Dodgeball | Playworks

To develop teamwork and hand-eye coordination.

A standard dodgeball court is a 40 yard by 20 yard rectangle with a center line dividing it into two squares.
Identify a waiting area on each side of the court along the sidelines for each team.
An approximate court size for kindergarteners is 20 yards by 10 yards. (Increase the size as students age and skill level improves and as space allows.)

After a signal to start, students throw the balls back and forth across the center line.
All students try to avoid being hit with the ball while trying to hit the opposing teams' players from the waist down.
If the ball hits an opposing student from the waist down (including a hand or arm that is below waist level) before the ball hits the ground, the hit student must go to the waiting zone on their side of the court.
If a student catches a ball thrown by an opposing teamâs student before that ball hits the ground, the player who threw the ball must go to the waiting zone on their side of the court.
If a student attempts to catch an opposing teamâs throw and drops it, the student who dropped the ball has to go to the waiting zone on their side of the court.
If a student goes outside the boundaries while trying to avoid being hit, s/he must go to the waiting zone on their side of the court.
Students in the waiting zone should stay in line by the order in which they got to the zone. One student may re-enter the game when a teammate catches a ball before it bounces.
A ball which has gone out of bounds can only be retrieved by the students on the side from which the ball went out of play.
The round is over when one team has all the students from the other team in the waiting zone.

To start the game, place all playground balls on the center line.
Students line up on their teamâs end line, and on a signal, run to the middle trying to get a ball.
To ensure safety, create a buffer zone in which students cannot get hit about four feet from the center line for each team.