In our last session as we head in to the half term break we kept active and played a variety of games that were a lot of fun!
To get the kids warmed up we played some running games. This included a game where four coloured cones were placed in the corners of the hall and depending on the colour called the kids had to run to that corner. That was followed by some games of What's the Time Mr Wolf? - a club favourite. 

Ray and Ollie then got the big multi-coloured parachute out and played a series of games. The first one had the kids running around the outside of the parachute, one at a time,  and back to their starting positions as quickly as they could. The winner being the one to do it in the quickest time. Then there was a game involving balancing a ball on the parachute as it was floated up and down. They did Mexican waves with the parachute and a game where kids ran from one side to the other under the parachute. The last game was called Shark Attack and came from one of the kids - Daisy. It involved the kids sitting on the floor with the parachute low down. Daisy was the shark under the parachute and tried to grab the other kids feet as she moved around. The kids had to try and avoid being captured.

After a quick drinks break the kids then played a couple of games of Rob The Nest. The group were split in to four teams, each with a hoop (nest) in one corner of the hall. To start with they all took it in turns to collect a ball or cone from the two hoops in the middle. Once they were all gone the madness  started as the kids robbed balls and cones from the others nest. The aim being to have the most balls and cones in your nest so you had to collect more then were robbed from your own nest.

After the main break we were planning on playing some Archery but we had some technical difficulties with the equipment so we finished the session off with some games of Boccia. As you can see in the photos below rather than both teams aim at the same white "Jack" ball they had coloured hoops instead with each team trying to get their coloured balls in to the hoop of the same colour.

On the same day the GB Hockey teams were doing well against New Zealand (the men's team drew but the women's team won), we played the same sport here at Epping Forest Sportability.
The session started, as always, with a warm up made up of some stretching and jogging around the hall, followed by some tag games such as What's the Time Mr Wolf?
Once all the kids were suitably warmed up it was out with the tennis balls and hockey sticks. They started off with some ball control - dribbling their tennis balls around the hall. Then it was on to working in pairs, across the hall from each other, and passing a ball back and forth between each other. 

From passing in pairs the group then moved on to passing up and down the hall. Each child would stand by a cone that were laid out in a zig-zag up the hall. The kids would then pass the ball from one to the next up the hall and then back again.​

After a quick drinks break the coaches then laid out slalom courses up and down the hall so the kids could practice their close ball control, moving around cones as they made their way along the course. Once that was mastered the coaches added some shooting to the end of the course. Once the kids had made their way up the hall and back again around all the cones they then had to shoot and try and get the ball inside a hoop at the end of the course.

After the main break it was time to put all the practice in to good use with some one-on-one games initially and then on to full team games. For the one-on-one games the coaches picked players of a similar skill level and it was first to score past the goalie. Then the coaches made up two teams to complete in an end-of-session match.

In the week where the world mourned the passing of Basketball legend Kobe Bryant we got our own little legends practising the sport. You never know, we may have a future star in our midst!

The session started, as always, with some warm up stretches followed by some "tag" games such as "What's the time Mr Wolf?". Once warmed up it was out with the basketballs and to start with it was just walking around the hall bouncing / dribbling the ball. This was just to familiarize the kids with holding and controlling the ball. (Note: Apologies for the grainy photos above but the camera was on the wrong setting - it gets fixed by later on in the session)

The kids were then asked to move around a hoop on the floor whilst bouncing their ball within the hoop - a good way to practice ball control whilst moving side to side. The first part of the session then ended up with some traffic light games (stopping with the ball; bouncing on the spot or dribbling around the hall depending on the colour being held up).
After a quick drinks break the coaches took things up a notch by creating a slalom style course up the hall. As you  can see in the photos below there were three identical courses consisting of hoops and cones to go around and the kids then competed to see who could complete the course the quickest.

Ray and Kate then came up with some passing games, including one around and across a big circle as you can see in the photos below. Then came a drill involving bouncing and shooting. All this was then put in to practice with firstly some one on one games and then, after the main break, some team games. At the end of the main game it was Hal's team that were the winners.
You will also see in the some of the photos below that a few of the younger boys took a break from the basketball for a while to enjoy some fun in the school's Ball Pool. They had such a good time that one lad did not want to leave when it was time to go home!

