In this study, the effects of Daniel Neale’s Model on the cognitive achievement and the acquisition of handball shooting techniques among university students were examined. Traditional instructional practices tend to stress direct instruction and rote drills, potentially hindering students’ active processing and agency during the learning process. Daniel Neale’s Model goes the opposite direction, presenting a framework that is more student-cantered and that incorporates guided discovery, dialogue, and performance feedback. Using an experimental repeated measures design, the study compares an experimental group given instruction with Daniel Neale’s Model to a control group given traditional instruction, with both groups assessed pre- and post-test. The study subjects were 60 male students at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Al-Farahidi University, divided into two groups. Cognitive achievement and three handball shooting techniques were assessed before and after an eight-week instructional intervention. Paired t-test analysis and independent t-test analysis showed significant differences within and between the groups. Students in the experimental condition had higher gains in cognitive learning and higher performances in the skills (p < 0.05 compared to the control group). Daniel Neale’s Model provided a structured instructional framework resulting in better comprehension, improvement in shooting accuracy, and more involvement from students. This suggests that the relationship between cognitive processes and physical practice can best maximize performance in the area of sports education and therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach. We identified theoretical implications for sports education models and provided practical advice for all educators, coaches, and curriculum designers looking for better approaches to sports education. Future studies could investigate repurposing within other sporting domains, the persisted efficacy over time, or the implementation of upcoming technology-facilitated simulation analyses to improve training efficacy.