Sprout Ball | Playworks

This is a fast-paced dodgeball game that focuses on communication and strategy.

Be the last player standing by avoiding getting hit with the ball from the waist down

Designate a safe play space in which the group can move around freely.
Review how to safely throw a dodgeball, and appropriate places to hit other players with the dodgeball (below the waist or it doesn’t count).

Have players start on one of the boundary lines of the play space with all but one ball scattered throughout the play space.
All players start the game as “Sprouts” who can move freely through the play space.

The goal of the game is to turn other Sprout players into Seeds by hitting them (below the waist) with the ball, or catching a ball that they throw.
To begin, one ball is thrown into the air. Players must wait for the ball to bounce three times before they can grab the ball.
Once a player has a ball they have 5 seconds and up to three steps to throw the ball towards another player and try to tag them from the waist down.
If a player gets hit below the waist or tries to catch the thrown ball and drops it, they become a “seed” by crouching down or taking a knee exactly where they were hit. Students with limited mobility can put hands on knees or use another adaptation.
If a player catches a thrown ball, the player who threw the ball becomes a seed instead.
Seeds should remember who tagged them because they can “sprout” up and keep playing when the person who tagged them is tagged.
Play continues until all of the players have been tagged by the same player, or time runs out.
In the event that a ball goes out of bounds, one student will retrieve the ball and begins by taking three steps as soon as they step back in bounds with the ball.

This game can also be played as “Sprout Tag” without any balls.
Once a player has been tagged and is a seed, they can grab a ball that is within their reach and try to free themselves by throwing the ball toward standing players.