Space Battle

 

Purpose: to apply movement, defensive, and invasive concepts and strategy. To improve underhand throwing skills. To improve defensive blocking skills.

Suggested Grade: 2-6

Equipment: Gatorskin balls (or any hand sized, soft ball), 6 hula hoops, 18 bowling pins, pinnies or arm bands (something do distinguish between teams), Space Music

Game Objective: the objective of the game is capture the others team's spaceship by deactivating their spaceship's turbo thrusters.

Set Up:
On each side of the gym place 3 hula hoops (turbo thrusters) on the ground evenly spaced out to form a triangle. I often to start the first hoop at the top of the 3 point line and then go away from the half court line, but you can adjust them to be closer or farther from the half court line depending on the age/ability level of your class. Place 3 bowling pins (power crystals) in each of the hula hoops.

Split your class up into two even teams and and have one of them wear pinnies or armbands. Send the teams to their respective sides (spaceship) and either give half of the balls (shock balls) to each team or place them all on the center line. If you start with the balls on the line, have the students start with one hand against the back wall on their side. When the music starts the game begins.

Rules:

• If the balls start on the center line, as soon as the music starts the students can sprint forward and attempt to collect as many as they can. Otherwise the game simply starts when the music does.
• In order to deactivate the other teams turbo thruster you must destroy (knock over) all 3 of the power crystals (pins) in that thruster. Once a pin is knocked over it can't be stood back up (unless knocked over illegally).
• The only way to legally knock over a pin is to throw the ball underhand. The ball can roll, bounce, or land on a pin to knock it over. If a defending player knocks over their pin, it stays down.
• Students can defend their Thrusters but can only block incoming balls with their hands. This forces them to get in a low, athletic position.
• If a student intentionally blocks with a part of their body other than their hand (likely their foot), simply have them knock over one of their pins. 
• Students are allowed to board the other team's spaceship (run onto the other side), but if they do so they can get tased (tagged). If tased, a student must drop their ball and stand still.
• In order to save a tased teammate, a student must board the other teams spaceship and grab their arm. If done without being tagged they get "free backs".
• As soon as one team has successfully deactivated all 3 of the other teams turbo thrusters the game is over.
• After each game have the students reset, switch sides, and take a few minutes to talk strategy before beginning again.

Tips:

The biggest issue I often run into is students complaining about others cheating by throwing a ball overhand instead of underhand. To help reduce this, make sure to demonstrate EXACTLY what you mean by underhand (sidearm doesn't count).