Teaching Gameplay Strategies

Sarah Jager, Petaluma School District

A strategy (as related to gameplay):is a plan of action that directs a team’s focus toward success in an activity.

When teaching gameplay strategies the most important consideration is to design skill practice and drills the way they would take place in a game situation. There are a number of ways to accomplish this. The following are some teacher considerations:

-Increase the number of players gradually and keep numbers low. i.e. 2 v 2, 3 v 1, 3 v 2, 3 v 3

-Have equipment for everyone, and a variety of it.

-Plentiful equipment will allow for lots of repetition and practice by students.

-A variety of equipment will help students of different abilities and special needs. i.e. bigger ball size for visually impaired students, larger racquets/target faces for lower levels, balloons to allow for more reaction time

-Medium sized spongeball (about 8-9 inches or 20-22 centimeters in diameter) work well for throw-and-catch games because they are big enough to facilitate catching, small enough not to hinder throwing, soft enough to prevent injuries, and they help to eliminate fears of catching.

-For playing areas, start small and build up.

-Dividing the playing area into grids or quadrants will help students get used to playing within boundaries.

-Grids or quadrants will limit movement and increase focus on other skills like passing.

-The concept of defense should be introduced gradually.

-Defense should be eliminated all together at first.

-The next step of defense should simply be an obstacle for players to move and pass around.

-Defense should then be restricted to intercepting passes only (arm’s length defense.

-When possible, use warm-up games with similar skills to the activity you are teaching.

-Any skills, cues, basic rules, and terminology that can be carried over from one game to another is extremely helpful to reinforce important concepts.

-Keep rules simple.

-Slowly introduce rules and establish 1 or 2 rules of focus before the activity.

-During the activity “pause” the game for quality checks. This is also an excellent time to point out examples of good things that are happening.

-Adjust scoring to help focus on particular aspects of an activity. Start with a certain number of passes or hits equaling a goal. Move to scoring by passing to a target player positioned in a designated spot/area. As a next step have the students score by shooting the ball into the opponent’s goal.

Remember to construct situations where students practice the way you would like to see them perform in game situations. If you would like more specific information on gameplay strategies or on specific sports, there are many source available.

References:

Griffin, L., & Butler, J. (Eds.). (2005). Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, Research, and Practice. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Hichwa, J. (1998). Right Fielders Are People Too: An Inclusive Approach to Teaching Middle School Physical Education. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Mitchell, S., & Oslin, J., & Griffin, L. (2003). Sport Foundations for Elementary Physical Education: A Tactical Games Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.