BASKETBALL AND NETBALL GAMES (Part 1)

FOLLOW THE LEADER

(One basketball each)

Use this activity as part of a progressive warm-up. Arrange the participants into small groups of two to five. Each group should stand in a line and every participant should have a basketball. The first participant moves around the area performing a skill with his or her basketball. The rest of the group copy the actions of the leader. After a specified time, the leader drops to the back of the line. The next participant takes over choosing their own skill, while the rest of the group copies his or her actions.

- Advise participants to stay at least 1m behind the person in front.

- Do not allow groups to weave in and out of each other to avoid collisions.

- Ensure the size of the basketballs is appropriate for the age and experience of participants.

- Change the leader every 20 to 40 seconds.

- Provide some examples to give the groups ideas:

1) Dribbling with the right or left hand;

2) Circling the basketball around the waist;

3) Dribbling high and low;

4) Bouncing the basketball while sitting on the floor.

GAME VARIATION: You can lead the line.

GAME VARIATION: Allow use of the baskets for shooting and lay-up skills.

NETBALL: Play with the same rules as basketball.

SMALL GROUPS: Have one line instead of lots of smaller ones.

SPORT-SPECIFIC: Modify for a number of different spots (e.g., soccer, hockey and rugby) by performing sport-specific skills.

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KNOCKOUT

(One basketball each, one bib per four to eight participants, cones)

This game develops dribbling skills. Cone out your working area and choose some of the group to become chasers. Each of them puts a bib on. There should be one chaser for every four to eight participants. All the participants stand inside the working area with a basketball, except for the chasers who stand at the side without one.

When the game begins those in the are try to dribble their basketball continuously, staying within the cones. The chasers run in, trying to knock basketballs out of the area. If any participants lose control of their basketball and dribble outside of the cones, they have to perform a skill or challenge (e.g., circle their basketball around the waist five times) before re-entering the working area. Count how many basketballs the chasers knock out in a set time, such as 45 to 60 seconds, and then change the chasers.

- Allow rest periods between games to allow participants to recover.

- Warn participants to be careful of collisions.

- Include more or fewer chasers depending on age and ability.

- This game is best for small groups. Split up larger groups so that there are two or more games running.

- Remind participants of the double-dribble rule (no bouncing with two hands or catching the basketball then starting to dribble again). If participants double-dribble they have to perform the skill or challenge.

- Teach the 'protected dribbling' technique. This technique involves dribbling with a low body position, protecting the ball by keeping the body between the opponent and the ball.

GAME VARIATION: Any participants who have their basketballs knocked out of the area become chasers and the game continues until one player is left with a basketball.

GAME VARIATION: Dribblers have to move from one side of the corned area to the other as many times as possible in a minute without losing their basketball.

GAME VARIATION: Any participant who have their basketball knocked out of the area collect them and move back inside, holding onto their balls with their legs open. They are freed from this position if another participant dribbles their ball through their legs.

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ONE-HAND DRIBBLE

(One basketball each, cones)

This activity develops dribbling skills. Cone out your working area and give every participant a basketball. All participants have to continuously dribble their basketballs without letting other players knock them out of the area. Participants dribble the ball with either hand, but the spare hand should be used to knock other players' balls out of the area. Any participants who lose control of their basketball and dribble outside the cones have to perform a skill or challenge (e.g., circle their basketball around the waist five times) before re-entering the working area. Play for a set time, such as 2 minutes, and count how many times participants have their balls knocked out of the area.

- Warn participants to be careful with collisions.

- Remind participants of the double-dribble rule (no bouncing with two hands or cathing the basketball then starting to dribble again). If participants double-dribble they have to perform the skill or challenge.

- Teach the 'protected dribbling' technique. This technique involves dribbling with a low body position, protecting the ball by keeping the body between the opponent and the ball.

- Encourage participants to knock away the basketball without making contact with the other player. If contact were made, this would constitute a foul in a match.

- Make the challenges fun for younger children. For older participants, the challenge could be to perform a basketball skill (e.g. score two baskets).

HARDER: Only allow students to dribble the basketball with a specific hand.

HARDER: Any participants who have their basketballs knocked out of the area become chasers. The game continues until only one player is left with a basketball.

SPORT-SPECIFIC: This game can be adapted for other sports that involve dribbling skills (e.g., soccer or hockey).

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PARTNER SHOOT

(One basketball and basket per two participants and a stopwatch)

This activity develops shooting skills. Arrange the participants into pairs around each basket. Time the activity for 2 minutes. For the first minute one member of each pair becomes the shooter, while the other member acts as a rebounder. The shooter moves to a different position after each shot. The rebounder collects each shot and returns the basketball to the shooter. After the first minute, participants switch roles so that both players have a chance to shoot. Each pair combines the amount of baskets scored. The winning pair will have scored the most baskets at the end of 2 minutes.

- If played with more than one pair per basket, warn participants to be careful of collisions.

- You decide whether the shooters take their first shots from. For example, with experienced 15- and 16- year olds you may say half of the shots have to be taken from outside the three-point line. For younger children you may state that all shots are taken within 5m.

- Ensure the size of the basketballs is appropriate for participants’ age and experience.

- With larger groups, have two or three pairs working into the same basket.

GAME VARIATION: Mark out specific areas for participants to shoot from.

GAME VARIATION: Time the participants to score 10 baskets (Participants must score five baskets each).

GAME VARIATION: Participants switch roles after each shot.

HARDER: Group participants in threes, adding a defender attempting to block the shooter when taking the shot.

NETBALL: Play with the same rules as basketball.

