Building a session

The universal skeleton

1. Warm-up — mobility + ball activation, as a game.
2. Technical block — one skill (pass, shot, feint), many repetitions.
3. Tactical block — small-sided or positional play with one clear intention.
4. Game — free or conditioned play; this is where skills get tested.
5. Cool-down — light stretching, a collective debrief, end on a positive.

This is also the structure the EHF Level 1 curriculum (RINCK Convention 2024) formalizes: "warm-up, main structure, cool down", with training principles (progressive overload, periodisation) behind it.

Timed templates by age

• Mini-handball (U7–U9), 45–60 min: 10 min running game with balls → 15 min throwing/catching games (partner, wall, targets) → 20 min 4v4 mini-handball on about a third of a court → 5 min closing game. Soft ball or size 0/1.
• U11–U13, ~75 min: 12 min dynamic warm-up + ball handling → 20 min technique (passing patterns, 3-step rhythm into the jump shot) → 20 min 1v1 and constrained 3v3 → 18 min conditioned game → 5 min cool-down.
• U15–U17, ~90 min: 15 min warm-up + prevention (shoulder / knee) → 25 min position-specific technique → 25 min tactics (one defensive system + the attack that moves it) → 20 min match play → 5 min cool-down.
• Senior / elite, 90–120 min: individualized activation + prevention → position and system work → high-intensity tactical phases → controlled scrimmage → recovery, with load matched to match day — see Physical preparation.

Learning through the game

• Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) — "teach games through games": reduce the game to its simplest form, then add complexity at the players' pace. A controlled study found higher motivation and achievement than traditional technical instruction in team sports including handball.
• The constraints-led approach — used explicitly in EHF Level 1: "adaptation of constraints such as rules, equipment, and space leading to adaptive responses". Three passes before scoring, mandatory bounce pass, jump-shot goals only… the constraint produces the behavior without a lecture.

Classic mistakes

• Queues. Ten kids watching one shooter is nine kids not training. Multiply stations and balls.
• The monologue. Any instruction over 20–30 seconds is already forgotten. Demonstrate, play, correct within the game.
• Photocopying the senior session. A 6-0 zone warm-up teaches a U9 nothing — see Fundamentals by age.
• Ending on a failure. The last memory of the session decides whether they want to come back. Always close on a successful game.

Sources

EHF Level 1 curriculum (RINCK Convention 2024) — session structure and constraints-led approach · Bunker & Thorpe (TGfU) and the controlled team-sport study · IHF mini-handball frameworks. Verified July 2026.