Learn to dribble in handball: bounce the ball with one hand on the move, stay within the rules and lose as little speed as possible while doing it.
Dribbling in handball means bouncing the ball repeatedly on the floor with one hand while you move. Once you hold the ball afterwards, you have at most 3 seconds and 3 steps before you must pass, shoot or otherwise play it [1]. Dribbling a second time after catching is not allowed.
The honest answer to "How hard is it?": The movement itself comes quickly. The hard part is keeping your head up and not slowing down. How long that takes depends on where you start; there is no solid study figure for it, that is coaching experience.
Why dribbling is more than busywork: In a study of 116 handball players aged 10 to 39, every age group got slower over every split distance as soon as they had to dribble during a sprint. Children before their growth spurt lost the most in relative terms [3]. In other words, the ball slows you down. The better you dribble, the less speed you lose [3].
Good dribbling does not mean "dribbling nicely", it means "staying fast even though the ball is there".
Stand shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Push the ball to the floor with spread fingers, not the flat palm. Your hand follows the ball up and "pushes" it down again. Milestone: 30 dribbles in a row without the ball escaping, with your strong and your weak hand.
Walk slowly while dribbling. The ball lands slightly ahead of you and to the side, not right under your foot. Look at a spot in the hall, not at the ball. Milestone: one hall length without losing the ball, and you can say how many fingers your coach is holding up.
Jog, then run briskly. The faster you go, the further ahead the ball must land and the harder the push downward. Milestone: one hall length at sprint speed with the ball under control the whole way.
Dribble in a zigzag around cones. Before the change of direction, pull the ball to the side you are heading to. Milestone: slalom through 5 cones, cleanly with right and left.
Catch the ball and play it on within no more than 3 steps, as the rule requires [1]. If you want to know how much speed the ball costs you, time the same distance once with and once without the ball and subtract the times. A study of eleven professional female handball players calls this difference "Dribble Deficit"; it says something about your dribbling that does not come from sprint speed alone [2]. Milestone: you end every dribble with a clean catch, no more than 3 steps and a pass.
Dribbling itself is harmless. The risk comes with braking and contact with opponents. In a measurement of 24 high-school handball players, braking and sprinting were the most frequent movements with heavy impact loads (6 g and above, six times gravity) [4]. Warm up before dribbling at speed.
Your fingers are where the ball makes contact. In a survey of 296 youth elite players, 42% reported at least one hand or wrist injury in a season, most often at the middle finger joints [5]. If you have swelling, deformity or pain lasting a few days, get it checked. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Dribble in a half circle with your back to the defender. Before a pass or shot, it helps to put your body between the opponent and the ball. If your body shields the ball, the defender can hardly knock it away. This is practical experience; we have not read a study that measures it.
As often as you like, as long as you keep moving and do not hold the ball with both hands. Once you catch or pick it up, you must play it on within 3 seconds or 3 steps; dribbling again is then not allowed [1].
At most 3 seconds, even when it is lying on the floor. After that you must play it, otherwise the opponents get a free throw [1].
Yes, measurably: in one study, handball players of all ages lost time over every split distance as soon as they had to dribble while sprinting. The better the dribbling, the smaller the loss [3].
Standing with alternating hands, then walking, then in a slalom around cones. Time yourself with and without the ball over the same distance so you can see whether the difference shrinks over time [2].
Three-Step Rhythm in Handball: A Run-Up With the Ball, No Steps Violation