Kick Ball
Kick Ball is a striking & fielding game, modified from the sport of Softball.
- The objective in kick ball is to strike a pitched soccer ball back into the field of play and run around your team, whilst the fielders collect the ball and pass it 'over and under' throughout their entire team to stop the run count. - To begin, set up the field as shown in the diagram, by placing one marker(x) for the batters box, one for the pitchers mark (approx. 10m away) and two other markers at a 45° angle (to the batters box) to identify foul balls. - Separate the students into two equal teams; one to be the fielding side, the other to be the batting side. - Have the fielders select a 'pitcher' who will stand on the appropriate marker, and roll the ball to the batter. Once the ball has been kicked into play, the fielders should rush and pass the ball over and under themselves until all fielding members have touched the ball, they should then yell; "STOP" to signal that the runner can no longer score runs. - The batting side stand aside from the batters box, while one member becomes the batter. If the batter kicks the ball into the field of play, they must circle around their entire team continuously until the fielders call "STOP". One complete circuit around the team counts for 1 run. Once this is completed, the next member of the batting team steps up and the previous batter takes their place. This continues until all members have had a chance to bat, at which point the two teams swap roles. - A batter gets 3 strikes until he is out. - A foul counts as a strike. - The ball must be kicked within the line shown in the diagram. - Even if fielders catch the ball on the full, the batter is not out until the team completes its passes. - Skills involved in this game for the batters include; foot-eye coordination, timing, accuracy and power for the kicking of the ball & speed and agility for when they are running to score. Communication and hand-eye coordination is needed for the fielders, as they try to pass the ball over or under their body as quickly as possible.
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In this diagram, the batting team is green and the fielding team is red.
Equipment:
- 4 Markers (to display the foul lines, pitching mark, and batters mark) - 1 Soccer ball Additional Information:
- If the players are unable to effectively strike the ball off a pitch, remove the pitcher and have the players kick it for a static point. - Try a bouncing pitch or a full toss to mix things up in the batters box and get them using more than just their feet (head, chest, knees etc.) Safety Guidelines:
- Make sure that the laying surface is suitable for this kind of activity, especially for the runners. - Remind the batting team to keep their legs in, to avoid tripping their runner. |