What I Need: The Secret Requests Game

Before each half, every player secretly picks a card with what they need from the team: more passes, encouragement, playing in the back… The team has to figure it out and give it to them during the game.

How to play

1. Introduce the cards: “I need to get the ball,” “I need encouragement after a mistake,” “I need to play without pressure,” “I need to be told where to stand” (3 min).
2. Everyone secretly picks a card and keeps it; 6v6 end-zone game with a foam ball (8 min).
3. Pause: each team tries to guess every teammate's need, and each person says whether they felt supported (5 min).
4. Second half: needs are now said out loud and the team plays to meet all of them (10 min).
5. Reflection: was it easier to ask or to guess? What need hadn't you imagined someone else might have? (4 min).

Rules

• Move the ball only by passing; no more than two steps with it.
• No contact: defend at arm's length.
• Cards are personal: no one mocks what someone else needs.
• You may pick the blank card and write your own need.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with visual impairments: braille cards or cards read quietly by the teacher; a ball with a bell.
• Wheelchair users: may choose “I need open space,” with a 2 m zone where they can't be guarded.
• Students with reading difficulties: picture cards.

Learning goals

• Put yourself in teammates' shoes and respond to their needs.
• Express your own need clearly.
• Get the whole team more involved in the game.

Equipment for a class of 25

• foam balls: 2
• pinnies: 12
• cones: 16
• request cards: 36

Teacher tip

Make the cards from cut poster board and keep them for next time. Common mistake: guessing without watching; ask them to notice how each person plays before deciding.

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