Movement skills/concepts

Overhead volleying, space, and body awareness.

Set-up

• Lightweight balls (balloons/foam balls/volleyballs).
• Children, each with a lightweight ball, are spread out in a defined grass or hard area.

Activity

• toss the ball up in the air and, using the pads of your fingers, volley the ball upward above your head so that the ball returns directly to you, then catch the ball after each volley
• repeat and see if you can volley the ball upward twice in the air and then catch the ball; try volleying three times and catch, then gradually increase the number of times you volley the ball in the air and catch it – how many times can you volley the ball before it touches the ground?
• stand facing a wall, toss the ball above your head and volley it upward to the wall using both hands, then catch it after it rebounds from the wall; repeat, this time with two volleys in a row and catch, then gradually increase the number of times you volley in a row before you catch it
• with a partner standing one meter away, pass the ball back and forth with the overhead volley pattern – each person gets two strikes on each side
• still with your partner, see if you can keep the ball going with only one strike on each side

Variations

Introduce a net: Children toss a ball up and volley over a net to a partner on the other side, who catches it. The partner repeats the sequence. Children gradually build up to volleying the ball back and forth over the net as many times as possible without making a mistake.