Forearm Platform Carry and Pop
A set of individual and partner challenges for discovering the forearm passing platform: first students carry the ball on their joined forearms, then they bounce it off them. It works on arm position, knee bend, and ball control.
How to play
- Each student has a light ball; teach the platform: hands together, thumbs side by side, elbows locked, and forearms making a flat surface (2 min).
- Challenge 1 (3 min): carry the ball resting on the platform while walking between two cones 30 feet apart, there and back, without dropping it.
- Challenge 2 (3 min): same, but squat to touch a middle cone with knees bent and back straight, without breaking the platform.
- Challenge 3 (3 min): standing still, bump the ball off the platform to face height, counting how many bumps in a row they can make.
- Challenge 4 (3 min): partners 10 feet apart; A tosses low with two hands and B sends it back with one bump for A to catch; switch every 8 sends.
- Wrap-up (1 min): each student shares their record for bumps in a row from challenge 3.
Rules
- Hit the ball with the forearms, never with the hands or wrists.
- Don't swing the arms up: the legs provide the power.
- Keep 6 feet from others so no one collides while chasing a ball.
- If the ball gets away, pick it up and continue from the last cone with no penalty.
Variations
Easier
In challenge 3, allow one bounce on the floor between each forearm bump.
Standard
Carry, carry with a squat, bumps in a row, and partner return.
Harder
In challenge 4, the tosser throws 3 feet to one side, so the passer has to move before bumping.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: does the challenges seated; the carry is done by passing the ball from their platform to a partner's.
- Hearing impairment: challenges are shown by demonstration, and changes are signaled with a colored card.
- Lower skill level: uses a balloon instead of a light ball in challenges 3 and 4.
Learning goals
- Form a stable, flat forearm platform.
- Use knee bend and leg extension to power the ball.
- Control the ball while moving without losing posture.
Equipment for a class of 25
- light balls: 25
- cones: 12
Teacher tip
Watch for students splitting their hands on contact; one trick is to "close the sandwich" with one hand on top of the other. Praise good posture more than the number of bumps.
PatioLab has "Forearm Platform Carry and Pop" 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…