Instructions
Dodging is a quick transference of weight from one foot to the other. It is used to deceive or flee from an opponent or evade an obstacle. It is important in invasion games.
- Plant one foot and push off this foot quickly to change direction (plant and go)
- Change direction by bending the knee and pushing off with the outside of the foot
- Step/lean one way, and go the other (fake/feint/dummy)
- Assume a low body position when changing direction
- Move quickly
- Dodging occurs in one action
Safety
Ensure…
- children run with heads up
- surface is not slippery
Opportunity to develop
- Co-ordination
- Balance
- Control
- Spatial awareness
- Agility
Physical Development Area of Learning
- contributes to ‘Personal’ and ‘Adventurous and physical play’ skills sections
If you see
| Observation | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Knee bend is minimal and weight is on one foot only | Approaches the change of direction too upright | Push off on one foot and drive away |
| Feet cross | Inability to control speed | Place down marker spots |
| No clear effort to fake or deceive | Moves slowly and the change of direction is too decisive | Play some games where the child has to stop quickly and respond to instruction and move |
| Unable to shift bodyweight from one foot to the other | Not using bent knees | Place some marker spots on the floor. Place feet on them. Use audio cues to move from one to the other. |
| Takes one or two more little braking steps before changing direction | Not using bent knees | Plant foot outside body and push away from foot to change direction |
Can you see?
- the child bending their knees and slightly leaning forward?
- the child pushing off with the outside foot?
- the child faking/dummying with their head and shoulders?
- the child changing direction easily?
- the child showing good sideways movement?
-
Mostly No
- Place marker spots on the floor. Put left and right foot on these. Keeping the same foot on the spots, transfer weight from one to the other.
- Practise lunge.
- Running, stopping and changing direction on a whistle.
-
Yes and No
- Place a number of cones about 0.5 metres apart around the room; ask the children to move through as many of the gates as they can
- Slalom run around cones, slalom run inside cones, zigzag around cones without touching them, keeping head up
-
Mostly Yes
- Place a row of marker spots in parallel over a distance of 5 metres
- Run down the room stepping on the spots, only driving off spots to change direction
- Place a zigzag course with cones and poles or children – move through the course as quickly as possible without touching the cones, children or knocking the poles
- Timed zigzag slalom
-
Challenge
- Dodge in different directions and at different speeds, then in response to a range of cues
- Dodge to get away from a defender who is in front of you, behind you or to the side of you
- Dodge to get away from a defender, to include feinting, faking or dummying