Hitters and Dodgers

Three hitters dribble the grid trying to hit the dodgers with a pass — get hit and you grab a ball and join the hunt, until the last players standing win.

Dribble, then get your head up to make a pass — that little sequence is the whole skill, and a game the younger players love is what carries it.

Ages 4–103 hitters, the rest dodgers10 minCones, pinnies, balls

Set up · 3 actions · before the kids arrive

Grab: Cones, pinnies, and a ball for every player — though only three start in play.
Build: Build a grid about 15 by 15 yards — bigger or smaller depending on the age and number of kids you have.
Place: Three players with balls are the hitters; everyone else scatters through the grid as the dodgers; the rest of the balls wait outside the grid.

Show me the setup picture

A 15-by-15 grid with three dribblers on balls among scattered ball-less dodgers, and a supply of spare balls just outside the line.

One thing to remember: Dribbling with the ball close, getting the head up to find a target, and good passing form — the inside of the foot with good pace on the ball.

How it runs — the whole game in one sentence

Hitters dribble and pass their ball to hit a dodger; a hit dodger collects a spare ball and joins the hitters — and the last players standing win.

1Organize the players▾
Coach does
Hand balls to three players — they're the hitters. Scatter everyone else inside the grid as the dodgers, and stack the extra balls just outside it.
Coach says
Three of you are hitters. Everyone else — you're dodging. Spare balls live outside the line.
2Show the jobs▾
Coach does
Walk it once — the hitters dribble inside the grid and try to pass their ball into a dodger; the dodgers do everything they can to avoid being hit. A dodger who is hit collects a ball from outside the grid and becomes a hitter too.
Coach says
Hitters — dribble, look up, pick a target, pass. Dodgers — don't get hit! If you are, grab a ball; you're a hitter now.
3Play▾
Coach does
Let the dodgers dwindle. Coach the hitters to keep the ball close while getting their heads up to find the dodgers, and to hit with good passing form — the inside of the foot, good pace on the ball.
Coach says
Heads up, hitters — find one, inside of the foot, hit it firm!
Look for: The look up before the pass — a hitter dribbling with the ball close, then lifting their head to pick out a dodger.
4Switch and repeat▾
Coach does
Play to the last players standing, then reset — balls back outside, three new hitters, everyone else dodging again.
Coach says
We have our winners! New round — three new hitters, everybody else back in.

If it's not working

If the hitters can't hit anyone and the game stalls, start the next round with an extra hitter or two — then thin back to three once the hits start coming.

Want to go deeper? Optional — not needed to run the game.

Why are we doing this?

Getting hit doesn't put a kid out — it hands them a ball and a job, so the game speeds up as it goes, and every hitter is working the real sequence: dribble, head up, pick a target, pass.

What are they learning?

Dribbling with the ball close, getting the head up to find a target, and good passing form — the inside of the foot with good pace on the ball.