Introductory Session
Introduction & Fundamentals
Children learn the rules and knowledge needed to be able to participate successfully in a game of Dodgeball
Children learn basic skills needed for the game of Dodgeball.
Activity 1:
Freeze
10 mins
Method:
Mark out the area that you want to play in. This works best indoors, with walls so that you don't have to fetch the dodgeballs after they're thrown. You need enough room for your number of players to have space to move freely.
Everyone plays as an individual, no teams.
The aim is to eliminate players by hitting them with a dodgeball or catching a dodgeball that is thrown at you.
If a player is eliminated, they 'freeze' by sitting on the floor wherever they got hit.
The player is 'frozen' until the player that got them is out themselves (if you aren't sure who got you because you didn't see who threw it, just have a guess and watch them)
Players cannot move with the ball (you can allow them to have a limited number of steps if you want to)
Players can only have one ball at a time
Players that are frozen cannot hold onto a ball
The game ends if one player eliminates all other players
Teaching Points:
Equipment:
Dodgeballs
Marker Cones
Canonball
Activity 2:
15 mins
Method:
Mark out a long rectangle with a norrow end zone at each end, and enough space behind the sidelines for canonball throwers to throw from
All players are to line up on one of the end zones
Choose one player to be the canonballer. Their job is to throw the dodgeballs at the players when they run across the area. They must throw the balls from outside the sidelines!
At the start of the game, the coach is to call out different instructions for the players to cross, such as 'anyone wearing a red t-shirt' or 'anyone whose birthday is in January, February or March' etc.
Anyone that is called out in those instructions has to try and cross to the other side. If they get there, they have to stay there until all players have had the chance to cross.
If a player is hit by a dodgeball, they join the canonballer and get themselves a dodgeball.
When everyone has had the chance to cross, repeat the process back to the other side.
The game continues until everyone has been eliminated. The final player to be eliminated is the winner.
Teaching Points:
Equipment:
Markers/Cones
Dodgeballs
Activity 3:
Secret Agent Dodgeball
20 mins
Method:
Prepare a playing area with 2 even halves approximately the size of a badminton court
Divide your players into teams of between 6-10 players
Each team should have a captain that chooses their 'secret agent'
The secret agent should be a secret from the other team and they should only tell the coach who their secret agent is
The secret agent is key. If they get hit by a dodgeball or they have a throw caught by the opposition, the whole team loses the game.
If regular players are hit by a ball or caught out, they have to sit on the floor on the half way line.
Players can be freed back into the game by their secret agent if they come and tag them.
Encourage teams to come up with strategies to disguise their secret agent, as tagging players back into the game can reveal their identity.
Teaching Points:
Equipment:
Dodgeballs
Markers
Bibs