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REBOUND

(One basketball and basketball backboard per 6 to 10 participants)

This activity develops rebounding skills. Arrange the participants into groups of 6 to 10. Each group should line up about 5 to 7m away from the basket. The line should be half a metre to the side of the hoop. The first participant throws the ball up to hit the backboard so that it bounces back without hitting the hoop, the thrower jumps up and, while in mid-air, catches the ball and throws it back up against the backboard for the person behind to repeat the sequence. After each rebound, participants should land safely on the floor before joining the back of the line. The idea is to see how many times the participants can keep the sequence going.

Allow rest periods for participants to recover.
On landing, participants should quickly move to the back of the line.
Participants need to jump high so that they can have enough time to catch and throw before landing. This does not work well with less experienced or younger participants.
Ensure the size of the basketballs and the height of the baskets are appropriate for participants’ age and experience.
Instruct participants to work cooperatively to keep the sequence going.
It is not advisable to carry out this activity unless you have a basket that hands away from the wall.-

GAME VARIATION: Two teams compete to keep the sequence going the longest.

HARDER: After making a specified number of rebounds (e.g., 7 to 10), the group can try to score a basket. Again, the shooter should try to catch the ball in the air and shoot before landing.

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SHARPSHOOTER

(One basketball between two, one basket per four participants)

In this shooting activity, participants try to score a basket before the person in front. Arrange the participants into groups of four. Each group should move to their own basket and line up behind the free-throw line. The front two participants each have a basketball. The first participant does the following:

He or she takes a shot from the free-throw line. If they miss, they then try as quickly as possible to score from anywhere they like.
They can have as many shots as possible in their attempt to score.
They try to score before the person behind them.

As soon as the first participant has taken their first shot, the second participant can begin. Again they take their first shot from the free-throw line and then from anywhere they like. When any participant scores a basket, they pass the ball to the next person in line and join the back of the line. Award each participant one point for each basket that is scored. Award two points if they score before the person in front of them. This sequence continues for a set time (e.g., 3 minutes). The participants with the most points at the end win the game.

Warn participants to be careful of collisions.
Ensure the size of the basketballs and the height of the baskets are appropriate for the participants’ age and experience.
Demonstrate the game when playing it with a group for the first time. The key concept for participants to understand is that to score two points they must score before the person in front of them. This is likely to happen if they score with their first shot when the person in front of them has missed theirs.

Encourage players to dribble close to the hoop or take a lay-up for their second and subsequent shots.

HARDER: With more advanced participants, only allow them to shoot with their weaker hand.

NETBALL: Use netball footwork rules.

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TEAM SHOOT

(One basketball per three to five participants, one basket per 6 to 10 participants, cones)

This activity develops shooting skills. Arrange the participants into teams of three to five. There should be two teams per basket. Cone out six shooting positions around each basket. The aim of the activity is for each team to score a basket from each of the shooting positions. Teams line up at opposite sides of the basket and the first participant in each team has a basketball. The first participant has a shot, collects his or her own rebound, passes the ball to the next player and joins the back of the line. This continues until any team member scores a basket. After a team member scores a basket, the whole team moves to the next shooting position and tries to score from them. The first team to score from each shooting position wins the game.

Warn participants to be careful of collisions when rebounding their basketballs.
Participants should be careful to avoid being hit by the opposite team’s basketball.
The shooting positions’ distance from the basket is dependent on age and ability.
As teams move round they may need to shoot from a position that the opposing team is occupying. In this instance, advise the group to miss out that particular position and go back to it when the opposing team has moved on.
Smaller numbers in the groups means participants get more shots.

GAME VARIATION: Allow every team member to have a shot from each shooting position and count up the combined number of baskets scored by each team.

GAME VARIATION: Allow participants a set time (e.g., 30 to 45 seconds) from each shooting position. Again count up the combined number of baskets scored by each team.

HARDER: As the participants improve, the amount of baskets scored from each position can be increased.

HARDER: Only shoot with the weaker hand.

NETBALL: Play with the same rules as basketball.

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TWENTY-ONE

(One basketball and basket per two or three participants)

This is an activity that develops shooting and rebounding skills. Arrange the participants into pairs of threes around each basket. Participants line up around 3 to 5 m from the basket. The front participant has a basketball. This person shoots then follows in for a rebound, trying to catch the basketball before it bounces. Irrespective of whether the first shot is scored or not, if the shooter catches the basketball before it bounces, they can attempt another shot. This must be taken from the spot where they caught the rebound. Participants take turns shooting from the starting point. It is possible to score either 3, 2, 1 or 0 points in the following ways:

3 Points: A player scores with their first shot, takes the rebound before it bounces and scores with their second shot.
2 Points: A player scores with their first shot but misses the second, or scores the first shot but does take the rebound before it bounces.
1 Point: A player misses their first shot but gets the rebound before the basketball bounces and scores with their second shot.
0 Points: No baskets scored.

- Ensure the size of the basketballs and the height of the baskets are appropriate for the participants’ age and experience.

- Demonstrate the activity first so that all participants know how to score points.

- Advise participants to follow in for the rebound as soon as the first shot is taken.

- If time is limited, play for a smaller total (e.g., 15 points)

EASIER/HARDER: Vary the distance of the first shot depending on age and ability.

EASIER/HARDER: Participants themselves chose where they take the first shot.

GAME VARIATION: Play for a set time (e.g., 3 minutes) with the winner being the participant with the highest total at the end.

HARDER: For more experienced players only, allow shots with the weaker hand.

HARDER: Play with an open rebound. This means that when one player shoots, their opponent stands next to them. As soon as the shot has been taken, both players can compete for the rebound to score the extra point.

NETBALL: Play with the same rules as basketball.

Taken from the book, Fun and Games: 100 Sport-Related Activities for ages 5-16 (Anthony Dowson/Keith Morris)