Belts Away: Cooldown Stretch by Tag Color

Each student drops their belt into the bin matching their tag color and does the stretch on the card next to that bin. It packs away the equipment and stretches the muscles used most in running.

How to play

1. Easy walk around the field shaking out arms and shoulders (1 min).
2. Go to the bin of your tag color, roll up the belt and drop it in (2 min).
3. Do the stretch on that bin's card: calves, quads or hamstrings (2 min).
4. Rotate to the next bin and do its stretch (2 min).
5. Final check: each bin counts its belts and reports any missing (1 min).

Rules

• Hold stretches with no bouncing and no pain.
• Store the belt rolled up with the Velcro closed.
• Walk between bins; no running.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair users: card shows a seated version of each stretch.
• Students with low vision: a partner describes the stretch and the bin has a tactile marker.
• Injured students: only do the stretches that don't affect the injured area.

Learning goals

• Lower the heart rate gradually.
• Stretch the leg muscles.
• Take responsibility for shared equipment.

Equipment for a class of 25

• tag belts: 30
• bins: 3
• stretch cards: 3

Teacher tip

If all the belts are one color, use three numbered bins and assign by roll number. Common mistake: belts with open Velcro tangling together; check the bin before storing it.

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