One Of The Important Roles Of The Pivot Player In Modern Handball: Open Spaces

In summary

The development of the handball game has brought a different approach in terms of the pivot player game.

Starting from the main task of delaying the lateral movement of defenders and create opportunities for the back players or receive the ball and score against defending 6:0, we have reached to the much more varied tasks and responsibilities imposed by the much larger spaces offered by the new defense systems. Many of the game actions are based on the pivot player movements, finding an optimal solution to score by the back or wing player being the result of his screening and sliding.

The pivot player has some clear roles: He needs to work for his teammates and to disturb the defense, with screens and a lot of contact, to catch the ball with one or two hands, and to score with a great efficiency.

In the high-level handball we could also see a lot of attack movements including open spaces for the other players, especially the back players. I will try to show in this article, some movements that include open spaces from the pivot player, and a demo practice that I built based in one of the common movements in the handball world.

The Pivot Player

The position of the pivot is a special and privileged one by its very nature. If we compare the pivot with the other positions – back player or wing player – we can say that:

1. His movements are almost unlimited. At a given moment, according to the playing system of the team he can be placed in different position all along the 6 meters.

2. Most of the time he is in physical contact with the defenders by his placement in the heart of the defense.

3. His role is to play mostly for the back players, to facilitate their scoring chances and from time to time to receive the ball in order to score.

At the beginning of the attack play we can often see the center back showing to the pivot the place to take. This is necessary because most playing systems are based on the pivot’s actions. Finding a good solution to make a shot, by a back player or a wing, is the fruit of a surplus of players created thanks to a screening or a sliding of the pivot who succeeds in keeping two defenders occupied and so, somewhere else, the attacking team can take advantage of this and to have a good opportunity to shoot and score.

The pivot player scores between 10%-15% of the goals and obtained most of the 7m shots.His scoring percentage is usually the best among all the players.

He is doing an important role in all attack situations 6×6 6×5 7×6.

It is very important that all the players will know to play as a pivot according to a lot of transitions to 2^nd pivot that are very common in the modern handball.

In the high-level handball, when a team wants to analyze the opponents, one of the important things will be the position of the pivot in the beginning and the end of the attack – they know that apparently, this will be the place where the attack will be ended.

If I want to simplify the attack in handball, the attacking team wants to create 1×1 situations, 2×2 situations (vs. flat defense as 6:0 or vs. open defenses with 2 or 3 lines as 5:1 or 3:2:1), or 3×3 situations with a big space.

In all of these situations, the open spaces that the pivot player creates are very significant!

In my eyes, the pivot player is the “new playmaker” of the modern handball!

The qualities of the pivot player:

Good physical condition
Good skills of catching the ball (with one or two hands and in any situation)
Good intuition when he receives the ball so as to know which is the best solution to turn and shoot
Explosive qualities With or without the ball, he must be capable of getting rid of his defender, turn and shoot in a very dynamic way
Very good motoric skills, the characteristics of this position demand good joints and muscle stability and flexibility. Catching and shooting are actions made almost all the time under the pressure of one or more defenders being pushed, pulled or in an unbalanced position.
Speed of movement/reaction/execution, Move fast and open up, turn around and try to beat the goalkeeper, make a decision in a very short time regarding the shot impact, all of this must be done in the shortest time.
Mental qualities – generally he must play for his teammates. 80 % of the time he doesn’t even touch the ball.

The pivot player scores between 10%-15% of the goals and obtained most of the 7m shots. His scoring percentage is usually the best among all the players.

Types of pivot players

There are 3 types of pivot players:

1. Big and static pivots like: Julen Aguinagalde – former pivot of the Spanish NT and some big clubs like: Vive Kielce and Ciudad Real

2. Dynamic pivots like: Byarte Myrhol – former pivot of the Norwegian NT and some big clubs like: Veszprem, Rhein Neckar Lowen

3. The “modern” pivot – pivot that is big enough to be “static” and fast enough to be dynamic like: Ludovic Fabregas – from the French NT and Barcelona.

