Athletics · Basic · b1

Run, stop and change direction

At home 6 min 2 to 3 players Yard or lane, park

Ready when: nothing, this is the first card.

What you are learning

Running well starts with stopping and turning well: small, quick steps to stop, a push off one foot to change direction, and arms swinging from hip to lip. These are the first skills of athletics and of every running game.

Words on this card Hip to lip

Hip to lip: The arm swing of a runner: the hands swing from the hip up to about the lips, elbows bent.

Set up

A 10 m strip, a cone at each end. Shoes with grip. No cones? Two bottles.

Weather: dry ground

The base setup for athletics

Show it first for the one teaching

Jog along the strip with elbows bent, hands swinging from hip to lip.
On "stop", take small, quick steps and stop balanced, knees bent.
On "change", plant one foot, lean, and push off back the way you came.
On "go", set off again.

Your part while they practise

Be the caller; swap with a child every round.

Step by step

Run in the space, looking for gaps, arms swinging hip to lip.
On "stop", stop with small steps.
On "go", set off again.
On "change", turn and run the other way.
30 seconds a round, then a new caller.

How much: 6 rounds of 30 seconds 6 min a session 3 days a week

Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.

The game: Sock tag in a box

The chaser pulls socks tucked into the runners' waistbands; runners dodge to keep theirs.

Who plays: 3 or more (2 works): one chaser, the rest runners, in a box of 4 cones about 10 m by 10 m.

How to play, turn by turn

Turns: Each runner tucks a sock into the back of the waistband, most of it hanging out
On "Go", the chaser tries to pull socks
Runners dodge: plant a foot, lean, push off the other way
A runner who loses a sock tucks it back in and plays on
After 30 seconds, change the chaser, until everyone has chased once
Fair play: A grown-up chaser must walk fast, not run.

Points: The chaser scores 1 point for each sock pulled. A runner scores 1 point for each 30-second round with the sock never pulled.
Fouls: A point to the chaser
A runner holds the sock or tucks it in deep
A runner steps out of the box
The chaser pushes or grabs clothes: the chaser loses a point instead
Winning: The player with the most points once everyone has been the chaser.

Stars

2 points for 1 star
4 points for 2 stars
6 points for 3 stars

Easier or harder

Easier

Walk first.

Harder

Add a second chaser or a smaller box.

What you will see, and what to say

the child runs with stiff arms Elbows bend, hands looseThe hands swing from the hip up to the lips.
they stop with a stumble Small steps to stopShorten the steps before stopping.

Self-check

The child follows 5 calls in a row without a mistake.

Fitness for this

Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.

This card trains speed, direction change, listening.

awiseathlete.com/sports/athletics/athletics-b1