Zone Control: Score While You Hold It
Three zones on the field score a point every 30 seconds for the team occupying them; opponents contest them by tagging and forcing players out. It works on pacing, spreading players out and reading the game.
How to play
- Setup: three circular zones about 4 m across (one central, two on the sides) with a hoop in the middle of each (3 min).
- Explanation: every 30 seconds the whistle blows, and the team with more players inside each zone gets one point for it (2 min).
- Round 1: anyone tagged outside a zone runs to their end line and back; no tagging inside zones (6 min).
- Timeout and new rule: a maximum of four players per team inside a zone (2 min).
- Round 2: the center zone counts double and can only be entered after stepping in the hoop (7 min).
- Score count and analysis: how did you spread your players, and who got to rest? (5 min).
Rules
- Nobody tags inside a zone, and no pushing to get in.
- Outside the zones, tag with a hand on the back or shoulder.
- Tagged players jog to their end line before rejoining.
- If a zone is tied, nobody scores it.
Variations
Easier
Two zones and a count every 45 seconds.
Standard
Three zones, a count every 30 seconds and up to four per zone.
Harder
Zones move mid-round: the teacher shifts a hoop somewhere else.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: counts as two players inside a zone and can stay in the nearest side zone.
- Hearing impairment: the count is signaled by raising a scarf as well as the whistle.
- Less fit students: can take one-minute breaks outside without the team losing points at that moment.
Learning goals
- Pace effort by alternating runs and breaks.
- Spread players according to the zones and the score.
- Make group decisions in real time.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cones: 20
- pinnies: 15
- hoops: 3
- stopwatch: 1
Teacher tip
Keep score on a portable whiteboard or in chalk on the ground so everyone can see. Common mistake: the whole team crowds the center zone and gives away the other two; stop and ask how many points that cost.
PatioLab has "Zone Control: Score While You Hold It" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More main activities for High School
"Switch!": Talking Defense Against Screens in 3v3
3v3 games where the offense uses ball screens and the defense must decide out loud whether to switch or stay with their player.
“Throw Like a Girl”: Your Other Arm Explains It
1 vs. 1 Channel Duel: Dodge and Score
In narrow channels, an attacker with the ball tries to reach the line without the defender pulling a tag.