Open Spaces

There are some situations in attack with open spaces that the pivot creates:

1. The pivot player located between no. 3-4 defenders in 6:0 defense and opens the space to the right or the left side –the MB needs to play on the opposite side of the pivot. It can be after PM cross, JUGGO cross or etc.

2. The pivot player opens space (inside) to the LB vs. 6:0 defense.

3. The pivot player opens space (outside) to the LB vs. 6:0 defense

4. The pivot player opens space (inside) to the RB vs. 5:1 defense

5. The pivot player opens space (outside) to the RB vs. 5:1 defense

6. The pivot player opens space (outside) to the LB after RB transition and open of the MB vs. 5:1 defense. It can be also good for2x2 situation!

Tactical Videos Icluding Aminations With Open Spaces By The Pivot

(You Can Find The Tactical Explanations Inside)

Attack Vs. 6:0 Defense

VIDEO 1. JUGGO CROSS+PV MOVEMENT VS. 6:0 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/BZDcykX

VIDEO 2. INSIDE CROSS+PV MOVEMENT VS. 6:0 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/6ZDcYo2

VIDEO 3. PV CROSS+FRENCH JUGGO+PV MOVEMENT VS. 6:0 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/HZDcXP9

Attack Vs. 5:1 Defense

VIDEO 4. OPEN FORMATION+PV MOVEMENT VS. 5:1 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/4ZDve6Y

VIDEO 5. FRENCH JUGGO+PV DISAPPEARED VS. 5:1 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/EZDvIMO

VIDEO 6. BACK TRANSITION (OPEN) +PV MOVEMENT VS. 5:1 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/XZDbwL2

VIDEO 7. JUGGO CROSS+PV OPEN VS. 5:1 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/2ZDblQE

VIDEO 8. MOVEMENT BREAK+PV OPEN VS. 5:1 DEFENSE: https://cutt.ly/bZDbPdy

6X5 ATTACK

VIDEO 9. 6X5 PM WING CROSS+PM CROSS+PV OPEN: https://cutt.ly/CZDbB7C

7X6 ATTACK

VIDEO NO. 10 : 7X6 JUGGO+PV MOVEMENT: https://cutt.ly/tZDnaj6

A Demo Practice For French Juggo Movement With Pivot Opens (Project Pivot Movements D.G.)

DRILL 1. GIVE AND GO PASSES WITH FRENCH JUGGO AND PV MOVE: https://cutt.ly/FZDmbMe

DRILL 2. FRENCH JUGOO 2X1 + PIVOT OPENS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE): https://cutt.ly/WZDmJhP

DRILL 3. FRENCH JUGGO 2X2 + PIVOT OPENS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE): https://cutt.ly/BZDQsxe

DRILL 4. FRENCH JUGGO 3X2 + PIVOT OPENS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE): https://cutt.ly/6ZDQPPm

DRILL 5. FRENCH JUGGO 4X4 + PIVOT OPENS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE) vs. 5:1 https://cutt.ly/ZZDQ1TY

DRILL 6. FRENCH JUGGO 4X4 + PIVOT OPENS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE) vs. 6:0 https://cutt.ly/0ZDWe4O

Conclusion

I have analyzed dozens of games from EURO 2022 and from EHF CL 2021\22 season.

I can say that I have noticed a clear trend of attacking with pivot that creates spaces for the back players (as you can see in the videos above).

It seems that for a long time, the main part of the pivot role was to move and open spaces, but, nowadays, we can recognize specific attack movements that ends with a space that the pivot player creates for his teammates.

This fits perfectly with the great individual skills of the high-level players when playing to win 1×1 battels and also with the 2×2 situations that the attack wants to reach.

The “modern pivot player” is not only a “big” or a “heavy” player. He needs to be fast and agile, smart and with a great sense for the right timing to move!

It’s also “opening the gate” for faster and smaller pivot players that can move and create spaces for the others.