American Sports Festival
Today, 10 children from Year 5 had the exciting opportunity to try out two popular American sports: American Football and Baseball. The day started with a brilliant surprise — each child received a brand-new School Games purple t-shirt, which they were thrilled to wear and keep!
After a short warm-up, the children watched a video introducing the rules and basic gameplay of American Football. They then got stuck into developing key skills: defending by tagging runners, holding the ball correctly, throwing it accurately, and learning attacking plays. One highlight was practicing how a quarterback receives the ball through a snap (between the legs of a teammate), is protected by blockers, and then throws to a wide runner who aims to score a TOUCHDOWN in the end zone. Impressively, the children picked up the rules very quickly and were soon ready to compete in friendly matches against two other schools.
Match Results:
Southill 6 – 6 Wyke Regis
Southill 12 – 0 Radipole
The children showed fantastic enthusiasm and quickly began inventing their own plays, adopting tactical thinking, and demonstrating growing confidence with every game.
After a well-earned lunch, it was time for our second sport of the day — Baseball! We began with catching practice, where the children wore baseball gloves for the very first time. It was a challenge at first, but they soon gained confidence, successfully pitching and catching like pros.
Next, they moved on to base running drills. Children practiced hitting a self-pitched ball with their hand and sprinted to reach the bases while fielders tried to stop them. The final workshop focused on batting using both soft and hard balls, and the children were surprised by how different they felt to hit.
To end the day, the three schools mixed together to form two teams and played a full game of baseball. The children absolutely LOVED this part, and many are now eager to play baseball back at school!
The children were fantastic throughout the day — energetic, respectful, and full of team spirit. It was a hugely enjoyable experience for all involved.
Tom
