Striking and fielding games - Week 2

Stage 1 - Phase 2

Equipment

Marker cones
Balls
Hitting tees
Bats

Download the Striking and fielding games - Week 2 activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.

FMS focus: Two-hand strike

Learning intention

Students are developing proficiency in the two-hand strike.

Success criteria

Stands side-on to target area.
Eyes focused on the ball throughout the strike.
Hands next to each other, bottom hand matches the front foot.
Steps towards target area with front foot.
Hips then shoulders rotate forward.
Ball contact made on front foot with straight arms.
Follows through with bat around the body.

Explicit teaching of the two-hand strike

About the skill

The two-hand strike is a manipulative skill in which force is applied to an object using an implement, in this case a bat. It forms the foundation to more advanced games and sports-specific skills, such as: the strike in Tball, baseball and softball; the drive in cricket and hockey; the golf swing; and ground strokes in racquet sports, handball and volleyball. Because of the variability of ball tosses, performing the two-hand strike from a T-ball stand is the focus in this resource. Although these striking actions may differ slightly in performance, the same mechanical principles apply to both.

View 'The Get Skilled Get Active - two-hand strike video' to support the explicit teaching of the two-hand strike.

Model the skill:

Model the two-hand strike to students while explaining the movements needed to effectively strike:

- Stand side-on.
- Keep your eyes on the ball.
- Position your hands so they match your feet.
- Use a big swing.
- Step forward and swing.
- Contact the ball with straight arms.
- Swing and follow through.

Guided practice:

Students demonstrate the two-hand strike concentrating on the stance, hand positioning and swinging action. Students complete the following activities:

stand side on to a line shift their weight back and forth from front foot to back foot.
swing their arms in time with moving forward. On the number ‘one’ students complete the back swing and transfer weight onto their back foot. On the word ‘and’ the students pause and on the number ‘two’ they swing forward and around the body and step forward transferring weight to the front foot.
use an improvised bat (soft bat, rolled up newspaper, a single cricket stump or half a swimming noodle) and move through the action holding the base of the bat with two hands.

Independent practice with immediate teacher feedback:

Setup four hitting tees spaced out in a line. Students form pairs. Each pair gets a ball and a bat each. Students place the ball on the first tee. Student one hits the ball off the tee towards the second tee. Student two runs to collect the ball and places it on the second tee. Student one repeats the activity until they have hit off all four tees. The students reverse roles.

Skill development games

FMS focus activity - Batting blast

Skill focus: Two-hand strike

Equipment: 1 batting tee, 1 bat and 1 softcore ball per group.

How to play: The batter hits the ball, from a tee, at different targets. The aim is to work on moving towards the ball and swinging freely.

Pair students and make one the batter and one the fielder.
The batter hits between the target or at their own target.
Once a batter hits 3 balls, students swap roles.
Make up your own scoring system, students love scoring challenges.

Activity adapted from Cricket Australia HPE Program.

Form a group - Playing for Life Activity Card

FMS consolidation activity - Form a group

Skill focus: Skip

Equipment: Marker cones

How to play: Players skip around in different directions avoiding body contact with other players. The coach calls a number and players form a group of that size.

Mark an area free of obstructions - disperse the players.
Players start skipping.
Try several group sizes before you get to the number you would like for a subsequent activity, eg. start by calling 2s, then 6s and finally the group size you want, such as 4’s - you may want to add a “new peoples to the group” rule for the second and third calls.

Modified small-sided games

It's game time!

Teams play each other in the game outlined below.

Hit 4 and go

Equipment: A suitable indoor or outdoor playing area as shown, range of bats/rackets and balls (sponge balls, softballs or tennis balls), marker cones (for running and playing area), batting tee(s)

How to play: A batter hits 4 consecutive balls into the field and then skips between marker cones as many times as possible. When the fielders have returned all 4 balls they call out ‘STOP!’ (4–5 per group).

2 teams – batters and fielders

Batter:

Hits 4 balls, off a tee, one after the other, into the playing space.
When the last ball is hit, the batter skips between the marker cones as many times as possible.

Fielders:

Fielders skip to return the balls to the home base – balls must be inside the hoop to count.
Fielders call ‘STOP!’ when the last ball reaches home base