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Pin in the Middle

Skills:

Physical: kicking a ball, lower limb coordination, balance, eye-foot coordination

Cognitive: visual processing, selective attention

Number of participants:

pairs

Equipment:

  • 1 ball per child
  • one wooden pin/pylon/cone (or other target) per pair

Description:

  1. pairs stand about 20m apart with a pin (or other target) at the halfway point between them
  2. on the count of three, both players kick their ball towards the target
  3. a point is scored for each knockdown
  4. each time a player knocks the target down, they take a step back

Wheelchair friendly?

Yes, children using wheelchairs can use a hockey stick to “kick” the ball

Modifications to make the activity easier:

Change the equipment: use a larger, lighter target (i.e., lighter pin) to decrease physical demand

Change the environment: have the child place stand closer to the target to decrease physical and cognitive demand

Modifications to make the activity harder:

Change the task: have the child dribble the ball between their feet before kicking at the cone to increase cognitive demand

Change the equipment: make the target in the middle smaller to increase physical and cognitive demand

Goal examples:

  • the child is able to accurately kick the ball and hit a target 7m away, 3 out of 5 times
  • I can kick the ball towards the target

Video/image coming soon.