Whether you’re new to teaching net games altogether or are just needing more for your net games unit. I have a resource that I’d love to share with you today.
Net Games are a wonderful lifetime activity and an important part of my physical education program. I love teaching them! I know that the skills that they learn in games such as Volleyball, Pickle ball, Badminton and tennis transfer to other physical activities and provide my students an excellent opportunity to interact with others for a positive social experience.
Net Games Resources
What I have here for you today linked in the show notes and on my website are game cards and they’re non-traditional games or games maybe you haven’t heard of or games maybe you currently play but might not have names for with these modified rules for each of the three net levels. Each game card provides a brief demo video linked with a QR code, a how it works rules list, the equipment needed and a modification section. I also have like a section on the bottom I like to have for my students and myself to write any notes in or future ideas because my students come up with so many great ideas themselves and I’m always improving the games that I’m teaching.
I found that exploring a variety of net games with students improves their overall experience and fosters a sense of creativity in what is possible beyond the traditional games. Students come to realize that the nontraditional games featured and the resources I’m sharing with you here are creative extensions of the traditional versions typically played. I love to challenge my students to identify the overlapping skills and strategies used in games and then also inspire them to create their own games and game modifications.
Net Level One: Lower Height
So I have three games at each of the three net levels. At the pickle ball, tennis, lower net level. You have Nitro Volleyball, which is a volleyball style game on a lower net where it’s required that you hit in a downward motion and there’s a mandatory bounce rule before each hit. The volley tennis game is volleyball plus pickup ball. You can use a paddle or even just your hand for your striking and then foot pong or foot pickleball or foot tennis where it’s kind of like a beginner Sepak Takraw game. It’s volleyball plus your soccer skills using your feet only.
Net Level Two: Medium Height
At the badminton medium height net level, there’s paddle volleyball. So again, a pickle ball paddle, a smaller racket, a high bounce ball, and you’re using volleyball and pickle ball style rules. Sepak Takraw a great international game. It’s foot volleyball, so volleyball plus your soccer skills and you can really introduce this game at any net level because it is so advanced that students really love seeing videos and how this is played. It’s truly an amazing sport to watch. The third one, at the badminton net level, is wham ball. It’s volleyball plus a closed fist hit emphasis and an optional bounce rule.
Net Level Three: Higher Height
At the higher net level for volleyball type game. You have a racket volleyball or Rolley-Ball, you can use a small racquet and a high bounce ball. There’s bounce volleyball, so a game that we probably all play and know and enjoy using as lead up games for miny volleyball and then team launch, volleyball, volleyball cooperative skills. You have many parachutes and the students are working together to catch and then launched the volleyball back over the net.
So you have nine games there total and there’s a variety of way that you can use these game signs, whether it’s your older students or you’re having an exploring net games unit and you have certain groups of students learning certain games and then teaching them to the larger class after learning them and trying them out or with your younger students where you’re perhaps trying out one or two of the games as lead up games to your larger, more official and traditional game.
I hope that you enjoy these net game resources and I hope that they help you develop purposeful progressions for your students. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for teaching and I wish you a wonderful day.
Please reach out to Jessica Shawley on Twitter @JessicaShawley and continue the conversation by commenting below!
