Assertive Timeout: I-Messages on the Team

Futsal games paused by mandatory timeouts in which every player must give the team one message using an assertive structure: what happened, its effect and a suggestion. An observer classifies each message as aggressive, passive or assertive so the team can improve its communication under pressure.

How to play

1. Explain the I-message structure: «When... happens, it causes..., I suggest...», and model an aggressive, a passive and an assertive message about the same play (4 min).
2. Form four teams of five, each with an observer holding a sheet with three columns: aggressive, passive and assertive (2 min).
3. First 8-minute game on two courts with a mandatory 90-second timeout at the midpoint; each player gives one message and the observer classifies it (9 min).
4. The observer shares the data, and the team rephrases out loud the messages that weren't assertive (4 min).
5. Second 8-minute game with a new observer and the same mandatory timeout (9 min).
6. Quick wrap-up: each team compares the number of assertive messages in both games (2 min).

Rules

• During the timeout, one person speaks at a time and no one interrupts.
• Messages are about plays and behavior, never about personal traits.
• Outside timeouts, blaming is not allowed; short tactical cues are fine.
• Futsal with no tackles from behind and no slide tackles; use a low-bounce ball.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student acts as observer or team coach and leads the timeout.
• Autism: the student gets cards with model messages and can read a message instead of improvising.
• Hearing impairment: the team huddles in a tight circle to make lip-reading easier and backs up words with gestures.

Learning goals

• Tell aggressive, passive and assertive communication apart in game situations.
• Create assertive messages that help the team work better.
• Keep communication respectful under competitive pressure.

Equipment for a class of 25

• balls: 2
• pinnies: 20
• cones: 16
• worksheets: 8

Teacher tip

At least in the first game, pick students who tend to complain as observers: watching others' messages helps them hear themselves. Keep the model examples on a poster visible from the courts.

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