If you like to organize fun and competitive youth group games, here’s another one to add to your collection – the Balloon Soccer Relay.
This is a great relay game for teenagers, but can be played with young people and kids of any age. It’s therefore perfect for using even when you have a wide range of ages taking part in youth group activities.
Here’s how to play it:
Resources
- Balloons
- Cones
- Masking tape
Location
This game can be played both indoors and outdoors, providing you have enough space to play. It’s best not to play outside on a windy day though, as otherwise the balloons can blow everywhere.
Preparation
Blow up the balloons – do one for every team and have a few spare just in case any burst during the game.
At one end of the playing area, lay out a line of masking tape – this will be the starting line. Alternatively, you can use a line of cones if you have enough of them.
In a parallel line about 20-30 feet away, make another row of cones. There should be one cone per team and they should be about 5 feet apart.
Teams
Split the youth group into same-sized teams, ideally with at least four people on each team.
If you have a small group and so only have enough players for two or three on each team, have the teams do the relay two or three times round to make the game last a little longer.
Balloon Soccer Relay Rules
Have the teenagers line up behind the masking tape (and with a cone in front of them at the other end) and give the first person in each team a balloon.
Explain that they have to kick the balloon like a soccer ball from the start line, around their cone and then kick it back to the start line. The next person on their team then has to do the same thing and so on.
The only part of the body they’re allowed to use is from their knee down – no hands allowed!
Winner
The winning team is the one that has all their players complete the relay game first.
Difficulty Level
If you want to make the Balloon Soccer Relay harder to play, here are a couple of ways you can do this:
- Make players use their right foot to kick the balloon up to the cone and then their left foot to kick it back
- Add extra cones along each team’s course that they have to dribble the balloon round, like it’s a soccer drill
If you liked this idea check out all our relay games, as well as all our other games that are great for using with youth groups.
Question: How could you make the Balloon Soccer Relay even more fun – or difficult? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.
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