With the tournament at Queens Club nearing it's climax and Wimbledon just around the corner it was time to play some Tennis at Epping Forest Sportability Club. So it was outside on to the playground and we started with the usual warm up run around.
Then it was on to working in pairs returning the tennis ball to each other over the net with the aim of building up a good rally.
Lesley was not in the mood for Tennis so instead she and Pranav played Badminton in the hall. Both are really good players so they managed some high quality rallies and produced some amazing shots.

After a break it was on to one of our favourite games - King of the Court. One person acts as the server throwing the tennis ball over the net. On the other side of the net everyone else queues up to take their turn. The idea being to return the ball back over the net, get it inside the court and not get caught. If you achieve that, you go to the back of the queue and wait your next turn. If you fail to get the ball back over the net and in to the court or if you get caught then you join the server on the other side of the net as a fielder trying to catch the other players as they hit the ball over.
The game is fast and furious with the idea being that the server moves quickly through the queue of players by serving to each player quickly.  The line of batters therefore have to stay focused and be ready to take their turn when the time comes. Last person standing is the winner.

The session last Saturday was a battle for survival in the summer sun and those who endured the whole session deserve huge credit for their stamina and enthusiasm!
We started out on the field with some track and field (athletics). First up was Ollie's favourite sport of Javelin and he was happy to show everyone the technique they should be using. It was so hot that where possible they sheltered under the shade of the trees, even when taking their turn.

After the Javelin was a series of short races using the low hurdles. As you can see in the photos most of the races were in pairs with the coaches mixing up the pairings so that everyone raced each other. Following that was a series of relay races with the group split in to two teams

After all that running in the sun they were all glad to get back inside for a nice cool drink and some shade. At this point we also had to say goodbye to a few of our members as Kerrie and Charlotte had to leave as they were performing in a play in the afternoon. We only had a few left for the final hour so we took it nice and easy in the hall with games of Target Boccia and normal Boccia (using a white jack as the target to aim for). The group split in to two teams facing off against each other from opposite ends of the hall. 

At the end of the session the coaches awarded the Star of the Week to Callum for all his efforts throughout the long  and hot session  - well done Callum!
Join us again next Saturday to see what Alan and the team have in store for us!

With the British and Irish Lions winning on tour against the Crusaders in NZ we had some Rugby fun of our own in the summer sun at Oak View School. The whole session took place on the school field which was lovely for those out those out there  - not so much for me stuck on my own on reception. That meant I was unable to witness all the fun so the following blog may be brief this week but hopefully it covers all the different games played.
So after a warm up game of Tag played on the field it was straight in to the Rugby and as usual the session started with some basics and built up through the morning culminating in a game after the break. First up was passing the rugby ball in pairs. This was followed by some ball movement, still in pairs, by standing back to back and passing around  the body or over and under.

Next up was a game where everyone stood in a circle and the person with the ball would pick someone to pass to. They would run up close to the person and pass the ball to them before taking their place in the circle and so on.  
​The next game was also in the circle but this time the person would run around the outside of the circle and back to their starting place and try to do it before everyone else could pass the ball around the inside of the circle. So run faster than the ball can be passed around.

The last game before a break was a game of Hunter. Again in pairs with a Hunter and the one being Hunted. The one being hunted runs to the balls, picks one up and tries to get back to the base (the hoop in the pictures) before being tagged. The Hunter has to run around a cone then go after their target and grab a tag off their belt before they get home with the ball.  It is a fast and furious game and by switching pairs we try and get everyone to play against various opponents of the same ability as both Hunter and Hunted