Aim and Kick for Hits

Skill: Kick, Run
Time Required: 20
Activity Type: Physical
Group Size: Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 6 - 9yrs, 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Gymnasium (large indoor space), Outdoor - Field
Safety Considerations: Remove any safety hazards and obstacles from the play area.
Remind participants to be aware of their surroundings and to keep their head up.
Equipment: 9-20 cones per 4-8 participants
1 Soccer ball per 4-8 participants
Beanbags
Paper and pens/pencils (optional)
Objective:
Participants on the kicking team try to score as many runs in each "inning", and the defending team tries to stop the kicking team from scoring.
Other Skills:
Coordination
Set up:
Divide participants into teams of 2-4 participants.
Please see the attached document for an example of the set up.
There will be a kicking line at one end of the activity. Could place cones to represent this line, use a line in the gymnasium, or use another object to represent this line, just make sure it doesn't hinder the participants from kicking the soccer ball.
Set up 3 sets of "gates", which are 2 cones that are 3-5 feet apart. Place these around 10 feet away from the kicking line, and have one on each side to represent doubles, and one in the middle to represent a single.
Place cones at the side, use a line in the gym, or use other objects to set up the "triple line", which will be around 10 feet away from the gates. Make sure these objects do not hinder the soccer ball from rolling.
Behind the triple line, place 2-3 cones to represent "homeruns".
Have 1-2 participants on the defending team standing between the kicking line and gates, and 1-2 defending participants standing between the gates and triple line.
Step by Step:
1. Have two teams go against one another. One team will start as the kicking team, and the other team will start as the defending team.
2. If there are 3-4 participants for each team, then the defending participants can take turns standing in the field and defending, or have more than 1 participant in each defending section.
3. Optional to set up a miniature baseball diamond to keep score of the hits; using cones as bases, and each participant gets a different colour beanbag to represent themselves and their hits.
4. Optional, have another participant be the umpire and keep score.
5. The first participant on the kicking team goes to the "kicking line" with the soccer ball.
6. Their goal is to kick the ball past the first defender and through a gate. They can try to kick it hard enough so it could get past the second defender and past the triple line for a triple, or it hits a homerun cone, for a homerun.
7. The first defender is not allowed to go beyond the gates, and the second defender cannot go in front of the gates, but they can go anywhere from the gates to the homerun cones.
8. The kicking participant can dribble the ball anywhere along the kicking line, but they cannot go past the line.
9. If the kicking participant gets the ball through the "single gate", but the second defender stopped it before it got past the triple line, then the kicking participant will place their beanbag on the first base of their miniature diamond (or they can write it down).
10. The next kicking participant will be up to kick. Let's say they get the ball through the "double gate", but again, the second defender stopped it. Then the first kicker will move their beanbag to third base, and the other kicker will move their beanbag to second base.
11. If there are three participants on a team, then the next participant will be the kicker. Let's say they kick it through a gate, past the triple line and knocked over a homerun cone. That means they got a homerun! All the beanbags in the diamond get to go to home plate, and they all score a run.
12. If a kicker kicks the ball, but the first defender stopped it, then that is an out. If the kicking participant misses a gate, then that is an out. Participants can only get a triple or homerun if the ball went through one of the gates.
13. Switch the kicking team and defending team when the kicking team as 3 outs, gets a certain amount of runs, or each participant has gone up 5 times (or so).
Variations:
Make the set up smaller, so all the cones are closer to the kicking participant.
Have two kicking participants go at the same time.
Make the gates smaller, so it's harder to get a hit.
Use hoops to represent homeruns, and the soccer ball has to either land in one or go through one.
Have more defenders on the field, and set up more gates.
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.
Attachments: Download