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Name of Activity:

Bottle Flip Basketball

Purpose of Activity:

To develop basketball dribbling and passing skills while also introducing court movement skills and concepts.

Prerequisites:

Prior practice of the basketball dribble and the bounce, chest, and overhead pass.

Suggested Grade Level:

6-8

Materials Needed:



One basketball (or any other type of ball that bounces) per court
Plastic water bottles with a small amount of water in them (one per court or per two courts)
Pinnies if desired
Cones, if your playing area needs, to separate courts

Description of Idea

Note: I have used this activity with 5th-8th grade. It was created as a way to introduce court movement (spreading out, cuts, etc.) while also practicing dribbling and passing in a dynamic environment. It tends to be a high scoring activity, which is a motivating factor. Students do not get discouraged when scored against, but are highly motivated by the opportunity to score and have permission to attempt the water bottle flip challenge.

1. Set-up: Divide the playing area into enough courts for small sided games (teams of 3-4 work best to maximize practice time). Students will not be shooting at the hoop to score, so this game can easily be played in any area where the surface will allow a basketball to bounce.

2. The game starts with a tip off at center court or you can flip a coin to see who gets ball first. Students move up and down the court just as they do in basketball.

3. Scoring: Just as in football or ultimate frisbee, teams score a point by getting into the endzone. A touchdown is worth 6 points. Students attempt their “field goal” extra point by landing a water bottle flip. The student who caught the ball in, or dribbled it into, the end zone gets one attempt to land a water bottle flip. If they land it, they earn the extra point.

4. Students are allowed to move the ball up and down the playing area by passing and dribbling to attempt to score (minimum of 3 passes before a team is allowed to take the ball into the endzone). A stolen ball, double dribble, and travel all result in a turnover, just as in basketball. If the ball goes out of bounds, throw-ins occur just like a typical basketball game.

5. After a team scores, the team who did not score throws the ball in from the opposing team’s end zone just as in basketball when the ball gets thrown in from the baseline after a hoop is made.

Variations:

You may want to not allow them to dribble the ball into the end zone so you force them to pass the ball to a receiver to score.

Submitted by Amanda Zygarlicke who teaches at St. Matthew Catholic School in Phoenix, AZ. Thanks for contributing to PE Central! Posted on PEC: 9/20/2017.
Viewed 64390 times since 1/10/2017.

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Bottle Flip Basketball

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Previous Comments:

megan

is there a video for this game? I am a visual learner.

Amanda

YouTube "Bottle Flip" and it'll make sense ^^^

They literally mean flipping a water bottle so it lands up-right.

MS

what do you mean by landing a water ball flip?

Esther Jones

Is the water bottle flip just knocking over the water bottle? and where do you place it?



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