Line Changes: Rotating Lines Every Minute

A floorball game where, just like the real sport, players sub on and off in lines through a change zone without stopping play. It builds pacing for short, intense shifts and team organization.

How to play

1. Explain: two courts and four teams of seven; each team has two lines of three plus a rotating goalie. The change zone is a stretch of sideline marked with cones (4 min).
2. Practice the change with no game: the outgoing line enters the zone before the next line goes out, and they pass without colliding (3 min).
3. Game with a change every minute: a student with a stopwatch at each bench calls the change out loud (8 min).
4. Rotate opponents and goalies; each line picks a goal for its shifts, like pressing high or everyone touching the ball before a shot (8 min).
5. Game with free changes: the team decides when to change, with no shift longer than a minute and a half (5 min).
6. Wrap-up: each team discusses how they felt at the end of each shift and whether recovery was hard (2 min).

Rules

• An incoming player steps on only once the outgoing player is inside the change zone.
• If a team has more than three field players on, the ball goes to the other team.
• Sticks below the waist; no touching an opponent's stick or body.
• The goalie only faces low shots with a foam ball, or play without goalies using small goals.

Variations

Adaptations

• Asthma or lower fitness: shorter shifts, or play every other rotation of their line.
• Wheelchair users: their line has an extra player, and they get a protected receiving zone.
• Injured students: run the stopwatch and call their team's changes.

Learning goals

• Pace effort over short, intense shifts.
• Make line changes in an orderly way without stopping play.
• Work with a line toward a tactical goal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• floorball sticks: 30
• floorball balls: 4
• floorball goals: 4
• pinnies: 30
• cones: 16
• stopwatches: 2

Teacher tip

Rehearse the changes before the game or the first few minutes will be chaos. Put the change zone well away from the goals so nobody steps into a shooting play.

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