Sharks and Minnows

Setup

Mark a rectangle about 20 by 25 yards with a cone at each corner — smaller for 4- and 5-year-olds, bigger for a crowd. Every player takes a ball and lines up along one end line: these are the minnows. Pick one or two players to be sharks. Sharks get no ball and start in the middle.

How to play

1. The sharks shout "Sharks are hungry!" — that's the signal for every minnow to dribble for the far end line.
2. Sharks try to steal a minnow's ball and kick it out of the rectangle. Minnows dodge, shield, and keep moving.
3. Made it across with your ball? Stop on the line, catch your breath, and wait for the next shout.
4. Ball kicked out? You're a shark now. Set your ball down outside the field and join the hunt.
5. Keep crossing back and forth. The last minnow with a ball wins — and starts the next round as the first shark.

Coaching points

• Little touches — the ball should never be more than a step away.
• Eyes up between touches. Spot the shark before the shark spots you.
• Put your body between the shark and the ball: back to the shark, ball on the far foot.
• Change speed. Creep while the shark is busy, then burst into open grass.
• No shark yet? Don't wait on the line — pick your lane while the shark is chasing someone else.

Variations

• Walking sharks makes it easier

  Sharks can only speed-walk — one foot on the ground at all times. Start here with 4- and 5-year-olds, or whenever the sharks are winning too fast.

• Shrinking ocean makes it harder

  After every crossing, walk each corner cone in a big step. Less open grass means more shielding and quicker decisions.

• Seaweed makes it harder

  Minnows who lose their ball become seaweed instead of sharks: feet planted where they were caught, arms out, tagging any minnow who drifts close. Tagged minnows turn into seaweed too, so the ocean keeps getting thicker.