Floor Roll Handball
An invasion game where the ball may only roll along the floor, pushed with the hands, toward a small goal. Students practice ground passes, ball control, and spacing, with direct carryover to floor hockey and soccer.
How to play
- Make 4 teams of 6 (one of 7) and set up 2 fields of 20 x 12 m in the gym with a small goal at each end and a 3 m crease marked with cones.
- The ball always rolls: push it or roll it with one or two hands. If it bounces or goes in the air, it goes to the other team.
- Players may stop the ball with a hand but may not lift it or hold it longer than 2 seconds. No walking with the ball under your hand.
- Score by rolling the ball into the goal from outside the crease. There is no goalie: defend by cutting off passing lanes.
- Play 2 halves of 6 minutes. Between halves, practice 1 minute of ground passes in pairs from 5 m to sharpen accuracy.
- In the second half, each team tries to score only after at least 3 passes. Finish with 2 minutes of discussion about sports that use ground passes.
Rules
- The ball never leaves the floor; if it bounces, the other team inbounds.
- Play in a low athletic stance with knees bent, never on your knees or diving.
- Nobody steps into the goal crease.
- No stepping on or kicking the ball: play with hands only.
Variations
Easier
Players may hold the ball for 4 seconds and goals are 2 m wide.
Standard
Play with 2 seconds of control and small goals with a 3 m crease.
Harder
Use only the non-dominant hand, and a goal counts double if it comes from a one-touch pass.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the ground-level game suits a student in a wheelchair or seated, who may use a pole to push the ball.
- Visual impairment: use a ball with bells and add a cone at each goal that makes a sound when hit.
- Fitness level: skilled players shoot from farther outside the crease; students who tire rotate to a defender role near their goal.
Learning goals
- Pass the ball along the ground accurately to teammates and the goal.
- Control a moving ball without lifting it off the floor.
- Connect the principles of this game to other sports that use ground passes.
Equipment for a class of 25
- foam ball: 3
- small goals: 4
- pinnies: 13
- cones: 16
Teacher tip
This works well for students who are afraid of the ball because it never comes at their face. Watch posture: straight back and bent knees, with no crawling on the floor.
PatioLab has "Floor Roll Handball" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for Elementary
1-on-1 Mini Volleyball Up and Down the River
One-on-one mini volleyball duels on 3 x 3 m courts under a rope 2 m high, using a receive, self-set and send rule.
1-on-1 Side-Step Square Duels
In pairs, inside 5 x 5 m squares, an attacker holding a football tries to get from the starting side to the far side without the defender pulling a flag.
1v1 Four-Gate Soccer Duels
In a square with a gate on each side, two players go head to head and score by dribbling through any of the four gates.
2-on-2 Mini Volleyball with a Neutral Setter
Two-on-two mini volleyball with a neutral setter under the rope who always plays for the team with the ball.
2v1 Attack Waves to Mini Goals
Two attackers take on one defender and try to score on a small goal in under 10 seconds.
2v2 Alley Mini-Volleyball
A 2v2 mini-volleyball game on a very long, narrow court, about 33×10 feet, where the only way to win a point is by playing for depth: short near the net or deep to the…