Stopping the ball from falling into the target
Organisation:
1 ball for 2 - 3 pupilsAim of the task:
Stop the ball from falling on the court.Instructions:
Call "got it" upon decisionThe instruction is: "stopping the ball from falling to the ground".
Interception of a ball thrown by another pupil makes sense immediately when defining a zone to defend, or a target court for the setter. Note that there can be a net or not. The main parameter being the trajectory time we balance the relation between the distance covered by the ball and the maximum distance to be covered by the catcher.
At a first stage, the emphasis is put on the interception and on the trajectory. However, we must resist the temptation to reduce the area to defend because this masks the deficits of attention and the start of the move, and hinders progress.
The teacher or the pupils observe very simply the level in this way:
- Before hitting was the player:
- Ready (legs bent, watching the ball)?
- Not ready?
- Did he start off:
- At the same time as the ball?
- A little later (the ball had run a few metres)?
- Much later (the ball had gone over the net)?
The call "got it!", in this situation, shows an engagement into action from the pupil and enables the teacher to control the reaction time relative to the ball's trajectory.
We observe the organisation of movement within the time and space constraints.
To start with, the timing references are blurred for the pupils and even the successful interceptions are the result oc compensation. For example a rushed run, or compensation for a late start or a bad placing. The specific work on the defence of a target alone can prolong this work.
The teacher controls that the announcement "I got it" precedes the move and thus coincides with the reading of the trajectory and the decision making.