Learn the bounce pass in handball: play it accurately, find the right bounce point and get the ball past high defenders' arms to your teammate.
With a bounce pass you throw the ball so that it hits the floor exactly once in front of your teammate and then jumps into his hands. It travels under high defenders' arms that would block the direct pass. Rule-wise it is unproblematic: a ball that has touched the floor can be handled after the catch like any other pass, and after catching a bounce pass you have the usual 3 steps [1].
The honest answer to "When do I use the bounce pass?": when the defender has his arms up and the teammate, especially a pivot, is free close to the floor in front of him. As a standard pass into open space it is too slow. And we found no dedicated study on the bounce pass in handball; the technique tips below are teaching material and practice standard.
The Swiss Federal Office of Sport has a helpful drill sheet. It has two players 4 to 5 metres apart play bounce and straight passes in turn and stresses correct passing technique [2].
The bounce pass is not a showpiece, it is a tool against long arms.
Hold the ball in one hand behind your ear as for a normal pass. Take a small step in the direction of the pass and throw not at your partner but at a spot just in front of his feet. Milestone: 10 balls that bounce so he catches them at hip to chest height.
As a rule of thumb the ball bounces at about two thirds of the distance between you (practice experience, not a measurement). Try out at 4 to 5 metres where the bounce makes the ball arrive comfortably at hip height. Milestone: 8 of 10 balls arrive at hip height without your partner having to stretch or bend.
As in the BASPO sheet: A plays a bounce pass, B answers with a straight pass, then you swap [2]. This trains choosing the pass by situation. Milestone: 20 passes in alternation without a fumble.
Now jog side by side with your partner and play the bounce pass into his stride. The bounce point moves further in front of the catcher because he is moving. Milestone: 10 bounce passes in a row that your partner catches cleanly while running.
Set up in threes with a third player in the middle who holds his arms high but does not intervene. Play the bounce pass past him. Milestone: 8 of 10 passes arrive without touching the defender's arms.
On a bounce pass the ball travels low. That puts the catcher's fingers at risk when taking it near the floor. In a survey of 296 youth elite players, 42% reported at least one hand or wrist injury in a season, mostly at the middle finger joints (47%) and the thumb (29%) [3]. Warm up the joints first and do not hold the fingers stiff.
Under pressure, defenders' hands come into play. In a video analysis of 580 injuries in men's professional handball (only absences of more than 7 days), hand injuries came from direct contact in 83.8% of cases [4]. So do not play the bounce pass through a crowd but into a free lane. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Play the bounce pass to the side of the catcher that points away from the defender. For a pivot who stands with his back to the goal and is marked from behind, this way he takes the ball with the hand away from the defender and can pass it on immediately. This is practical experience, not a study.
When a defender's arms block the direct passing lane and your teammate is free near the floor, for example a pivot. In open space the straight pass is faster and better.
The same as usual: at most 3 steps and 3 seconds of possession, then the ball must be played. Catching after a bounce counts as normal ball reception [1].
As a rule of thumb at about two thirds of the distance to your partner, so that it arrives at hip height. That is practical experience. Try it at 4 to 5 metres and adjust until the ball arrives comfortably [2].
We have not read any that examine the bounce pass itself. What is documented is the rulebook [1] and a drill sheet from the Swiss Federal Office of Sport [2]. Everything else in this guide, such as the bounce point, is practical experience.
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