Sport Exploration Kit #1 will allow you to explore baseball/softball, lacrosse, rugby, badminton, and ultimate (frisbee)
Contents:
2 baseball bats 2 baseballs 2 kids baseball/softball gloves 2 adult baseball/softball gloves 2 lacrosse sticks 2 lacrosse balls Rugby ball 2 badminton racquets Badminton net Sleeve of badminton shuttlecocks 2 frisbees Set of pylons Adult & Youth pinnies
Baseball and Softball Where to play in Lethbridge
Lethbridge Little League Baseball Lethbridge Little League Baseball offers baseball programming for all youth ages 4-16. Learn more at www.lethbridgelittleleague.com Lethbridge American Legion Baseball Association Lethbridge American Legion Baseball serves high level baseball players aged 15-19 in Lethbridge, AB and surrounding area. Their "A" level and "AA" level teams compete in the Alberta Montana American Legion Baseball League. Learn more at https://sites.google.com/view/lethlegionball/home_1 Lethbridge Minor Softball Association The Lethbridge Minor Softball Association is a non-profit organization which offers programs for Lethbridge and area youth to participate in the sport of Softball. Learn more at http://www.lethbridgeminorsoftball.com/ Softball Valley - Lethbridge Softball Association Offering adult leagues in the Peenaquim Park Learn more at https://softballvalley.com/
Games and Activities to learn the skills of baseball & softball Play Catch If confident, practice throwing a baseball or softball with a partner and catching with a glove on. Count to see how many times you can throw and catch the ball with no drops. Fly Ball One person stands with their back turned to another person standing approximately 30 feet away who throws a pop-up. When told the player turns around quickly and tries to find the ball to make the catch. Hot Potato With a partner stand 10 feet apart from each other, both with a ball in your catching hand. At the same time, both people toss the ball at the other player's forehand until one player drops the ball. The Two Ball Game Two balls are needed for this game. Start with a group of people in a circle. Each player gets three outs. A player gets out when they: -Drop one or both of the balls thrown to them -Make an uncatchable throw or throw too hard -Throw the balls to the player next to them (if there are more than four players) -Throw to someone who catches both balls in one hand without the use of their body to catch (this also ends the game when down to the two final players)
Baseball and softball
How to catch a ball with a glove The glove hand, which is our non-dominant hand, is much less coordinated than our dominant hand. It takes a lot of work to get comfortable and efficient in our use of the hand for catching. First practice opening and closing the glove to get the feel of it. Then start with something soft to begin. The easiest place to catch a ball is above the head on the glove side which requires little movement. Begin by tossing the ball right at the glove so they can focus on opening, closing and keeping contrl of the ball. How to throw a baseball or softball Begin by standing facing your target with feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the ball in your dominant hand (opposite of hand with glove). Lift your throwing hand so the ball is near your ear. In one motion, twist your torso as you bring your throwing arm over your shoulderand then follow through with your arm finishing at your target and releasing the ball at your target. How to hold the bat Depending if you are right handed or left handed you will hold the bat differently. Right-handed batters should wrap their left hand below the right and left handed does the opposite. The grip should be snug and knuckles should align. Your body should be faced perpendicular to plate with their non-dominate shoulder facing the pitcher. Knees should be slightly bent with feet shoulder-width apart. The tip of the bat should be pointing upwards to the sky and the bat should be held behind their head. Swing the bat all the way through, carrying the bat level and through a full twisting motion. Practice first with no ball and then progress to lighter or bigger balls before a baseball or softball.
Lacrosse
Where to play in Lethbridge Lethbridge Lacrosse Association Lethbridge Lacrosse Association has minor teams for all ages under 17. These teams participate in the Southern Alberta Lacrosse Association league. Learn more at http://www.lethbridgelacrosse.com
Games and Activities to learn the skills of lacrosse Play Catch If confident, practice throwing a lacrosse ball with a partner and catching with the lacrosse stick. Count to see how many times you can throw and catch the ball with no drops. Lacrosse Egg Toss With a group, each person needs a partner to catch and throw a lacrosse ball. Have them take a step back after each time they catch so they get further and further apart. Last team to not drop the "egg" wins! Lacrosse Golf Place a bucket far from where you are standing. Try to score a hole in one (without any bounces). A fun activity to play but helps teach accuracy. Sky Ball Throw a lacrosse ball high into the sky and try to catch it Monkey in the Middle A fun game to teach how to snag opponents passes. Have one person stand in the middle of two players and try to intercept their passes to one another.
Lacrosse How to hold the lacrosse Stick Put your dominant hand near the top of the shaft of the lacrosse stick with your palm facing up and your other hand near the bottom with your palm facing your body. Position the stick so the head is by your shoulders. Practice twisting your wrist back and forth. How to throw overhand Keep your dominant hand near the middle of the stick and the other hand near the bottom. Bring the stick upright to the outside of your shoulder, parallel to the ground. To throw the ball push the stick away with your top hand and pull the stick toward you with your bottom hand. How to catch the ball Hold the stick near your ear with your top hand near the head and your bottom hand just below the middle. Catch the ball softly in the mesh by cradling it, pretending it's a water balloon.
