DYNAMIC or MODERN KORFBALL

Cruyff: "I have a dislike for people who move around a lot but don’t know where."

I read more and more about 'dynamic' korfball and it seems to be the current trend. All the top teams favour playing dynamic korfball.

If you look the word 'dynamic' up in the dictionary you will find that "dynamic" is an adjective which is associated to the words "active" or "motion". Both words are used in the sense of 'speed' and 'movement'. So, the word dynamic is linked to space and time. In a 'dynamic' korfball game the players move a lot and fast from and to positions and pass and/ or move the ball swiftly.

I believe it is a misconception that swiftly changing positions and passing the ball at high speed are the main characteristic of modern korfball.                                                                                                                             I fear that too many coaches and too many teams do not sufficiently recognise the core principles of korfball and therefore play and train the game in the wrong way.

I’d like to clarify.

The core principles of korfball are very simple. The team that scores the most goals wins the match. In a korfball game, equal number of players play against each other with the use of one ball, one or two korfs and a pitch. There are other agreements such as on the playing rules and playing time which makes the game fair. So far everything is simple and understandable.

It becomes more complicated when coaches and players are having to think about how a match can be won. How can the game process be organised as effectively and efficiently? That is a very important task of the coach. Coaches think about the match process in relation to a desired result. This is where they start to analyse korfball..                                                                                                                                                                  I wrote about this in the past and used for this purpose the five Cs: Coordination, Cooperation, Communication, Competition and Control. As described in The IKF Guide to Korfball Coaching.

The 5 Cs have all the ingredients of modern korfball. It is so much more than just dynamic, in the sense of 'flying' to move the ball and to drag your opponent around the pitch by running long lines in the attacking zone.

Modern korfball is recognisable if the 5 C's can be implemented by a team as follows:

1. Coordination

Players are aware of the essence of korfball. It is about winning by scoring more goals than the opponent. This requires top players to have a scoring percentage of 20-40%. Top teams do not depend on just two players in a game who can score more than 70% of their scoring attempts and 50% of the total score of their team. Players must have specific ball skills and athletic ability that belongs to the game of korfball. The visual behaviour which is necessary to find positions in relation to other players’ positions is possible by a conscious spatial awareness. Playing with a wide focus, gives form to cooperation.

2. Cooperation

Cooperation is based on four functions: Build up play, Assisting, Shooting and Rebounding.                                      This require roles for the four attackers. Players understand that roles should complement each other. Rotation of roles is necessary in modern korfball to surprise the opponents.

3. Communication

The players can and dare to alternate all playing formations in the attacking zone. Where 4-0 and 3-1 will surprise the opponents the most. In implementing these roles in the two patterns almost all the possibilities for a successful attack will be present. The organisation of the attack is a "flat" organisation. All functions are alternately fulfilled by anyone. All the players are constantly changing roles. The role of the shooter will take the final responsibility and which is thereby momentarily solo and distinguishes itself from the other players. At that time the focus changes from wide to narrow, focussing only on the shot. Communication is dependent on the positioning of players within a formation and that includes the decision making at the right time. This can only be based on good spatial orientation. High tempo in passing and moving can be important, but can also lead to carelessness and miscommunication.

4. Competition

The players can get their opponents engaged with their good shooting ability.                                                                     The conscious players, the top players can read the defenders. Reading the opponent provides the opportunity and ability to put the opponent consciously on the wrong track. Very often attackers try to do this only intuitively. This provides the best opportunity to play a team mate free to score. Consciously seek behaviour, by the attackers reading the game it gives a new dimension to the spatial orientation of the attackers in the formations.                                                                                                               Top players can navigate with a wide focus and decide for the best role within the rotation (Passer, Assister, Rebounder) and switch to narrow focus as a Shooter. They can switch the rolls swiftly and therefore are able to make the right decisions, despite strong opposition.

5. Control

Top players have more good actions than actions that fail. Top players are fully aware of the importance of efficiency. Top players take more shots and score more goals. They need less engaging actions. Top teams score a lot of goals in one – shot - attacks. They need less rebounds. Top teams play efficiently.                                                                                                                                                 Effective and efficient korfball relies on control. Control with shooting, assisting, passing and rebounding. With each pass comes the possibility for an interception by the opponents. Control decreases when players perform two or more tasks simultaneously. Top players cannot execute two or more tasks simultaneously. They have the ability to switch much quicker in their decision making. They know what they're doing and they know why and how they have to do it.