Warmup games

Rules:

  • Divide the playing area into two halves and place a mat in the back of each half.
  • Divide your class into two teams.
  • Each team has a passing zone (their half of the playing area) and a mat (which is in the other team’s playing area).
  • You’re responsible for adding balls to the game. Players can pick up a ball and may move up to the half line to try to complete a pass to their ‘catcher.’
  • If a player completes a pass, they go join their catcher on the mat and become a catcher as well.
  • The goal of the game is to get all your team’s players onto your mat (that is, have them become catchers) before the other team does the same.

You can progress this through:

Passing and catching

  • To start the game off, divide the playing area into two halves and add an end zone to the back of each half.
  • Divide the class into two teams. Each team is given a half of the playing area (their passing zone) and must send half of their team into their end zone (which is at the back of their opponent’s end zone).
  • You’re responsible for adding balls to the game. Players may pick up a ball and can attempt to pass the ball to one of their teammates in their end zone (the passing player may move up to the half line to do so but may not pass the line).
  • If a player completes a pass from their passing zone to a teammate in their end zone, the passing player and receiving player switch roles.
  • Teams may not interfere with their opponents’ passes and must simply try to see how many times they can switch roles within the allocated time.

Defensive pressure

In build two, you can increase the tactical complexity of the game by allowing defensive pressure.

Players may attempt to interfere with their opponents’ passes by guarding players in their opponents’ end zone (without stepping into the end zone itself) or by attempting to deny the pass by blocking it at the half line.

Mat Ball

  • In this build, there are no end zones. Instead, each team has a mat in the back of their opponents’ half of the playing area.
  • To start a round, each team selects one player who will go stand on their mat. This player is the first catcher.
  • You’re responsible for adding balls to the game. Just like in the earlier builds, players attempt to complete passes by passing the ball to their catcher from within their passing zone.
  • The defending team is allowed to put defensive pressure on their opponents by intercepting passes or denying them at the half line.
  • If a passing player is successful in completing a pass with their catcher, the passing player goes to join the catcher on the mat and becomes a catcher as well.
  • The first team to get all their players onto their mat wins the round.

Double Mat Ball

  • In this build, you can continue to increase the tactical complexity of the game by having two mats in the back of each teams’ half instead of just one.
  • At the beginning of the round, each team sends two catchers over (one for each mat).
  • This round increases the tactical complexity of the game by making offensive players decide which mat to send their pass to and by making defensive players decide which mat to guard and why.

Rules:

  • Two teams are chosen and placed on either side of the room.
  • A line or cones show the start line for each team, which is also the safe/finish zone for the opposing team.
  • A line/cones are placed at the centre of the two teams.
  • On ‘go’, the teams try to run to the opposite side of the room.
  • Once players pass the centre line, they can be tagged by the opposing team.
  • A player can be unfrozen in two ways. First, a player who has made it to the safe/finish zone can give up their position, grab the shoulder of the frozen player and return to the original side. Second, a player can come across, grab the shoulder of the frozen player and then return.
  • The game ends when all players are in the opposing sides’ safe zone.

This can be split into two stages:

Zone penetration

  • Teams stand in their zones. 
  • On your signal, Team A runs across their opponents’ territory, into the safe zone. 
  • On your signal, Team A then returns to their zone. 
  • During this time, Team B remains frozen and does not attempt to block Team A’s passage. 
  • Repeat the process with Team B running and Team A remaining frozen in their zone.

Avoiding opponents

Now that teams understand the limits of the game and how to win (by having their entire team make it to the safe zone), play the game with the full rule.

image_pdf
More
Details
Follow
Intouch