Football skills played over a curved table with a net in the middle, a bit like table tennis with a football. Players send the ball over the net onto the other half of the table using any part of the body except the hands and arms.
How a point is played
The server tosses the ball and plays it in the air, with one foot on the ground behind the serving line, so it lands on the other half. The receiver lets it bounce once on the table, then each side has up to three touches to send it back. A point is lost when the ball misses the table, bounces twice, or a rule is broken.
The special rules
You may not use the same body part twice in a row, and you may not return the ball with the same part you used for your last return. You must never touch the table or the net. In doubles, both partners must touch the ball before it goes back.
How scoring works
A set is the first to 12 points; each player serves 2 points, then the other. A match is the best of three sets.
Rules children break first
No hands or arms on the ball.
At most three touches a side, and a different body part each touch.
Never touch the table or the net.
Headers few and gentle: no more than 10 in a session, with a softer ball for young children.
At home and in the park you start with
Sending balls over a rope, a different body part each touch, wall passes, reading a throw, the serve, scoring a set, then chest and head control, half-volleys, side-to-side returns, a first smash and doubles. Play on the curved table is at a club.
Words you will hear (20, in plain language)
Teqball table
The curved table with a net across the middle that the game is played on.
Net
The low barrier across the middle of the table; at home a rope or a bench.
Serve
The shot that starts each point, and the line the server stands behind.
Fault
Breaking a rule, which loses the point.
Touch
Each time a player plays the ball; at most three per side.
Body part
Any part used to play the ball, such as a foot, a thigh, the chest or the head; never the hands or arms.
Return
The touch that sends the ball back over the net.
Inside of the foot
The inside edge of the foot, used for accurate passes; the top of the foot, used for hard shots.
Cushion
Softening the ball as it arrives so it drops close.
Juggling
Keeping the ball up with repeated touches; a run of touches in a row.
Half-volley
Playing the ball just after it bounces.
Chest control
Stopping the ball with the chest; playing it with the forehead.
Side-step
Moving sideways without crossing the feet.
Smash
A hard shot hit down over the net to win the point.
Drop shot
A soft, short shot that lands just over the net.
Disguise
Making one shot look like another.
Set
One part of a match, played to 12 points.
Singles
One against one, or two against two.
No pass
In doubles, the fault when the ball goes back before both partners have touched it.
More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.
You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at.
Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal.
End every session on one that works.
Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the
coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.