** This podcast is being shared to provide activity ideas for future use. Gopher strongly recommends following your district, state, and CDC guidelines for practicing safe Physical Education during the pandemic.
[0:02] Today on the PE Express podcast, I’ll share my thoughts on the value of non-traditional sports and physical education.
[0:29] Welcome to the PE Express podcast today. I would like to share how I was introduced to the sport of KIN-BALL®. I got involved with OMNIKIN® and KIN-BALL® by just being helpful in lending a helping hand. I attended my state conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, and met a trainer from Canada. I helped him carry equipment back to the exhibit area and that started a conversation that led me to become an OMNIKIN® trainer and eventually becoming the US Training Coordinator. I no longer have that position, but the value that I gained in that first training role has stayed with me throughout my career.
[1:04] The training that I attended that day was one where I learned about the game of KIN-BALL®, as well as several other activities, all played with an equipment manufacturer and developed by a company called OMNIKIN®
[1:14] The company OMNIKIN® came to be in 1985 and has continued to grow on a global scale since the beginning. Mario Demers, a Physical Educational professor founded OMNIKIN® because he wanted to encourage everyone to regularly engage in physical activity and excess all the benefits that are good for the body and the mind.
[1:33] OMNIKIN® is unique, different, original, and the products that they have and developed promote cooperation between participants and promote notions such as healthy competition and participation. All the OMNIKIN® activities are easy to plan and require minimum supervision.
[1:50] One of the biggest games to come from a mannequin is the sport of KIN-BALL®, which is now played in almost 40 countries and is realizing Mario’s dream.
[1:59] The goal of OMNIKIN® and KIN-BALL® is to encourage people to practice physical activities regularly. It values healthy living, cooperation, and sportsmanship. The rules promote fair play in teamwork. It’s an easy to learn sport, and it has a giant-sized ball that the kids love, especially the pink one.
How to Play KIN-BALL®
[2:17] Three teams of three different colors play the game. Four players of each team playing simultaneously. You form a defensive square around the ball. The same square constantly moves and follow the ball. Each player’s responsible for a corner of the court, and the four players must maintain the team’s square formation.
[2:36] When you serve the ball, you must say OMNIKIN® and the color of the opposite team. The designated team must catch the ball before it touches the floor.
[2:44] It combines volleyball skills, soccer skills and the most important thing it does is it promotes teamwork and cooperation. I took a group of physical educators from the United States to Canada to become more familiar with the sport and the rules associated with the sport. After a day of training on how to officiate the game, we were then invited the next day for a KIN-BALL® game in a local gymnasium. A little word of advice. If you’re invited to Canada and the team you’re playing shows up with Kneepads and sliding shorts, just forfeit and head straight to the therapy pool. Those folks were serious about their KIN-BALL®. Needless to say, when we left Canada, there was more than just our egos that were bruised.
KIN-BALL® in PE
[3:23] KIN-BALL® is now a fixture in my program although I make sure that our games don’t require sliding shorts and knee pads. My students enjoy it because it’s easy to learn and play and promotes cooperation and teamwork and, let’s face it, who doesn’t like a 4 ft tall pink ball?
[3:38] It is a non-traditional sport so when I introduce it to my students they don’t have a preconceived notion that they won’t be good at it as they do with more traditional sports and games.
[3:49] I’m always searching for that next activity that develops creativity and cooperation the way that KIN-BALL® does for my students. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
Do you play KIN-BALL® with your students? We’d love to hear from you!
Do you have a favorite OMNIKIN® game or would like to share your KIN-BALL tips and best practices? Please share them in the comment section below!
