General to Specific: One Shared Start, Three Sports

The whole class shares the general part of a warm-up, and each group designs the sport-specific part for a different sport. Students see what stays and what changes from one warm-up to another.

How to play

1. The teacher leads a shared general part (jog, joint mobility, activation), explaining out loud what each block is for (6 min).
2. Six groups of four or five; two groups per sport (soccer, volleyball, basketball). Each group designs a four-minute specific part on the worksheet: sport moves, typical footwork and rising intensity (8 min).
3. Two rounds: each group leads its specific part for a group from another sport, then receives one (12 min).
4. Circle discussion: which drills work for all three sports, which don't, and why (5 min).
5. Each group revises its worksheet with what they learned and hands it in (4 min).

Rules

• The specific part should end near game intensity, without going all out.
• Each group uses only its sport's equipment and returns it.
• When leading, every group member explains at least one drill.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair users: the group includes a seated version of each specific drill.
• Deaf or hard-of-hearing students: the worksheet includes drawings, and the group demonstrates before explaining.
• Students nervous about public speaking: they can demonstrate while someone else explains.

Learning goals

• Tell the difference between a general and a specific warm-up.
• Design the sport-specific part of a warm-up.
• Lead a drill for a group of classmates.

Equipment for a class of 25

• warm-up worksheets: 6
• pens: 6
• soccer balls: 6
• volleyballs: 6
• basketballs: 6
• cones: 20

Teacher tip

Prepare a simple three-column worksheet: drill, time and purpose. Students often copy general drills: require every specific drill to use a ball or a move from the sport.

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