Core technique

HANDBALL TRAINING Reading time : 10 min Updated July 24, 2026
Contents
Four skill families build a handball player: the pass, the shot, the feint and play without the ball (runs, screens). Every skill is learned on both sides from the youngest age — a U11's weak hand becomes a senior's weapon.

Passing

The full range: straight pass (the reference), bounce pass (to feed the pivot under defensive arms), wrist pass (short, disguised), jump pass (over the line), weak-hand pass. Train in triangles, on the move, then under defensive pressure.

  • Receiving: two hands cushioning, fingers up above the chest, move TOWARD the ball.
  • Delivering: step into the pass, eyes on the game (not the ball), don't telegraph — peripheral vision decides.
Drill · Technique · Passing

Warm-up · triangle passing

U9→Senior · 8-10 min · 1 ball / trio · 4-5 m triangle.

Warm-up station: three players, three cones in a triangle, passes and rotation. Three orange cones mark out a triangle roughly four to five metres a side, two at the base and one at the apex. A player stands at each cone. Three gold dashed arrows join the cones into a closed loop: the ball leaves the bottom-left player for the apex, comes back down to the bottom-right player, then travels along the base back to the first. A fourth arrow, curved and clearly different from the others, follows the first player: after his pass he does not stay put, he runs to the cone he has just served. Every player follows his pass and takes the next player's place. The triangle turns continuously and nobody stands waiting. 1 2 3 Pass, then follow your pass to the next cone · rotate
KEY POINTS

Two-hand "cushioned" catch · step into the pass · eyes up.

PROGRESSION

Vary the passes (chest, bounce, wrist, weak hand) → passive then active defender.

Drill · Passing

Give-and-go to goal

Two lines at 9 m · 12 min · 4-8 players. The run starts after the pass.

Half court: the give-and-go loop, from the first pass to the finish in front of goal. Two lines of players, A on the left and B on the right, stand 9 metres from the goal, one either side of the centre. The movement reads in four beats. First a flat gold dashed pass from A to B. Then, and only then, A goes: a solid arrow leaves his position and curves down into the gap, inside, toward the 6-metre line. The run starts after the pass, never before. B then returns the ball with a second gold dashed pass that drives forward, to arrive where A will be and not where he was. Finally a short solid arrow takes A to the goal area, facing the keeper, for the finish. Passer and receiver never cross paths: it is the delay between pass and run that makes the space. GK A B return run

Call for the ball with a high hand · finish with a jump shot. Harder: defender in the gap, 2-touch limit.

The jump shot

Handball's signature move, introduced from U11 and refined to the top level. The full sequence:

  1. During the run-up, bring the ball up to shoulder height.
  2. The third step is explosive and long — a right-hander steps left-right-left and takes off from the left foot (left-handers mirror).
  3. In the air: hip and throwing arm go back ("arming"), the free knee drives up to horizontal.
  4. The arm whips through; the hand "points" at the target after release.
  5. Land on the take-off leg.

Classic faults: straightening the arm too early ("like a fencer") and jumping off the wrong foot. Progressions: 3 → 2 → 1 step, take off from the "wrong" leg, add a blocker. Regressions: standing throw, bigger target, no keeper.

Technique · Shooting

The 3-step rhythm · jump shot

Right-hander: left–right–left steps (1-2-3), take-off from the left foot.

The three-step rhythm of the jump shot for a right-hander: left, right, left, then take-off. Three footprints numbered 1 left, 2 right and 3 left (take-off) along a dotted ground line; the ball rises through three positions on a dashed gold arrow towards the label "Flight · shot", and a solid arrow leaves the third step upwards to show the take-off. 1 · left 2 · right 3 · left (take-off) Flight · shot

Bring the ball to the shoulder during the run · explosive 3rd step · hip and arm cocked back · free knee high · the arm whips through · point at the target · land on the take-off foot.

Common fault: straightening the arm too early ("like a fencer") · jumping off the wrong foot.

The shooting repertoire

  • Jump shot — the backcourt's weapon.
  • Standing / hip shot — quick release from set feet, useful in traffic.
  • Wing shot at a closed angle — the most demanding shooting position: open the angle by jumping into the court and delay the release over the advancing keeper.
  • Pivot shots — turning shots, one-hand catches under contact, falling shots.
  • Fast-break finishes — running finish, lob over an advancing keeper, the duel.
  • Bounce and spin finishes — variants to add once the base is solid.
  • 7-metre throw — deception, corner placement, reading the keeper.
Drill · Shooting

Wing shot at a closed angle

Jump into the court to open the angle · delayed release over the keeper.

Half court: a left wing's run and take-off into the court before shooting. The left wing starts in the left corner, right against the 6-metre line, where the goal is seen edge-on and the shooting angle is at its narrowest. A solid arrow traces the run: it does not follow the sideline, it curves inward toward the middle of the court, diagonally toward the goal area. The release point therefore sits much closer to the centre than the starting point, which widens the visible target. From that point a gold dashed arrow, the shot, travels over the keeper standing in front of the goal at the centre of the bottom edge. GK LW take-off into the court

Gain space INTO the court (not along the line) · vary lob / cross / bounce.

Feints and 1-on-1

Feinting turns handball from a power game into a game of intelligence. The base: the breakthrough feint (hard commit one way — step + shoulder — explode the other), the shot fake (arm, lift the block, drive past) and the pass fake. Advanced: double feint, stop-and-go, spin move, step-back. Two golden rules: feint at arm's length from the defender, and it's the change of rhythm that beats them, more than the change of direction.

Drill · 1v1 & feints

1-on-1 · the breakthrough feint

Commit one way (step + shoulder), explode the other. Work both sides.

Close-up of a 1-on-1: commit one way, then break through the other. A broken line across the top of the picture marks the 9-metre line; the defender, in blue, is posted just behind it. The attacker, in gold and holding the ball, faces him about an arm's length away. Two paths leave the attacker. The first, a thin dashed line labelled “1 · feint”, is short and runs diagonally to the left: this is the step and shoulder committed one way, just enough to tip the defender, never crossing the line. The second, labelled “2 · breakthrough”, is a much heavier solid line that sets off the opposite way, goes round the defender on the right and carries on past the 9-metre line. The contrast between the thin line and the heavy one carries the point: the feint is brief and held back, the explosion that follows is total. 9 m D A 1 · feint 2 · breakthrough

Feint at arm’s length · change of rhythm > change of direction.

Screens and blocks

The pivot's screen for a back at 9 metres must be stationary to be legal. The pivot sets shoulder-to-shoulder on the defender, the back brushes past, and the pivot then rolls toward goal to become available. This is the building block of two-player combinations — see Tactics.

Sources

EHF Level 1 fundamentals · Sportplan technical notes (jump-shot sequence, cited in substance) · European handball school teaching conventions. Verified July 2026.

These skills are available as filterable drills (with progressions and regressions) in the Handball training hub.
Last updated: July 24, 2026