Learn the lob shot in handball: lift the ball softly over the advancing goalkeeper, choose the right moment and avoid collisions in the goal area.
With the lob shot you lift the ball softly over the advancing goalkeeper into the goal instead of throwing it hard past him. It only works when the goalkeeper is already moving, and it needs calm, not power. The "Leger" is the variant in the descending phase of the jump.
The honest answer to "When does a lob work?": When the goalkeeper comes out and has his arms low or to the side. Against a standing goalkeeper it is risky, because he simply catches the ball. That is practice standard. We found no evidence on how often lobs go in in handball. What is documented is how goalkeepers react: experienced goalkeepers wait longer before moving vertically and stopped 67% of long-distance throws, inexperienced ones only 24% [2]. Against an experienced goalkeeper you need patience and an unexpected timing [5].
How many attempts you need for a reliable lob depends on where you start; there is no solid study figure for it, that is coaching experience.
The lob is not a trick, it is patience at the right moment.
Stand 3 to 4 metres in front of an obstacle, for example a mat. Lift the ball with a loose wrist from under and behind the ball, not from the arm as in a normal throw. Milestone: 8 of 10 balls land behind the obstacle in a marked area.
Run up in the three-step rhythm and lift the ball over the obstacle on the last step. The movement stays small. Milestone: 8 of 10 lobs land in the target area without losing speed.
The ball should go over the goalkeeper's hands but under the crossbar. Aim for the upper middle or an upper corner. Too high and it goes over the goal. Milestone: 6 of 10 lobs go in without touching the crossbar.
Wait until the goalkeeper commits. Experienced goalkeepers start their vertical movement later than inexperienced ones [2], and on average goalkeepers start moving towards the throwing side about 193 ms before ball release against long-distance throws [3]. You can use the feint and lift only when he goes (see the guide "Throwing Feint"). Milestone: In 6 of 10 attempts you lift after the goalkeeper has moved.
Do not throw at the highest point but in the descending phase of the jump, when you move more slowly. The ball is lifted softly over the goalkeeper. Milestone: 5 of 10 Legers go cleanly in, the landing is stable.
The goalkeeper must not endanger his opponent in the act of defence [1]. The rulebook spells out the case for passes: if the goalkeeper leaves the goal area to catch a pass meant for the opponent and causes a collision, he is disqualified, whether or not he reaches the ball. If the attacker would have reached the ball without the action, there is a 7-metre throw [1]. When running or in the air you are unprotected, so keep your head up and watch the goalkeeper.
On the Leger you land from a jump. In a video analysis of 20 ACL tears in women's handball, 4 of 20 were one-legged landings after a jump shot with a nearly straight knee [6]. Land on both legs or softly with a bent knee. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Lift the ball during the goalkeeper's movement, not during yours. When the goalkeeper moves to the throwing side, he is hard to stop on the way there. The lob needs only a small time window. A review of penalty studies advises manipulating the temporal information, not the place [5]. In practice: wait one moment longer than feels natural. That is practical experience, not a measurement for the lob.
A throw in which the ball is lifted softly over the advancing goalkeeper into the goal. A variant in the jump is the Leger.
When the goalkeeper comes out or has already moved to the side, for example on a fast break. Against a standing goalkeeper it is risky (practice standard).
We found no solid figure for that. For comparison: at the 2015 World Championship, fast-break shots went in 79% of the time and 7-metre throws 74% [4].
The throw itself is not, but you are unprotected in the air. The rulebook provides for disqualification on collisions with advancing goalkeepers, spelled out for passes [1]. Concentrate on the goalkeeper, not just the ball.
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