What team games teach young children

At four or five, most children chase the ball in a cluster. That is normal. Team games at this age are less about tactics and more about noticing other players, waiting for a pass and accepting that the team wins or loses together.

By seven or eight, children can start to hold a position, call for the ball and change roles between attacker and defender. Keep teams small, three or four a side, so every child touches the ball often.

Game 1: Pass the Planet

This game builds passing accuracy and the habit of looking up before releasing the ball. It suits ages 5-10 and takes about 10 minutes.

• Players: teams of four, any number of teams.

• Materials: one soft ball per team, four markers per team set in a square about five metres across.

• Rules: each player stands on a marker. The team passes the ball round the square by hand or foot. Every clean pass scores a point; a dropped or wayward pass sends the count back to zero.

• Time: three rounds of two minutes, with a short break to talk about what helped.

• Easier: roll the ball along the ground and shrink the square.

• Harder: after each pass the passer runs to the empty marker, so players have to watch where team-mates move.

Game 2: Treasure Keepers

This game teaches spreading out and working together to protect something, a key idea in every invasion sport. It works for ages 6-10 and lasts 12-15 minutes.

• Players: two teams of four to six.

• Materials: a coned rectangle split into two halves, and five beanbags (treasure) in a hoop at the back of each half.

• Rules: players cross into the other half to carry one beanbag at a time back to their own hoop. If tagged in the opposing half, they return to their own half empty-handed. The game ends when one hoop is empty or after five minutes.

• Easier: add a safe zone in the middle of each half where players cannot be tagged.

• Harder: treasure must be passed to a team-mate before crossing back, never carried over the line.

Running the games well

Explain one rule at a time and play a slow walk-through before the first round. Mix teams each session so the same children are not always together. After each game, ask children to name one thing a team-mate did that helped, which keeps the focus on the group rather than the score.

For mixed ages, give younger players an extra life or a bigger target rather than asking older ones to hold back.

Key points

• Keep teams to three or four players so everyone is involved.

• Use soft balls and beanbags with children under seven.

• Praise good passes and helpful movement, not only goals.

• Rotate teams often to build fair play and friendships.

Ready-made resources

Printable session plans and materials for this topic are available from EduTrend Contents: G4C-140 Move & Play Games.

Photos: Bhong Bahala, Quilia / Unsplash