March Madness Basketball Tournament

Written By Lee Hartley

Set-Up (For Grade 3 & Up)

To set up the March Madness, Basketball tournament. Firstly line the students up along the sideline. Then, give each person a number from 1 to 4 (depending on the number of teams). The number 1’s go stand behind the first cone. 2’s behind the 2nd cone, and so on.

You will then have teams ready to play. If there is an uneven number of players, you can either place them on a team you select randomly, or they can be utility players and play on both teams = they only help the team who has the ball.

Structure The Games

Tell each team which court they are on and the basket they are shooting towards. If you have pinnies/bibs, give these out to one team on each court. Start the game with students playing ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS - whoever wins, has the choice of who has the ball.

As the coach/instructor, stand in a position where you have a line of site to oversee both courts if possible.

Tournament Rules

Play a designated time limit such as 5 to 10 minutes. Then rotate the teams, either by the winner play against the winner for a grand final, losers against losers. Or have the team with pinnies/bibs rotate.

Then play the second game.

Within the games look to encourage and work with the students to:

  • Learn the basic rules of the game

  • Resolve conflicts using Rock, Paper, Scissors - whoever wins has the choice of the next decision, e.g. having the ball or giving it to the other team

  • Work together as a team and pass to each other

  • Respect each other and their strengths or weaknesses as a basketball player

The Game Encourages

  • Fun Competition

  • Participation & Focus

  • Physical Activity & Agility

  • Hand-eye Coordination

  • Teamwork & Communication

Set-Up & Equipment

  • Grades 3 & Up

  • 6+ students

  • Basketball

  • Pinnies

 
Lee Hartley
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