4.1 WARMING UP
(a) Exercises
Some warming-up exercises.
See the various exercises
Every korfballer should be aware of the importance of a good warming-up. Below are a few suggestions which might be taken up:
A. Round the pitch: ask the players to run one or more times around the pitch, interspersed with lifting the knees, the heels, swinging the arms etc. This is meant to increase the body temperature (warming-up the circulation). The intensity of this exercise depends on fitness of the players and the temperature. The higher the level and the colder it is, the tougher this should be.
A lot of korfballers have something against this type of exercise. This changes completely when music is used. Use powerful amplification, modern music with a strong rhythm and the previously boring exercise becomes the high spot of the training. If you have no feel for music, then use someone in the group to take care of this part.
B. Playing tag. Very popular with children at the beginning of a training. Other games can be used to warm up. For seniors, I do not feel that these games are really very good as warming-up: there are too many sharp, unexpected movements, which not everyone is capable of. Better to avoid this therefore,
C. Running-in shots and other easy korfball exercises. For followers of the SBD principle, see above, as many korfball movements as possible should be practiced. Thus running-in shots are very appropriate. It is best not to make too many comments during the exercise. Very popular with my own club is the TRIO (see above), a combination of shot moving away from the post, a distance shot and a running-in shot.
D. Combining: with pairs, threes or fours around the sports hall is also good. The players move where they want in the hall or run around the outside. They inter-pass continuously in various ways and with changes of speed etc.
E. Combining around the korf: Four people attack around one korf and there are no defenders. The speed changes regularly. The trainer shouts how the attack should play, principally running-in shots, practically without shooting etc. It is especially important that the ball circulates freely and that there is lots of running.
F. Stretching: ten years ago players who stretched seriously were treated with suspicion, now it is the contrary. The importance of stretching before (and after!) a heavy training is now not in question. It avoids injuries and helps players to relax after an effort. As trainer make sure that all of the main “korfball” muscles are worked on.
G. Loosening-up exercise: Swinging arms, rotating hips etc. All of the joints should be worked on.
A well constructed training starts with a good warming-up, which should keep the players busy for about 15 minutes. Too long for a training of one hour? No! Especially in view of the strong relationship between a good warming-up and the training performance. If the trainer has a shortage of time then (s)he should use the “korfball” warming-ups such as running-in shots or combining around the korf. Or, once the players are clearly warmed up, the training can begin. In sports halls there is always a space for players to begin their warming-up before the training actually starts.