Day 2: Fundamentals in Catching and Throwing a Football
Instructor: Kayla Armstrong
Grade Level: Developmental Level Two
School Name: Easter Oregon University
Date Created: June 6, 2009

Equipment: Cones, Footballs, hula-hoops, pennies, flags

Introductory Activity: Triangle Tag (Bell, 2001)
Use the cones in order to establish a playing are. Once the playing are has been established, split class up into groups of four. Designate one person I the group of four to be the chaser. Once the chaser has been chosen, have the remaining three students form a circle holding hands, they can also lock elbows in holding hands is not desirable. Once the circle has been formed, designate one person in the circle as the person the chaser is trying to tag. On the whistle, the chaser will try and tag the designated person. It is up to the circle to try to protect their designated person from the chaser. Students will play for a given amount of time, or until the taggee has been tagged. Once the taggee has been tagged, then the students switch roles. In the circle breaks, then the students must switch roles. Remind students about safety. They must run under control.

Teaching Cues:
1.Use opposition when running.
2.Head up, eyes forward.

Activity: Football Passing- Forward Pass
Have students line up on the center line of the gym. The teacher will demonstrate a proper forward pass, emphasizing that the ball should be gripped lightly behind the middle, closest to the student, with fingers on the laces. The opposite foot of the throwing arm should be pointed in the direction of the pass. The ball is raised and brought back to the ear. Once students have seen an explanation, have them each grab a ball and practice throwing into space. This will decrease the students’ frustration and allow them to concentrate on the cues rather than the success of their pass.
Teaching Cues: (Cleveland, n.d.)
•spread fingers on laces gripping ball toward the back (the end closest to you)
•turn sideways to target
•step forward with the foot opposite your throwing arm
•bring ball back to your ear

Activity: Football Catching
Once students are comfortable with passing into space or after the allotted time, have students again line up on the centerline of the gym. Once students are on the centerline, demonstrate the proper catching technique. Make sure and emphasize that the students should keep their eyes on the ball and catch with their hands and give with their body. Once the ball has been caught, it should be tucked into the carrying position, ball tucked between arm and the body with one end of the ball by the elbow and the other end covered by the carrying hand. Once you have demonstrated, break students up into partners and have them practice catching. Remember critique should only come for catching and not for passing.
Teaching Cues: (Pangrazi, 2007)
•Track ball with eyes
•Thumbs together for high pass
•Thumbs apart for low pass
•Reach for the ball, give, and bring the ball into the body

Activity: Catching and Passing
Once students have had time to practice their catching, split students up into different partner pairs. Once in pairs, have the students practice catching and passing. Remind them of both the catching and passing cues. Move around the gym providing feedback.

Closing Activity: Five Passes (Pangrazi, 2007)
Divide class into multiple teams of 6 to 10 players per team. Have the players scatter on the field or playing area. The object of the game is for a team to make five consecutive passes to five different players without the ball hitting the ground or being intercepted by another team. One point is scored if a team is able to complete this. The teams who are not in possession of the ball play defense, though they may not make physical contact with any players. No player is allowed more than three steps when they control the ball, more than three steps is a travel and results in the ball going to anther team. The ball is given to a team at the nearest out of bounds line when a player has traveled, commit a minor contact foul, or after a team has scored. There is no penalty to the ball hitting the ground expect that the team must start their five pass sequence again. Player should call out the pass sequence. Use teaching cues for both passing and catching.

Closing Activity: Football Frenzy (Huston, 2001)
Mark playing area into four equal zones with the end lines being the goals. Once playing are is established, split class into four equal groups. Place the four groups into each of the zones and then slit the members of each zone into two teams. Once teams have been established, have them put on flag belts of different colors. Once teams are established, place all the footballs in one large hula hoop behind one goal line. The game starts by one person passing the ball to a teammate in zone one. If the ball is caught, that player then passes the ball to a teammate in the zone two. The team mate who catches the ball in zone two then passes the ball to a team mate in zone three, and then that team mate passes the ball to a team mate in zone four. The team mate who catches the ball in zone four then runs the ball past the end line for a touchdown. If the runner’s flag is pulled before he/she crosses the end line or the pass is intercepted, then the ball is placed outside the playing area. As soon as the ball is passed to the second zone, the original passer then passes another ball to her/his teammate in the first zone. This continues until all balls in the hoop are gone. Once all the balls have been either placed outside the area or have been run in for touchdowns, then the teams switch offense and defense.

Citations:

Bell, K. 2001. Triangle Tag. Retrieved June 6, 2009, from http://www.pecentral.com/lessonideas/ViewLess....

Cleveland, J. n.d.. Football: Forward Pass. Retrieved June 6, 2009, from http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/cues/foo....

Huston, S. 2001. Football Frenzy. Retrieved June 6, 2009, from http://www.pecentral.com/lessonideas/ViewLess....

Pangrazi, R. 2007. Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children. San Francisco: Pearson.