Learn blocking in handball: stand in the throwing lane with raised arms, work together with the goalkeeper and protect your fingers while doing it.
In a block you stand as a defender with raised arms in the throwing lane of a backcourt shot and catch the ball with hands and arms or deflect it. The rulebook allows you to stop the ball with hands, arms, head, torso, thighs and knees [1]. You may touch the ball with the foot or lower leg only if the opponent has thrown it at you [1].
The honest answer to "Does a block achieve anything?": It changes the throw, even if it does not stop it every time. In 119 handball players, jump-throw ball speed fell with the degree of opposition (no opposition, goalkeeper, goalkeeper and defender) [2]. And according to an interview study with 6 experts, goalkeepers use the block position as a cue to predict the throw [3].
How long it takes until you stand securely in the block depends on where you start; there is no solid study figure for it, that is coaching experience.
A good block is part of the goalkeeper's work, not a rival to it.
Stand in your stance and raise both arms above your head, elbows slightly bent, hands about shoulder-width apart, fingers slightly spread. The hands point to the ceiling, the palms to the thrower (practice standard). Milestone: You can hold the position for 30 seconds without the shoulders creeping up.
A thrower throws slowly at you from 9 metres. You keep both feet on the floor and put your hands in the throwing lane. Look at the ball, do not look away. Milestone: You hit 7 of 10 gentle throws with your hands without turning away.
Agree with the goalkeeper: the block covers one side, the goalkeeper the other. Which of you takes which side, you settle in the team beforehand (practice). Milestone: Your goalkeeper tells you which side he feels comfortable with, and the block fits it.
When the thrower is in the air, you jump with him, not before. The block forms when the throwing arm comes forward. An early jump has you landing before the ball arrives. Milestone: You block 6 of 10 throws in the jump without jumping too early.
Whether the ball bounced off or not: switch immediately. Turn to the ball, look for the rebound and go back to your defensive stance. Milestone: After the block you are back in your stance in every round.
In a block a hard-thrown ball hits hands and face. The fingers are the first weak point: in a survey of 296 youth elite players, 42% reported at least one hand or wrist injury per season, most often at the middle finger joints (47%) and the thumb (29%) [5]. In 580 injuries in men's professional handball (only absences of more than 7 days), head injuries came from direct contact in 87.5% of cases [6]. Looking away does not make it better.
The shooter is at risk as well. The rules forbid hits to the head, throat and neck, hard hitting of the torso or throwing arm, and jumping into an opponent [1]. At the 2015 World Championship, attackers in jump shots most often hit injured defenders with the knee (5 cases), and conversely defenders frequently hit the attacker's throwing arm [4]. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Do not block the middle, block a corner. If you close the more dangerous corner and the goalkeeper takes the other, you get a clear split instead of two people for the same corner. This is practical experience, not a study. One hint from the data: the upper left corner was the hardest to save at the 2015 World Championship (17% saves, with exclusively right-handed goalkeepers) [7].
A defender stands with raised arms in the throwing lane of a backcourt shot to stop or deflect the ball. The block can be set individually or as a collective block with the goalkeeper.
Only if the ball has been thrown at you by the opponent. Otherwise touching it with the foot or lower leg is not allowed. With hands, arms, head, torso, thighs and knees you may always block [1].
It can. Goalkeepers use the block position as a cue to predict the throw, as an interview study with 6 experts reports [3]. Agree beforehand who covers which side.
Hands open, fingers slightly spread but not stiff. Warm up your fingers before training and have swelling or deformity examined [5].
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