Rugby
Where to play in Lethbridge Lethbridge Rugby Club Lethbridge Rugby Club offers programming for youth and adults from spring until fall. Learn more at http://bridgerugby.ca/
Games and Activities to learn the skills of rugby Play Catch Practice throwing the rugby ball back and forth with a partner. Count to see how many times you can throw and catch the ball with no drops. Try moving further apart to make it more challenging. If this is still too simple try walking, jogging or running while passing the ball. Circle Passing Have players form a circle. To start have players attempt to complete passes around the entire circle in both directions without dropping the ball. To add a challenge play "Rugby Duck Duck Goose" with the circle. Instead of racing another person around the circle, players will race the rugby ball around the inner circle. See if the player can beat the rugby ball around the circle. Take turns racing the rugby ball. 2V1 Create a small grid and have two players start on one side and the other player on the other side. The two players start with the ball and toss it up or someone yells go to start. The two players then try to beat the one defender and score a try. Rotate around who is the defender. This is a good activity to work on team work, passing and defence.
Rugby How to hold the rugby ball Hold the rugby ball with the nose of the ball pointing up at the centre of your body. Both hands should be positioned with pinkies beside each other resembling the shape of a book with the ball on the palms of your hands. Use your fingers to hold the ball. Positioning of the hands may have to vary depending on hand size. How to pass the rugby ball In rugby you must pass backwards. To pass transfer the ball across your body and follow through with your arms until they are pointed straight at the person you are passing to. Release the ball once you are pointed at the target. To help make sure you do not pass to high or to low, focus on pointing your fingers at you target (pretend to take a picture of them as a cue) after releasing the ball. How to catch the rugby ball Keep your hands out in front showing where you want the ball to be passed to. Reach across your body to catch the ball. Try to catch the ball with your hands positioned the same way you would throw the ball. This takes some practice. Bring the ball back to the center of your body.
Badminton
Where to play in Lethbridge Lethbridge Junior Badminton Club Lethbridge Junior Badminton Club offers programming for junior players from ages 10-18. Learn more at: https://lethbridgesportcouncil.ca/sport-directory
Games and Activities to learn the skills of badminton Rally with another person Practice hitting the shuttlecock back and forth with a partner. This will help to practice knowing how hard to hit to achieve different distances. Target toss Set up targets of various sizes and distances around the play space. Designate a starting line where players must shoot from behind. Practice hitting the shuttlecocks into the various targets to work on accuracy. To make it more of a competition set points for each of the targets. Keepie-Uppie Start simple, bounce the shuttlecock off the racquet as many times as possible. Set a timer and see who can keep it bouncing for a full minute or longer. Clockwork With a group of six or seven make a circle. One player stands in the middle. They will pass to each student and will try to complete a full circle without letting the shuttlecock drop. The pattern should go like: player one, middle player, player two, middle player, etc.
Badminton How to hold the badminton racket Hold the racket handle using a "hand-shake" grip. Do not grip too tightly. Gently hold the racket and you should be able to move and twist the racket with flexible wrist movement. Clench tightly only when a hit is executed.
How to hit the badminton shuttlecock Stand sideways with your non-racket side facing the net. Bend your elbow and keep your wrist locked preparing to swing forward. Make contact with the shuttle at the highest point possible and swing your arm forward with force, straightening your elbow as you hit the shuttle.
Ultimate Frisbee
Where to play in Lethbridge Ultimate Frisbee League Learn more at: https://lethbridgesportcouncil.ca/sport-directory
Games and Activities to learn the skills of ultimate Play Catch Practice throwing and catching the frisbee by playing catch with one or more person. The better you get move further apart from one another. Frisbee Tag With two separate groups, designate one "It" team and one team that is not "It". The team that is not "It" passes the frisbee to each other, keaping it away from the "It" team. Once the "It" team gets the disc, the teams switch roles. Frisbee Bowling This is a super simple and fun game to work on accuracy! Line up water bottles as bowling pins and try to knock them down with the frisbee. Frisbee Bocce Players start in a line. The first player rolls a ball. Each player tosses their frisbee, trying to land it on or close to the ball. The player whose disc is the closest gets one point and two points if their frisbee lands on the ball. The person who wins that round gets to throw the ball for the next round.
Ultimate Frisbee How to throw the frisbee Put your index finger and middle finger into the inside rim, with your thumb on top. Your ring finger and pinkie finger on the outside of the rim as support. Curl your wrist slightly back towards your body as you hold the frisbee. Your elbow should be pointing up and outward. Point the frisbee at your target. Straighten your arm and as your arm is almost fully extended, flick your wrist and release the frisbee out towards the target. Release the frisbee at different heights for different effects during the throw. For the most stability, release it just above your belly button.