Week 2 - T-Ball
Skill focus: Throwing and catching
Session equipment:
Markers or cones
Bats
Foam / tennis balls (or similar)
Hitting tees
Large balls
Targets, eg. bin, stumps, cones, buckets
Download T-Ball - Week 2 activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.
Fast start - Send and run
Equipment: 8 markers (to set out playing area), 2 markers and 1 ball per pair of students.
How to play:
Place one marker at the starting point and the second ‘target marker’ at a distance that provides an appropriate level of throwing challenge.
Students throw the ball at their marker for their partner to chase and return it.
While students wait, they perform selected movements (for example, high plank, squat jumps, high knees running on the spot).
CHANGE IT!
Vary the distance to the 'target marker'.
Change the way the ball is to be thrown (for example, underarm/overarm throw, roll).
Skill development games
Activity 1 - Gorri
Equipment: 6–10 markers to define a rectangular playing area, 1 or 2 tennis balls per player (to throw at the moving target), a variety of balls (targets) of different size
How to play: A large ball is rolled and players try to hit it with a tennis or soft ball (or similar).
A player designated as the roller calls out ‘gool-gool’ (going-going) and rolls the ball in front of the other players, who attempt to hit it with their tennis balls.
Another player at the other end acts as a fielder and stops the ball, then returns it to the first ‘roller’ after dispersed balls are gathered.
Activity 2 - Team distance
Equipment: Markers to define throwing line, balls for throwing.
How to play: Players work as a team and try to throw a ball as far as possible with each player’s throw being thrown from the landing position of the previous thrower.
Mark out a starting line.
Split players into teams of 3-6 (depending on space and ability of throwers; can use whole group on one team if desirable)
First team member behind the throwing line throws a ball as far as possible.
The next team member throws the same ball from where the ball landed.
How far can we get as a team?
Activity 3 - L-O-N-G throw
Equipment: 1 tennis ball per pair, 2 cones per pair
How to play: A ball is thrown between two players. If the ball reaches the catcher on the full, both the catcher and the thrower step back. If it is dropped, both take a step forward. The winning pair is the one that has retreated the furthest. (Play with one or more pairs.)
A ball is thrown between two players.
If the ball reaches the catcher on the full, both the catcher and the thrower step back.
If it is dropped, both take a step forward.
The winning pair is the one that has retreated the furthest.
Vary the types of passes (chest, shoulder, lob).
Activity 4 - Pepper
Equipment: 1 batting tee per group, 1 bat per group, different targets (e.g. markers, bin, stumps, a wall), 3 or 4 tennis balls (or similar low-impact balls) per group.
How to play: Have 1 batter and 4 dispersed players. The batter hits the ball off the batting tee, aiming for targets behind the fielders. The fielders defend the targets. Whoever fields the ball throws it to a receiver, who places it on the batting tee to be struck again.
Players bat off a tee.
Fielders field the balls.
The batter aims to hit targets set up between the fielders.
Modified small-sided games
It's time for competition!
Teams compete against each other in the game outlined below. You can use the T - Ball draw. as a guide to organise the competition, across the 4 sessions try to ensure each team has a fair number of games.
Allocate 3 points for a win, 2 points for a drawer and 1 point for a loss for each game played. Record results and points in the School sport program results spreadsheet.
Remember, to give students an update of the leader board each week.
Beat the bucket
Equipment: Indoor or outdoor playing area, 3 tennis balls, 4 markers to define a playing diamond, plastic bucket in the middle of the diamond (or use a hoop)
Harder variation: use a bat to hit the ball off a tee
How to play: A running and fielding team. A runner throws 3 balls into the field and then attempts to run around 4 markers before fielders place all 3 balls in a bucket and call ‘STOP!’ (6–10 per group).
Players to their positions as shown; no fielders in the in-field
Base runners:
Throws 3 balls to either the out-field or in-field.
Runs to first base as soon as the third ball is thrown and continues to the next base until a fielder calls ‘STOP!’.
The new runner starts at home base and the previous runner returns to team line.
Continue until all runners have had a turn.
Fielders:
Gather balls and throw them to one of the fielders on the bases.
Base-fielders run the ball to bucket in the centre of the diamond.
When all 3 balls have been returned to the bucket, a fielder calls ‘STOP!
Scoring
Each base = 1 point before a fielder calls ‘STOP!’
Reflection
TAG
Ask students to form pairs with a student from their team.
Inform students they are going to give feedback to their partner using 'TAG'.
Tell your partner something they did well in today's session.
Ask your partner a question.
Give your partner some feedback on a skill or tactic they could focus on during next weeks session.
