What ball games can you think of? Tennis, rounders, golf, snooker, billiards, hockey (including field and ice), netball, volleyball, rugby, baseball, basketball, croquet, racquetball, cricket, lacrosse, bowls, polo and, of course, not forgetting football!
All these ball games have evolved over thousands of years. The earliest balls and some of the games that were played with them were perhaps in existence as long as 7,000 years ago, with the ancient Egyptians playing a form of bowling and handball.
It is believed the first balls were made from stone or wood, not a ball you would want to be hit with! Thankfully the ball slowly evolved and began to be made from stuffed or inflated leather and used for specific games. For example, the golf ball with dimples, the fuzzy surfaced tennis ball, the odd shape of the rugby ball and the ball used in ten-pin bowling with finger holes.
Throughout history some ball games were seen as a great way to train as they encouraged eye to hand co-ordination, improved general fitness levels and in some cases encouraged teamwork. This is still true today and ball games are an ideal way of getting children away from their computers and television screens. Here are a range of ball games that are easy to play and are sure to get you all burning off some surplus energy. Have fun!
THE SPIDER AND THE FLIES
In this game the children have to be the last fly to be caught by the spider's 'sticky' ball.
Number of players: Six or more
Aim: Play against one another and against the spider. The winner is the last fly to be caught by the spider's 'sticky' ball.
Environment: Indoors or outside
Items required:
* Soft ball
How to play:
1 Choose the 'spider'.
2 The 'spider' then stands on the edge of the play area with their back towards everyone holding the ball.
3 They must throw the ball over their shoulder while the other children run around.
4 Anyone the ball touches is out of the game.
5 The 'spider' collects the ball and continues until there are only a few people left.
6 To speed up the end of the game the 'spider' can turn round and try to aim at the 'flies' as they run around.
TWO GREEN BOTTLES
A game that is ideal for playing outside when the weather is hot and the children just want to play with water.
Number of players: Two
Aim: To empty their opponent's bottle by playing against one another
Environment: Outside
Items required:
* Soft ball for each couple
* A litre bottle of water for each child
How to play:
1 Fill the bottles with water and set about three metres apart.
2 Each player then stands behind their bottle.
3 The first player aims and throws the ball at their opponent's bottle. If they knock it over their opponent cannot stand it back up until they have picked the ball up.
4 They then repeat the process.
5 The first person to empty their opponent's bottle is the winner.
Safety advice: Ensure the area you are playing on is not smooth as this may become slippery with the spilt water.
FLYING HIGH
Number of players: Ten or more
Aim: If you are not quick enough when your name is called then you are out of the game.
Environment: Outside
Items required:
* Soft ball
How to play:
1 Get the children to stand in a circle.
2 Pick a child to stand in the middle of the circle with the ball.
3 They have to bounce the ball and shout someone's name.
4 That person must run into the circle and catch the ball before it hits the floor again.
5 The person who just bounced the ball then runs to the space where the person they called was standing.
6 If the ball is not caught then the person who bounced it must try again and the person who missed the ball sits down.
7 The last person to catch the ball is the winner.
BOUNCE
Number of players: Six plus
Aim: Work together in small teams to keep a ball bouncing.
Environment: On a hard surface indoors or outside.
Items required:
* Chalk or something to mark out a circle
* A ball that bounces well
How to play:
1 Draw a circle around three metres across.
2 Each child stands around the outside of the circle evenly spaced out.
3 The ball is given to one of the players.
4 This player then runs into the middle of the circle and bounces the ball.
5 The person who was to the right of this first player then gets ready to run into the circle, and as soon as the first player starts to run to their spot they run into the circle.
6 The aim is for this second player to catch the ball before it bounces on the ground. Once they have caught the ball they bounce it as high as they can and then return to their spot in the circle.
7 The player who stood on their right runs in and repeats the process.
8 The children keep count of how many times they are able to catch the ball before it lands, and this number is their score.
9 If the ball does bounce then they have to start counting again.
TENNIS BALL RACE
Number of players: Ten plus
Aim: A test of balance and co-ordination.
Environment: Indoors or outside
Items required:
* Tennis ball for each team
* Chair for each child
How to play:
1 Split the children into small teams.
2 Sit them in a row with their legs out and give the first child the tennis ball.
3 They must hold the ball between their feet.
4 Shout 'Go'.
5 The children then pass the ball one to the other using only their feet.
6 If the ball is dropped it must be returned to the beginning again.
7 The first team to get to the end are the winners.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Number of players: Any
Aim: This game will encourage players to work together and improve their eye/hand co-ordination as they try to knock over the skittles.
Environment: Indoors or outside
Items required:
* Set of skittles for each team
* Soft ball
* Chalk to mark out start line
* Stopwatch
How to play:
1 Draw a start line and set up a circle of skittles around two metres away from this line.
2 Split the children into small teams.
3 Set the stopwatch for five minutes.
4 Shout 'Go'.
5 The first player must then knock over all the skittles; they may throw the ball as many times as is needed.
6 When all the skittles have been knocked over, they must stand them all back up again then pass on the ball to the next player.
7 The next player then repeats the process.
8 The game continues until time runs out.
9 The team who has knocked over the most complete set of skittles are the winners.
LAST IN THE LINE
Number of players: Any
Aim: In order to win this game the children have to work together, fast.
Environment: Indoors or outside
Items required:
* Soft ball for each team
How to play:
1 Split the children into small teams.
2 Get each team to stand in a line behind one another with their legs slightly apart and give each team a soft ball.
3 Shout 'Go'.
4 Then the first person in the line has to pass the ball through their legs, the next over their head, the next through their legs and so on.
5 When the ball gets to the last person they must run to the front and start the process again.
6 The games finishes when the last person is back at the end of the line.
