Batting Skills

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Batting Skills

State Standard: 1, & 4
Equipment:Bats, batting tees, wiffle balls, and poly spots Grade:  3-5
Purpose of Event:  Eye-hand coordination, grip, stance, and swing
Time: 20-25 minutes
Introduction:  Students will sit in a horseshoe formation while I review the basic batting stance, hand position, grip, and swing with the students.

Batting:

  1. Students will take turns practicing their stance, gripping the bat and swinging through an imaginary ball.
  2. Bat around: Set up four tees on one end of the gym.  At the opposite end place poly spots in a semicircle.  There should be a poly spot for each child that is not batting.  Place on student at each poly spot and one at each tee. All fielders not batting must remain on the spots until each batter hits.  On the teacher’s signal each batter swings the bat and hits the ball in the direction of the fielders. Once all batters have hit the ball the fielders closest to the balls pick them up and return them to a tee and then return to their spot.  Students then rotate counter-clockwise one spot or tee. Repeat this until everyone has batted four times.
  • Variations: Depending on the skill level and grade level, some students may be ready to bat a pitched ball.  The teacher may stand in place of a tee and pitch to that student.
  • If the teacher is not pitching he/she should be observing and helping the batters with their stance, grip, and swing.
Concerns:  Move carefully in personal space with Wands.
This idea is from: Myself as well as Tanner Ross & Kevin Tiller (seen below).

 

 

Yardball

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PE_Wordle

 

Yardball 
State Standard: 1, 2, 3, 5
4 Batting Tees, 4 Gator-Skin balls, 4 plastic bats, & 4 mats Grade:4-7
Purpose: Throwing, Batting Skills, Running, & Cooperative Learning
Time: 15-25 Minutes
Organization: Students will sit around the middle circle while I explain the rules to the game.  Split the class up into groups of 2 to 3 as there are 8 teams in this game. 

  • This game is a mini-baseball type game that can be played in the gym or outdoors to help develop baseball/softball/fielding/striking skills. Smaller teams are created in a broken-down mini game that resembles actual baseball, but with smaller groups getting more reps and practice/skill development. With a few modifications to the regular game of baseball, this game is an effective lead up or fun small style game to try out to get the heart rates up!
  • Set the gym up with four mats evenly spaced out on one end of the gym with the Batting Tees and bats at the opposite end of the mats. 
  • The objective of this game is to have the batter swing and hit a ball of a tee and run to their mate (base) to score a point before they are out. Each time a batter successfully touches the mate before being out their team scores one point. This continues until the outfield players get 3 outs and then they rotate as in real baseball/softball. 

Rules: 

  • A batter is out when: either an outfielder catches a ball in the air, catches a ball off the wall, is tagged out, and/or forced out (outfield steps on the base with the ball before the runner touches the base). 
  • A batters is NOT allowed to bunt in this game and there are NO automatic home runs. 
  • A batter is automatically out if they throw their bat after they have hit the ball of the tee. 
Concerns: Be Careful when tagging and when the batter are swinging the bats! 
This idea is from: physedgames.com