BULLET PASSES – Developing Upper Body Power

“If your aim is to get to the big leagues, you need to develop the ability to execute distance passes with accuracy and power.”

We’ve all fallen victim to a bullet pass. There is always that one team mate we marvel at as they send the ball across the court like a ball of fire. But how do you get there? The answer – develop your upper body power.

There is no denying that passing accuracy and speed is a fundamental skills of the game; however the distance players are able to pass at is often neglected. If your aim is to get to the big leagues, you need to develop the ability to execute distance passes with accuracy and power. You need to be confident in your ability to feed the ball to the opposite corner of the court knowing that it will get there quickly and will be difficult to intercept.

Ball and wall and passing exercises are great, but if you are looking to develop your overall power in order to pass the ball across the distance of a whole third, then you are going to need to vary your training to work on your power. Power is the ability of your muscles to produce maximum force and effort through one movement; training and developing upper body power will allow you to pass faster and stronger in your game. Take a look at the training tips below to help you get closer to nailing those bullet passes.

Plyometrics

Adding plyometrics into your training is an easy way for your to develop max power. Plyometrics require you to move through a movement quickly trying to fit in as many repetitions of an exercise as possible into a given time frame. Usually plyometrics are used to help jump height and power (think pogos and high knees) however there are some plyometirc exercises you can use to help develop power in your upper body too.

What’s so great about plyometric training is that it requires no equipment. It’s just you and your body doing its thing. That means that these exercises can be easily integrated into a warm up or an agility round to keep training varied and interesting.

TRY THIS: Plyometric Press Ups

Starting lying face down on the floor, keep your body straight as you drive it dynamically from the floor. Yield only slightly on landing through your shoulders before powering up. Complete 4 x 5 repetitions.

Weight Training

Weight training is a great place to start whatever you are trying to improve, but especially when it comes to developing power. By conditioning your body to be able to lift heavy weights in one maximum movement e.g. a 1RM on your Over Head Press, you are allowing your body to develop more motor units which will in-turn allow your body to exert more force through given movements. In short, the heavier your can lift, the stronger and more powerful you are going to become.

TRY THIS: Single Arm Pulley Flys

Using a cable machine, set the cable to shoulder height. Hold the pulley with your shoulder at a right angle, steps forward with the opposite foot, brace your core and push froward through the movement. You should add enough weight to create resistance but not compromise your form. Complete 4×8 repetitions on each arm.

Medicine Balls

Moving on from using weights and pulleys in the gym, using medicine balls to completes passes is a great way to add resistance to netball specific movements in order to improve your ability to generate power through each of the movements. When completing medicine ball exercises, superset a weighted exercise with the same exercise using a regular netball to really feel and see the difference in your power.

TRY THIS: Medicine Ball OH Pass and Squat

Standing close to a wall, drop down into a squat positioning with your hands underneath the medicine ball. Push up from your squat and release the ball above your head aiming for the wall. Catch the ball high and lower back into your squat. Try making this a superset by adding overhead passes too. Complete 4 x 20 repetitions.

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Happy Passing!