RULE 1
TWO FAIR TEAMS. FIXED KICKING ORDER.
Everyone knows their team and when they kick. No public picking during the game.
Teacher-facing · Playground Fix · Grades 3–8
THE SOCCER BASEBALL FIX™
A kicking-and-baserunning playground game with smooth rolls, fixed kicking order, no tagging or pegging, and simple pitcher/base outs.
12–25 minOne soft soccer/playground ball · 4 bases · optional cones8 rule momentsNo student accounts
Why this exists
Teach the close call before recess.
Kicking-and-baserunning games can become a chase game if fielders tag bodies or throw at runners. Soccer Baseball Fix moves every out to a catch, a base or the pitcher so the game stays visible and safer.
Start with one agreed version
Use a diamond with four bases. The pitcher rolls a playground/soccer ball. The field gets outs by beating runners with the ball at a base or back to the pitcher — never by tagging bodies.
Freeze the hard moment
The projected training shows a short playground scenario, freezes at the exact decision point and gives the class three possible calls. Everyone thinks; one randomly chosen Call Crew makes the official decision.
Transfer the language outside
Teach a no-tagging kicking game where outs come from clean catches, base control or returning the ball to the pitcher. The screen is the rehearsal. