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Name of Activity:

The Meg Challenge - Partner Soccer Activity

Purpose of Activity:

To teach students the power of practice, peer feedback and goal setting.
To provide an opportunity to practice dribbling and footwork.

Prerequisites:


Usually I have a few tasks before this to practice dribbling in open space and discussing our cues for soccer dribbling which are "Soft Touches" and "Close Control"

I also have students practice trapping the ball when the music stops and let them know if their ball gets moving to quickly to trap it and slow down in order. to stay in control of the ball and keep it close

Suggested Grade Level:

3-5

Materials Needed:

1 Soccer ball for every 2 students

Description of Idea

Setup the activity by partnering students up and having one student get a ball (or if they already all have a ball, have one student put a ball up) so that you have 1 ball for every 2 students.

Ask the student without the ball to find open space and spread their feet apart to make a "bridge" with their legs

Explain that in soccer if you are able to dribble the ball between your opponents feet it's called a "Meg" and we will be doing a "Meg Challenge" today for this activity.

The person without the ball will make a bridge by spreading their feet apart, the partner with the ball gets 60 seconds to dribble under as many bridges as they can… while they are dribbling their partner who is the bridge will be a “scoreboard” with their hands keeping track of their partners points as they move around and dribble through bridges.

Reminders:

- Stress Safety – keep the ball on the ground, we are not shooting the ball, we are dribbling it.
- Use Soft Touches and Close Control
- Remember that student bridges must stay STILL ("Frozen Feet") and keep their eyes glued on their partner while counting the number of bridges they go through with their fingers

After one minute the teacher will stop the music. At that time, the dribbler will go get their score from their partner, the partner should also give a “coaching tip” on how to improve and switch places with them.

After one full rotation have the partners switch again and tell them to try and beat their score from the first round…

Closure:

Discuss with students what helped them beat their score (if they were able to) and why they think most of them were able to beat their score on the second round.

I like to guide students to discuss practice, goal setting and partner feedback during this time with my students. (see video below for examples)

Video (opens a new window to YouTube)


Assessment Ideas:

You can record students numbers if you want, but I normally just have students raise their hands as an informal assessment to see which ones beat their own personal record (see video for an example)

Adaptations for Students with Disabilities

Modify as needed to provide students opportunities for success based on their abilities (use a bigger ball, use a balloon, use a flat ball so it rolls slowly, give them more time, make the targets bigger etc)

Submitted by Ben Landers in Columbia, SC. Thanks for contributing to PE Central! Posted on PEC: 9/10/2021.
Viewed 25944 times since 9/10/2021.

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The Meg Challenge - Partner Soccer Activity

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