In Touchdowns, pairs work together to try and score a maximum amount of points by collecting various objects from hula hoops that are scattered across the playing area. The catch? You have to catch!
The teacher places hoops in a scattered formation across the playing area with a few beanbags in each hoop. Cones are placed along each end of the playing area, with one cone assigned to each two-player team. Each team is given pinnies to wear and a ball to play with.
Collect as many beanbags as your team can before the hoops are empty.
Students should be careful when throwing the ball into a crowded space.
Only one student may be in a hoop at a time.
Students should be careful of the hoops on the ground when running.
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Builds allow you to increase the game's complexity, one layer at a time.
The teacher places hoops in the playing area in a scattered formation. Each student is assigned a hoop, stands inside it, and is given a ball.
Players toss the ball up in the air and try to catch it before it drops, keeping both feet inside their hoop.
The teacher can decrease the difficulty by providing a larger or softer object to catch, and increase it with a smaller or bouncier object, a higher toss, or an action between the toss and the catch such as touching the floor, spinning around, or clapping.
The hoop is doing quiet work here. It removes the option of chasing a bad toss, which forces students to control the toss itself before they ever have to read someone else's pass.
Students stay inside their hoops, but the teacher takes half of the balls out of the game.
Students must now toss the ball to a player in another hoop who does not have a ball, doing so in a way that lets that player catch while staying in their hoop.
As before, the teacher can vary the type of ball to raise or lower the difficulty. The teacher can also restrict passing to players in the same colour hoop, or to players in a different coloured hoop.
With students now ready to toss, catch, pass, and receive, they can play the full version of Touchdowns.
Cones are placed at each end of the playing area, with each cone assigned to a two-player team. Each team is given pinnies and a ball.
To collect a beanbag, the catcher moves to a hoop containing at least one beanbag while the passer stays at their cone with the ball. The passer makes a pass and the catcher attempts to catch it with both feet inside the hoop.
A caught pass earns one beanbag, which the catcher carries back to their cone along with the ball. A dropped pass means the catcher returns empty-handed.
Once the catcher is back at the cone, the two players switch roles. Play continues until there are no beanbags left in any hoop.
This build is the same as Build Three, except that the teacher now adds a variety of objects to the hoops rather than just beanbags.
The teacher can assign a point value to each object type, which influences the hoops students travel to. This is a useful lever if the teacher wants to promote short passes or long passes.
Alternatively, the teacher can set a class challenge in which students collect every object within a given time frame, including the hoops themselves, which may only be collected once empty.
Point values are the simplest way to steer this game. Weighting the far hoops pulls the passing distance out, while weighting the near ones keeps it tight for a group still building confidence.
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