We started this week, as we do all weeks, with a warm up - this time led by Ollie and Ray including jogging, stretching and tag games.
It was soon time to get on to the main sport of the week - Badminton. So out came the badminton rackets and shuttlecocks and to start with the coaches asked the kids to see how long they could keep their shuttlecocks off the ground by hitting it up in the air - Keepy-Uppies if you like. 

After practising their solo control of racket and shuttlecock the group then moved on to working in pairs. They attempted to get rallies going between the pairs keeping it going for as long as possible. Performances worthy of a mention include Pranav, Hal and Valentina.
From there the badminton nets were set up so that rallies and matches could take place across the nets. As you can see in the photos above and below the kids concentrated hard and demonstrated good levels of skill.

After the main break for snacks and refreshments, and a chance for some catching up, it was back to the courts for some more games across the nets

We finished off the session with some Curling. Ray devised a scoring target zone in the middle of the hall with a spot being the target and a scoring zone marked out by cones that the stones should end up in. The group was then split in to a red and blue team and the games began.

The session started with a warm up that included some jogging, stretching and some tag games. It was soon on to the main sport of the session - Rugby.
​The kids started by pairing off and passing a rugby ball between each other. Then it was on to moving the ball around the body then over and under.

Next up was a game called "Beat the ball" where everyone stood in a large circle. A runner was chosen each go to try and run around the outside of the circle faster than the ball could be passed around the inside of the circle. It is actually very tricky to pass the ball quickly and accurately, to catch and pass it on so quickly, and the kids did really well and had a lot of fun.

After a drinks break it was on to a game of Rob the Nest. This is where the group break up in to teams and try and steal as many rugby balls from other  teams nests to end up with the biggest number of balls in your own nest. The problem being that as you are running to take a ball from an opposing teams nest the opposition are doing the same to you by taking balls from your nest. A fast, frantic game that the kids enjoyed.

The next Rugby game the kids played was Dragons Den. Nothing to do with the TV series but a tag game where one kid would try to run up and get a Rugby ball from a circle and get it back to base without being tagged by the Dragon.

It was then time for the main break and a chance for the kids to catch their breath, have a drink and snack and a bit of chat.  It was then back to the hall for a game of Hunter, another tag game. In Dragons Den the chaser (dragon) and the kid getting chased started in different positions. In Hunter both started at the same end of the hall and had to run up separate lanes of cones before running back with the hunter trying to tag their opponent before they got back.
We then completed the session with some games of Boccia. A much more sedate game and one of skill in terms of rolling the balls with the correct speed and in the right direction to try and get closest to the white ball. 

It was great to be back after a lovely break for Christmas and New Year. It was a little cold in Oakview School as the heating wasn't working so we kept active throughout the session to keep warm, and help burn off some of those mince pies and chocolates we all had over Christmas no doubt.
The main sport this week was Cricket and after the usual warm ups they got straight in to the action with some pairs work doing Throwing & Catching. This was then followed by some throwing to stumps, this helps practice accurate throwing including speed of throw and direction.

It was good to be back and see all the kids enjoying themselves again. The Star of the week award was given this week to Alexander who was able to stay for the whole session this week and participated really well.

​Join us again next Saturday when hopefully the heating will be fixed and the school will be a bit warmer!






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Firstly let me start by apologizing for there being no post last week. As some of you know already I was away and whilst there are no photos to share I can advise that Ray was back from his charity cycle ride around Cyprus. He helped lead a session based around Hockey and it included a number of drills to practice various aspects of the game including dribbling, passing and shooting. The session ended with several small sided games to put all that practice to good use. At the end of the session the coaches awarded the Star of the Week award to Zakaa - the last of the Autumn Term.​ Well done Zakaa and welcome back Ray.

