La Porca: Galician Stick-and-Hole Game
A traditional game from Galicia and Asturias, called la cochina in parts of Castile: one player, the swineherd, tries to drive the ball into the center hole while the others knock it away with their sticks without leaving their own hole open. It builds striking, attention and decision-making.
How to play
- Explain (2 min) that it was played on threshing floors with a stick for each player and a wooden ball called the porca; here each hole is a hoop and the porca is a soft ball.
- Groups of 6: lay 5 hoops in a circle 3 m (10 ft) from a center hoop. Each defender keeps the tip of their stick in their hoop, and the swineherd starts outside with the ball.
- The swineherd dribbles the ball with the stick, aiming for the center hoop; defenders may lift their stick out of their hoop to knock the ball away.
- While a stick is out of its hoop, the swineherd can put their own stick in and take that hoop: the defender left without one becomes the swineherd.
- If the ball goes into the center hoop, everyone must switch hoops at once, and whoever ends up without one is the new swineherd.
- Play 2 rounds of 9 minutes, changing groups between rounds.
Rules
- Sticks never go above knee height.
- Hit only the ball, never sticks or legs.
- No guarding your hoop with a foot or your body.
- Always keep the ball on the ground.
Variations
Easier
Place the hoops 2 m (6 ft) from the center and give the swineherd a helper.
Standard
Groups of 6, hoops at 3 m (10 ft) and a single swineherd.
Harder
Move the hoops to 4 m (13 ft) and allow defenders only one hit each time they leave.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a wheelchair user defends a hoop with a long stick and plays swineherd with a helper.
- Autism: demonstrate the hoop-switch rule slowly and always use the same cue word, 'switch!'.
- Skill level: if a swineherd hasn't scored in 2 minutes, defenders switch to their non-dominant hand.
Learning goals
- Strike and dribble a ball with an implement under control.
- Decide when to leave and defend and when to protect your own space.
- Learn a traditional game from Galicia and Asturias and its rural roots.
Equipment for a class of 25
- hockey sticks: 25
- hoops: 24
- soft balls: 4
Teacher tip
The fun lies in the risk of leaving your hoop open: let students figure that out. Plastic sticks and a soft ball keep it safe, but stop play as soon as anyone raises a stick.
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