Do your students love soccer? Are there more soccer players than room and balls to play at recess? This fun games allows players to quickly jump in and out of play giving more kids a chance to join. The Game of the Week is Three Lines Soccer!
Group Size: 6+
Age Group: Grades 1-5
Length of Activity: Less than 10 minutes
Developmental Goal: To develop teamwork and communication.
Equipment: One soccer ball and cones
Before You Start:
- Explain the rules of the game and the basic rules of soccer.
- Ask the players to explain the rules of play back to you.
Set Up:
- Place three cones along one sideline of a field, mark boundaries and create soccer goals with cones on either end.
How to Play:
- Have everyone stand in three single-file lines, one behind each cone.
- The first player in each line steps onto the field and form a team of three.
- The second player in each line steps onto the other side of the field and form a team of three.
- One player from each team plays a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who will kick off.
- Other players in line wait their turn to play while cheering.
- The object of the game is to be the first team to score.
The following rules apply:
- When a point is scored, that team stays on the field and the next three in line step on the field as a team. This oncoming team gets to kick off the ball.
- The team that did not score returns to the end of their respective line.
- After a set time frame (such as two minutes) if a point is not scored, have players waiting in line count down from ten, nine, eight, etc.
- If a team wins three times in a row they have earned three claps and return to the end of the line.
Variations:
- Players must pass the ball to every teammate before they score.
- Play with just one goal. Teams who steal the ball while on defense must pass the ball one or more times before they can shoot.
Love implementing Game of the Week? Playworks offers professional development programs that will teach your staff to use recess and playtime to improve health and support learning. Curious to learn more? Submit the Training Assessment form and a local Playworks representative will respond directly.
