Korfball drill: slinger throw

The underhanded pendulum throw is used in particular to create speed from the throw for an action towards the basket, passing a jumping-in opponent after throwing the ball underhand.

For right-handers, the starting position is a stride with the left foot in front and the knees slightly bent. A high approaching ball is an ideal bet for this throw. The ball is caught high and brought into a circular path, which runs from the back down in front of the body. The arm is stretched smoothly and the ball lies on the spread fingers. The ball is released just after the right arm points perpendicularly downward. The body weight is initially on the front leg. During the circular movement of the arm, this shifts backwards, to finally end up in front of the front leg again.

One-handed pendulum throw from one-handed trapping

To use the throw to gain speed for a running movement, the left leg goes forward at the moment the right arm is pointing straight down (from step 6 in the illustration). When the right arm is extended (i.e. the ball has already been thrown), the left foot comes to the ground again and the first pass is made inwards.

In the match, the ball is often caught with two hands. After the ball has been caught with two hands, the ball is lowered from chest height to knee height with the right hand and brought up behind the body again, whereby the arm is stretched backwards during the movement and is horizontal at the end. The further technique is the same as the underhand pendulum throw from one-handed catch.

Underhand pendulum throw from two-handed trap

Common mistakes

• The moment of release is wrong, causing the correct direction of the throw to be lost.
• The arm is not kept extended.
• The speed of the spinning arm is too high, causing one to lose the ball or place it incorrectly.

The overhand pendulum throw is mostly used when the opponent is bigger than the player or when one wants to throw a curve ball (lob).

The player stands in a modest step position, left foot in front. The knees are bent. You are standing perpendicular to the direction of throw. The ball is caught and brought from behind the body to above the head with a stretched arm in one circular movement and released just after the highest point is reached. During the long ball contact, the speed of action is increased to give the ball the desired speed.

Upper Hand Pendulum Throw from Two-handed Catch

Common mistakes

• Releasing the ball too early, resulting in a too high and too short ball.
• The ball is released too late, resulting in a low and too short ball.
• The arm is not held out.
• The speed of action is too low, threatening to drop the ball from the hand, especially if the ball is behind the body.

A lateral pendulum throw is generally inaccurate and uncontrolled. For completeness, it is described here, but teaching this throw should not be a priority. The overhand pendulum throw is a better alternative.

After the ball has been caught, it is thrown backwards horizontally with the arm extended. For a right-handed thrower, the left leg is in front. The body weight rests on the right leg, which is slightly bent. The body is perpendicular to the direction of throw. The ball is now thrown horizontally with a stretched arm.

The ball is now hurled horizontally, with the force coming from the extension of the right leg and the rotation of the trunk forward.