Week 1 - Tee Ball

Equipment

Suitable indoor or outdoor playing space
Marker cones
Hitting tees
Bats
Balls
Base markers

Download the Tee Ball - Week 1 activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.

Skill development game

Learning intention

To hit a ball as far as possible to a designated area.

Skill focus

Striking
Shot Placement
Catching
Fielding
Throwing

Long Ball

Players hit the ball, off a tee, as far as possible. Fielders retrieve and return the ball.

Equipment: Marker cones to establish batting line and designated hitting area, hitting tees, bats and balls.

How to play

Mark out a batting line with a batting tee.
Mark out designated areas for the ball to be hit to: marked lines, cones, fence, etc.
Commence hitting.
Fielders catch or stop the ball and throw back to home.

Safety

Ensure adequate space for the number of players.

Modifying Long Ball using TREE

Teaching style

No standing around – multiple batters can hit on a teacher's signal.
Encourage fielders to develop teamwork.
Fielders should move towards the ball, not wait for the ball to come to them.
Batters should look and decide the best place to hit the ball depending on where fielders are positioned.
Use player role models to emphasise an effective side-on batting stance, good ball placement and effective fielding.

Rules

Provide targets at different distances, with different values.

Equipment

Include a variety of bats e.g. different sized tee-ball bats, plastic bats, paddle bats.
Use larger, slower balls to reduce speed of the game or smaller, faster balls to speed it up.
Introduce softball gloves if available.

Environment

Increase or decrease the playing area. Increasing the size gives fielders a bigger area to cover, decreasing will reduce scoring options.

Modified Tee Ball game

Learning intention

To practice and refine striking, catching and throwing skills.

Skill focus

Catching
Fielding
Shot placement
Striking
Throwing

Zone Tee Ball

A team sport for developing striking, catching and throwing.

Equipment: Suitable indoor or outdoor playing area, base markers – these should be flat strips or discs, tee-ball bat and ball or alternatives (see Equipment), batting tee

How to play

Divide into teams of 6–9 players.
Batters score by hitting the ball into the scoring zone instead of running around the bases.
Players continue to move around the bases. They are moved on by the number of the zone the batter reaches with the ball.
Allow one ‘good’ hit for each batter, i.e. hit between the angle of home, first and third base.
One fielder is allowed inside the bases.
Umpire calls each batter to the home plate and calls ‘play ball’ and raises a hand to start play.

Safety

Bats must be dropped and not thrown.
Umpire to remove tee after batter has hit the ball.
Waiting batters remain in ‘safety zone’ to the rear of the batter.

Zone Tee Ball - Sports ability playing Card

Modifying Zone Tee-Ball using TREE

Teaching style

Fielders should move towards where the ball is heading and not wait for the ball to come to them.
Batters should look to see where best to hit the ball depending on the positions of the fielders.

Rules

Points can be awarded for either the zone where the ball first bounces or which zone the ball is fielded/stopped.
A fielder in possession of the ball touches the base a batter is moving to, then the batter is out.

Equipment

Include a variety of bats e.g. different sized tee-ball bats, plastic bats, paddle bats.
Use different density balls to vary the challenge for batters and fielders, e.g. whiffle ball, foam ball, softball.

Environment

Increase or decrease the playing area. Increasing the size gives fielders a bigger area to cover, decreasing will reduce scoring options.
Vary the positions of the fielding team. Have more or less fielders inside the bases.

Reflection