Movement skills/concepts

Striking a ball in the air (volley, serve, bump), body awareness, and judging flight path.

Set-up

• Lightweight balls.
• Teams of five–six, with one ball per group, spread out in circle formation in a hard court area.

Activity

Each team tries to keep its ball in the air by volleying it from player to player.  The ball may be hit to any player in the circle. The winners are the team that makes the highest number of volleys in a row without the ball bouncing. Players may use any kind of volley: underarm strike, bump, or overhead volley.

• communication among team members
• moving feet to get into position
• hitting the ball with flat surface upward
• following through

Variations

Simplify the game: Allow one bounce between each hit. Place a player in the middle.

Extend skills: Allow only one kind of pass.