A very flexible warm-up game that works well with groups of kids of different skill levels. It has a “mild” competitive factor, which helps motivate the kids, but winning or losing is not central to the game.
Supplies
- A basket
- Cones
- Two putters per player
- A stack of 10+ items (disc, minis, cones, etc.) for keeping score
- (Optional) coordination ladder, benches, other obstacles
Preparations
- The course consists of a series of “stations” (movement, putting and scoring) that lead around in a loop. The course must be planned and set up by the coach ahead of time, ideally before practice begins, or while the kids are busy with a different activity.
- Prepare Movement stations. These can involve any of a wide variety of movements. A standard station is two lines of cones leading forward, staggered with respect to each other. When players arrive at these cones, they must do a zig-zag sideways shuffle back and forth, touching each cone. A second set of cones in a simple straight line (leading around the circuit in a sensible way) can be the second station, in which players must hop on both feet over each cone. The movement types can be selected by the trainer and can changed after each iteration of the game, or even mid-game.
- Prepare putting station: Choose and mark 1-3 putting distances around a basket located near the end of a movement station. Groups with similar putting ability only need one station, mixed groups should have multiple distances.
- Prepare a Scoring Station. This is a stack of items (usually extra discs, but anything works) and a cone on each side that is assigned to each of the two teams.
- Set up the stations in a loop so that players complete each task and then move to the next one in the loop without getting in the way of the other stations.
- Divide the players into two teams. Tell each individual player which station he or she will putt from (lower proficiency–> shorter putt distance).
The Rules
- Players from both teams work their way through a “circuit”, which includees 1-3 movement tasks, a putting station and a scoring station. No passing is allowed–if a station is occupied, the next player must wait.
- Players carry two putters, one in each hand, during movement tasks. They use them for putting tasks (two putts from their respective putting distance), then retrieve them and carry them when they continue.
- When a player arrives at the scoring station, they must remember how many putts they made at the putting station, and for each made putt, they take one item from the “scoring stack” and place it next to their own team’s cone (clearly defined before the game starts).
- The game ends when there are no more items in the scoring stack, and the team with the most items next to their own cone wins.
Notes and Tips:
- It is important to plan out the flow of the game and location of each station beforehand. Nobody should be in danger of being hit by an errant putt while at the moving or scoring stations.
- Players should not throw a putt while another player is retrieving his/her putters. If several players are at the putting station, the first to arrive putts first, with the next following after the first player has moved on to the next station and the rest standing in line.
Variations
- The game can be adapted in a wide variety of ways:
- More/different movement stations (10 lunges, 10 jumping jacks, plank for 10 seconds, crawl under a bench, agility ladder patters, etc.),
- More/different putting tasks (knee putt, over obstacles, eyes closed, etc)
- A station for approach shots (shots that land inside a marked circle are one point), etc.
