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Think Ball

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Tennis balls with numbers on them as played in Think Ball

Think Ball

Thought-provoking variation of traditional baseball.

  • Active
  • Promotes critical thinking
  • Fosters collaboration
  • Many variations

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. In advance, write numbers 1 to 16 on tennis balls.
  2. Place four hula-hoops on the ground to represent the four points of a baseball diamond.
  3. Form two even teams.
  4. Nominate one team as the batting side, the other team as the fielding side.
  5. Instruct the batting team to stand in a straight line behind the first hula-hoop (base.)
  6. Equipped with all 16 balls, instruct the first batter to throw all of the balls anywhere into the field.
  7. The batter then runs around the outside of their team as many times as possible until the fielding team calls “STOP.”
  8. The batting team earns one point for every complete rotation.
  9. While the batter is running circles, the fielding team aims to retrieve all of the balls and place them in pre-determined hoops as quickly as possible, ie numbers 1-4 in the first hoop, 5-8 in the second hoop, 9-12 in the third hoop and 13-16 in the fourth hoop.
  10. As soon as every ball has been placed in its correct hoop, the fielding team may call “STOP.”
  11. Gather all 16 balls and give them to the second batter to have their turn.
  12. As each batter completes their turn, they move to the end of their team’s line.
  13. Continue this process until every member of the batting team has had their turn, and then each team swaps roles.
  14. Play one, two or three innings each.
  15. The team with the most runs wins.

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Contributor

Add your Comments...

Have you played this activity? What worked, what didn't work? What type of group? Do you have useful advice for other users? Do you know a fun variation?

Comments (1)

  1. David Piang-Nee

    This sounds like a wonderful wide game. I can see this running for at least a good 45mins without any problems. This is also great for those not too familiar with Baseball and doesn’t require the actual batting or pitching skills making it much more accessible.

    Depending on your numbers and the size of the field, you could even have people on each bases from the fielding team to make the action even quicker and similar to Baseball.

    Could be a great way of introducing the concepts of Baseball before incorporating the actual batting and pitching aspect.

    Reply

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