Aussie Rules Footy for Kids: Goals and Marks
A tackle-free school version of Australian rules football: teams move the ball with kicks, handballs, and short runs toward a four-post goal. Students practice kicking, catching in the air, and choosing whether to kick, handball, or run.
How to play
- Explain in 1 minute that this Australian sport uses an oval ball, feet, and hands. Make 4 teams of 6 (one of 7) and set up 2 fields of 35 x 20 m.
- At each end, set 4 cones in a row: the middle 2, 4 m apart, are the goal (6 points); the outer ones, 2 m away, mark the behind (1 point).
- Practice for 4 minutes in pairs: drop punt kicks, two-hand catches, and the handball, punching the ball off the other open hand.
- In the game the ball moves only by kicks or handballs, never thrown. With the ball, up to 5 steps.
- Cleanly catching a kick of at least 5 m is a mark: no one defends and the player kicks or handballs freely from that spot.
- If a defender two-hand touches the carrier, the ball must go within 3 seconds. Play 2 halves of 7 minutes and switch opponents.
Rules
- No tackling, grabbing, or pushing: only a two-hand touch on the shoulders or back.
- Kick the ball below waist height and never toward a teammate closer than 3 m.
- When going up for a high ball, jump straight up without leaning on anyone.
- After a goal, the team that was scored on restarts with a kick from its end line.
Variations
Easier
Allow underhand throws and award a mark for any kick that travels 3 m.
Standard
Play with kicks, handballs, 5 steps, and marks from 5 m.
Harder
A 6-point goal only counts from a mark or a running kick, and steps drop to 3.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the student plays seated or in a wheelchair with a bigger ball, and any handball of theirs that is caught is a mark.
- Visual impairment: use a high-contrast ball, a peer guide, and low kicks toward the student.
- Fitness level: students who struggle may catch off a bounce; skilled players kick with their non-dominant foot.
Learning goals
- Learn an invasion game from another culture and its basic modified rules.
- Kick the ball and catch it in the air safely.
- Decide whether to kick, handball, or run based on the situation.
Equipment for a class of 25
- foam football: 6
- cones: 24
- pinnies: 13
Teacher tip
The foam football bounces unpredictably, which students love; stress catching with hands together and elbows bent. Watch that nobody kicks the ball inside a tight crowd.
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