King of the Ring
Everyone has a ball. Keep yours in the ring and knock the others out. The last one with no bib is King of the Ring.
At a glance
- Activity: A ring of discs about 15 m square, everyone in it with a ball. Keep yours in and knock others' away; if yours goes over, plank for 10, tuck in a bib and dribble back in.
- Progress 1: Make the ring 2 m smaller every round.
- Progress 2: A ball that stops dead counts as knocked away, so keep it moving.
Points
- Body between your ball and whoever's coming.
- Keep the ball on the foot furthest from them.
- Head up: see who's coming before they get there.
If it's not working: Make the ring bigger, and plank for a count of 5.
- no bib
- bib on
- run
- dribble
- pass
- 1in this order
Everyone has a ball inside the ring, shown here as a few. A player with a bib knocks another player's ball out over the side. The owner fetches it, planks for a count of 10, tucks a bib in and dribbles straight back in. The last player with no bib is King of the Ring.
Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks
Set up
- Mark a ring about 15 m square with discs. Bigger with more than 12, smaller with fewer.
- Everyone starts inside the ring with a ball, spread out.
- A pile of bibs just outside the ring, and a plank spot beside it, a few big steps back from the line.
A ring about 15 m square for 12, marked with discs. Bigger with more, and smaller as the rounds go on.
How to play
- On Go!, keep your ball in the ring while you try to kick the others' balls out of it.
- If your ball goes out, fetch it, plank for a count of 10 on the plank spot, tuck a bib in your shorts and dribble straight back in.
- With a bib on you keep playing: look after your ball and knock others out. Out again? Plank for 10 and back in.
- The last player with no bib is King of the Ring. Everyone drops their bib, and go again.
Keeping everyone moving
Nobody waits out of the game: a plank is 10 seconds, then you're straight back in with a bib. A round takes a minute or two, so there are plenty of them.
Make it easier
- Make the ring bigger, so there's more room to keep your ball away.
- Plank for a count of 5.
Make it harder, step by step
- Make the ring 2 m smaller every round.
- A ball that stops dead counts as out, so keep it moving.
- Knock balls out with your practice foot only.
Three things to say
- Body between your ball and whoever's coming.
- Keep the ball on the foot furthest from them.
- Head up: see who's coming before they get there.
Words that work: "Brilliant, you kept it under pressure!", "Great shield, body in the way!", "Straight back in, love that!"
Colts habit
Be brave. Go and win balls even when it puts yours at risk, and get straight back in when you're out.
Both feet
Protect it with the foot furthest from them, whichever foot that is. Knock balls out with either.
Heads up
Look up between touches, so you see who's coming and which balls are loose.
For your birth year
Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.
- 2018
- A bigger ring to start, about 18 m.
A young leader can run this one, with an adult coach beside them.
Safety: Kick the ball, not the player. No pushing, pulling or barging. Low kicks only, no blasting a ball at anyone. Planks a few big steps back from the ring, away from balls coming out.
Keeping score: Count how many times you had to fetch your ball, and try to fetch it fewer times next round.