This week was the last session of Autumn term and in what has become a tradition over the years the session was more of a party with various activities set up so that the kids could try whatever took their fancy. We had music playing and towards the end of the session we have some food and drinks for the kids (thanks goes out to all the parents and carers who provided some lovely goodies!). As you can see in the photos below the activities included Fusball, Table Tennis, Basketball (shooting), Badminton, Boccia and Curling

There were also some great Christmas jumpers and hats on display to help get everyone in to the Christmas spirit.
Unfortunately us adults had  to be a bit more serious as we had our annual general meeting of the club for parents and carers. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it and those that sent their apologies. We also had some great contributions and input leading to a very productive meeting. I will get the minutes typed up and sent out early in the New Year.
With the meeting out of the way we could set up the food and drink for the kids (and coaches) to enjoy. As you can see below we even had a fantastic and very healthy fruit and cheese platter provided by Hal, with possibly some help of his mum?​

It was a great wrap up to the autumn term. We have met a number of new members over the term which has been fantastic and we hope to see more in the future too. So if you know of a child who could benefit from what we do then please pass the word on and invite them to come along and try us out for themselves. 
That just leaves me to wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas, whether you are spending it at home, with family or friends or even abroad AND a fabulous New Year!
We look forward to seeing you all back next decade! Well 11th January 2020 to be precise!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
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Basketball was the main sport of the session this week at Epping Forest Sportability Club.
Due to school fetes and pantos turnout was low but that didn't stop us from having a fun and varied session. Ollie and Alan started with warm ups including some ball control with the basketballs and also a game of Mr Wolf. Once they were ready to go it was straight in to some ball dribbling practice using the lines on the school hall as a guide.
From there we had a few quick Traffic Light games where a red light means Stop with the ball, amber (yellow) means bounce the ball from side to side on the spot and green means full on dribbling with the ball around the hall. 

Next up we had a shooting drill making use of the baskets at either end of the hall. The kids lined up to shoot and once they had taken their turn they collected their ball and joined the end of the queue for the basket at the other end of the hall. This then formed a kind of circle allowing the kids to practice their dribbling and shooting without having to wait too long for the next turn.

Before they stopped for a drinks break the kids had just enough time to play some one on one games. When Ollie shouted Go two kids would race up the hall away from the basket. They had to go around the cones as they went and on getting to the far end Ollie would throw the ball in. It was then a battle to see who would be the first to score. So a mix of attack and defence depending on who had the ball at the time.
After the drinks break we put all the practice to good use by playing some matches - blues versus reds. As you can see in the photos below it was energetic and lively and great fun.

We then switched sports to Boccia with the Blues led by Kate up against the Reds led by Ollie. Due to some fantastic shots by Liam and Joseph the Reds won quite comfortably.

We then stopped for the main break. After, as Liam and Kerrie had to go off to see a panto (oh yes they did!) which left us with just a few people left, we wrapped up the session with some games of Indoor Curling.

The main sport we played this week at Epping Forest Sportability Club was Badminton but the kids loved the Archery so much they asked to play it again!
The session started, as always, with some warm up routines consisting of some jogging around the hall then playing some tag games such as What's the Time Mr Wolf?
It was then on to the badminton starting with hitting the shuttlecock up in the air and doing Keepy-Uppy's, like in football.​

The group then moved on to playing across the nets. They paired up trying to get some good rally's going. They then switched around playing partners if they wished.

After the break the kids really wanted to play some more Archery - as they enjoyed it so much last week. How could we say no? So out with the bows and arrows and the targets and more fun was had by all.

Alan and Ollie kicked off the session this week with a warm up including some jogging around the hall, hopping, moving side to side and finally some tag games of What's the Time Mr Wolf.
It was then straight on to some Archery. Kate, Ollie and Alan reminded / instructed the kids how to hold the bow and load the plastic arrows and off they went taking it in turns to try and get as high a score as they can. There was some impressive performances and some bullseyes scored as well.

The kids loved the archery so much that they wanted to carry on after a drinks break. According to Head Coach Al they showed a fantastic ability to hit the target consistently and there were many notable performances. Valentina's stance when holding the bow and aiming her arrows was perfect. Kealan fired off arrows with great consistency, hitting the target regularly but special mention must go to Callum who was first to get a Bullseye but also ended up with the highest individual score of 70! Well done!

After the main break the younger ones got the chance to go to the ball pool, as we had Teagan helping out as well as Kate. The older kids took part in some games of Boccia in the hall followed by some Curling games.