Indiaca Partners: From Palm Tap to Targeted Pass

A technical introduction to indiaca, a net sport adapted in Germany from peteca, a traditional Brazilian game. Students learn the palm hit and how to aim a pass.

How to play

1. Explain peteca's Brazilian roots and how it became indiaca. Teach the hit: open hand, fingers together, firm arm striking from below the shuttle (2 min).
2. Solo taps: ten right-handed, ten left-handed, and ten alternating (3 min).
3. Partners 4 meters apart, each with a cone: pass to the hand the partner raises (5 min).
4. Partners on either side of a rope at head height: pass over it and count to fifteen in a row (6 min).
5. Challenge: same count, but only with the non-dominant hand (4 min).

Rules

• Hit with one open hand only; no fists and no grabbing the shuttle.
• Each pair stays in its space, separated from the others by the cones.
• If the indiaca lands in another space, ask before picking it up.
• Hit from below, pushing upward, never downward at your partner.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with visual impairments: use a balloon with a bell and play with the rope lower.
• Students with limited mobility: play seated on a chair while their partner sends high, soft passes.
• Students with an injured hand: work only with the other one, and each pass counts double.

Learning goals

• Master the palm hit with both hands.
• Aim a pass at a target.
• Learn where indiaca comes from and how it relates to Brazilian peteca.

Equipment for a class of 25

• indiacas: 15
• long ropes: 4
• cones: 30

Teacher tip

The usual mistake is a sideways hit with a loose wrist: ask for a firm arm and an upward hit. No indiacas? Make them from a sock ball with strips of tape as feathers.

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