teams.
- Attacker, attacker, defender.
- Attacker practices different types of shots but now with pressure from a defender.
- Change after 10 goal attempts. (Each player keeps track of his shot percentage).
- Attacker (A) shoots from 6 meter on the move.
- Defender (V) gives light pressure.
- A makes virtual shot move and takes through ball.
- V also obstructs pass ball but has to give chance.
- A has choice between shot and through ball.
- V cooperates by making a clear choice.
- If 3 but fumbles after shot or walkthrough ball another chance under the post.
- Players play 4-0 around the post.
- Player 1 takes the catch immediately after a pass.
- The next player to pass the ball takes the pass, but is "defended in front" and cannot avoid it.
- The player goes behind the post, the "defender" stays in front of the post, the player behind the post pulls away, gets the ball and shoots.
- Ball is caught, played out and the exercise is done again.
- This can be done with or without defenders.
- With defenders, the defenders must over-defend and stay in front of the post when the player moves backwards.
- Without defenders, make sure that attackers keep making the correct movements and do not immediately move backwards to move away, but only when they have been "pre-defended
- 4 against 4 on 1 pole.
- The attacking team consults before each attack.
- They have to agree on a plan for the next attack.
- Who fills what position, what tactics (e.g. attacking in 3-1 or continuing to 2-2), do we move the ball to the back or do we attack in front with 2 people etc.
- Encourage them to have a basic plan.
- Let them think of alternatives if something doesn't work out.
- It is not the intention that they do not go for the ball after a goal attempt
- The goal is to score, so they should also try to get the ball when a goal attempt goes wrong
- Variation
- Give the defence an order and see if the attack picks it up and adapts.