River Jumpers
Choose your own spot to jump a widening river, stick the landing, and dribble on.
Two disc lines make a river shaped like a long V, narrow at one end and wide at the other; dribble along your bank, pick your spot and jump.
Set up
- Lay two lines of flat discs, each 15 m long, to make a river shaped like a long V.
- Keep the lines about 30 cm apart at one end and 1.5 m apart at the other (1 m for 2020s).
- Cones mark the two river banks, 3 m out from each line.
- Children start on either bank with a ball.
8 to 12 children, an area about 20 m by 12 m.
How to play
- Dribble along your bank and choose a place to cross.
- Pick up your ball, hold it to your chest and jump across with a two-footed take-off.
- Land on two feet and stick it for a count of two.
- Put the ball down and dribble along the other bank, then cross back.
- Keep your own count of stuck landings. Try to cross one disc further along the wide end next time.
- Later rounds: hop across (swap legs each crossing), or cross and pass to a partner on the far bank. Pairs score together for jump plus pass.
Keeping everyone moving
A 15 m river has room for every child to cross at once, in their own spot. There is no line and no waiting.
Make it easier
- Narrow the river, or allow a run-up step.
- Allow crossing without the ball.
Make it harder
- Land and stick on one foot, or add a quarter turn in the air.
- Bounce and catch the ball as you land.
Three things to say
- Swing arms to jump and bend knees to land.
- Knees stay over toes on landing, not falling inwards.
- Heads up to choose a clear crossing spot.
Words that work: "Brave, you chose a wider spot!", "Stuck it, rock-solid landing.", "Great pass to lift your partner's score."
Colts habit
Be brave, choose your own harder challenge.
Both feet
Hop crossings on each leg, and dribble with the practice foot on the return bank.
Heads up
Find a crossing spot nobody is using.
For your birth year
Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.
- 2020
- Narrow river, two-footed only.
- 2018 to 2019
- Add hopping on both legs.
- 2016 to 2017
- Widen the river end to 1.5 m or more and add the partner-pass round.
A young leader can run this one, with an adult coach beside them.
Safety: Flat discs or ropes lying on the ground only. Never jump over cones, balls or raised objects. Dry ground only. Keep the river well away from goalposts.
Keeping score: My widest stuck landing (which disc) and my stuck landings in a round, kept by the child. They are never compared.