Materials a couple soccer balls or whiteboard erasers

Activity
Start by finding a ball which won’t hurt you too much if you get hit in the head with it. Let the youth scatter about a large open area with clearly defined boundaries. If you are inside, use a room as your play area. To start Scatterball, just throw the ball against any old wall or roll it to the center of the play area. The first person to get the ball must plant a foot and pivot around on that foot (like in basketball) looking for someone to hit. They may not walk/ run around once they have possession of the ball. (If successful in hitting their target, that person sits down on the ground in the spot they were hit. The thrower, no longer in possession of the ball is free to move again. The person just hit is not out of the game. As long as they remain seated in their spot, they may grab any ball that is rolling by and hit someone who is still in the game. If any person catches the ball on the fly, the thrower of the ball is dead and must sit down. If an attempt to catch the ball is unsuccessful, but the ball is touched, it is considered a a kill so the person is out and must sit at that spot. Dead players may roll the ball to other alive or dead players. Kids usually try to go for their friends and, of course, the leaders. The ground will eventually be covered with sitting youth. In essence this is dodgeball with a twist, instead of going out of the game, you can still eliminate others. The winner is the last person standing.

Variation 1 Play the game with partners. If either you or your partner gets hit you are both down. Also, you can pass the ball to your partner if your partner has a better shot at someone.

Variation 2 When the person that got you out gets hit then you are able to get back up again.

Variation 3 Play with partners, but holding hands. Partners are out if they break thier grip. Both partners must be hit before they are frozen and must sit down together. But while there is still one of the pair unfrozen, the frozen partner can act as a shield, deflecting the ball.

Variation 4 If you are sitting and manage to throw the ball and knock someone else out of the game you may get up again.

Take it to the Next Level

• God lifts us up – When everyone is sitting down except one. Go and help all the kids up. Talk about how life and people knock us down but God comes around and helps us back up! Sometimes when it seems like life is knocking us down, God is there to pick us up.
• Fallen NatureOnce we have fallen due to mistakes, sin, circumstances in life, only God can pick us back up. In our own efforts, we are unable to break free from the oppressions in our lives. Jesus must set us free. John 8:31-36

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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