Working as a team: passing and encouraging
Physical Education · Key Stage 1 · The School
Why a pass is faster than a run
A rolled or thrown ball travels much faster than a person can run. If a teammate is in a better position than you, passing to them gets the ball there faster than running it there yourself. A team of good passers beats a team of one fast runner.
Passing to space
Do not pass to where a teammate is standing right now. Pass to the space just ahead of where they are moving. That way the ball and your teammate arrive at the same spot at the same time, instead of the ball arriving at an empty space they have already left.
Two things to say
Say "well played" when a teammate does something good, even if their team lost the point. Say "unlucky, try again" when someone misses. Both take one second to say and change how the whole game feels for everyone playing it.
Watch a game where one player holds onto the ball every time instead of passing. At first their teammates run into space, hoping for a pass. After a few turns with no pass, they stop running into space at all — there is no point moving for a ball that never comes. The team becomes just one player against everyone, which is easy to defend against. Now watch a team that passes. Defenders cannot watch everyone at once, so the ball keeps finding space the defence left open. This is not really about being kind. A team that shares the ball is simply harder to stop.
Practising it
Play a short passing game in a group of four: pass, then move to new space, then be ready to receive again. Count how many passes your group can make in a row without losing the ball. Try to beat your own count each time you play.