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Practice games

Teddy Keepers

Everyone guards their own teddy with their hands while rolling balls at everyone else's.

Practice 10 min 8 to 12 players Cage Half pitch Hall 2019 to 2021

Everyone's a Keeper Lift each other

At a glance

  • Everyone stands by their own teddy (or cone) on a disc, spread around a 20 m square, holding a ball.
  • On Go, roll your ball along the ground at someone else's teddy. Guard your own teddy with your hands.
  • Stop a rolled ball with your hands, pick it up and roll it straight back out at another teddy.
  • A teddy knocked over: stand it up and play on. After 60 seconds, everyone moves to a new teddy.
  • Progress 1: Roll with your other hand.
  • Progress 2: Guard two teddies at once, set a few steps apart.

If it's not working: Make the area bigger, so every ball takes longer to arrive.

Teddy Keepers: set-upteddyteddyteddyteddyteddy1231 roll at a teddy, 2 save with hands, 3 roll back.20 m by 20 m
  • players
  • throw or roll
  • 1in this order

Everyone plays at once, five of the twelve shown. Each child stands by their own teddy with a ball. One rolls their ball along the ground at another child's teddy, that child stops it with their hands and rolls it straight back out at another teddy.

Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks

Set up

  • Spread the discs around the area, one per child.
  • Put a teddy (or cone) on each disc.
  • Every child stands by their teddy holding a ball.

8 to 12 children; 20 m by 20 m.

How to play

  • Each child guards their own teddy.
  • On Go, children roll their ball gently along the ground at other children's teddies.
  • Keepers stop rolled balls with their hands and pick them up.
  • A saved ball is rolled straight back out.
  • If your teddy is knocked over, stand it up and keep going.
  • After 60 seconds, everyone moves to a new teddy.

Keeping everyone moving

Every child attacks and defends at the same time. Nobody is ever out.

Make it easier

  • Make the area bigger, so every ball takes longer to arrive.
  • Allow stopping the ball with the feet too.

Make it harder, step by step

  1. Roll with your other hand.
  2. Guard two teddies at once, set a few steps apart.

Three things to say

  • Hands behind the ball.
  • Get your body behind it.
  • Look up before you roll.

Words that work: "Brave hands!", "Great keeping, go again!", "Well done for helping your friend's teddy!"

Colts habit

Lift each other by standing a friend's teddy back up.

Both feet

Roll with left and right hands.

Heads up

Find a teddy nobody is guarding.

For your birth year

Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.

2020 to 2021
Sitting or kneeling keepers, big soft balls.
2018 to 2019
Stand up, size 3 balls.

A young leader can run this one, with an adult coach beside them.

Safety: Rolled balls only. Soft balls for the youngest.

Keeping score: Each child counts their own saves this round against their last round.