Welcome to the Scorpions K.C online coaching page for beginners, this page gives explanations of the fundamental court positions used in Korfball.

COURT POSITIONS

To view a short animation demonstrating the court positions and movement, click the appropriate thumbnail image.  Links will open in a new browser window.

The '4 - 0' Position

The 4-0 position (pron. four, zero) is the most basic court player layout in Korfball.  Teams at all levels use this basic positioning because it maximizes the amount of court space or each attacking player to work into.

To receive the ball, the attacking player runs toward the basket, then changes direction to run toward the ball.  As this cycle re-iterates itself, players should drift around the court in a windmill type pattern.  The name 4-0 is derived from the 4 players outside the range of the basket, and 0 players inside the range of the basket.

The '3 - 1' Position

This is the next progression from 4-0.

3 Players remain on the outside and 1 player is at the basket.

It is a standard attacking position.  The player at the basket positions him/her-self to be closer to the basket than his/her defender.  This position is referred to interchangeably as the "collect" or "rebound" position.  This player's role is to gather the ball from a missed shot by one of the 3 outside players.

Attaining the 3-1 position should be the primary aim of the attacking team (before starting any attack or shooting)as it maximizes the chances for retaining the ball after a missed shot.

The '2 - 2' Position

The next and final progression from 3-1 is the 2-2 position. It is a very strong attacking setup. Ideally, both players should be of the same gender, but the position is still effective with mixed genders.

The 2-2 court setup provides the 2 outside players with possibilities for either a shot (the ball should be recovered by the rebound player), and the possibility for a running-in shot.

The 2 outside defenders are under pressure to prevent their opponent shooting, but at the same time have the added worry of their player running past them.

NOTE:  Unfortunately, there is no animation available to demonstrate this position.

POST POSITIONS

The Rebound/Collect Position

This position is probably the most important attacking position in Korfball. A team with a good rebound/collect is more likely to win because they will maintain the ball in their attack, thus increasing their chance of scoring (and at the same time reducing the time available to the opposition to score).

The best position for the rebound/collect player is at a radius of about 1.5 - 2 metres from the basket. 80-90% of all missed shots will land in this zone (illustrated by the shaded circle).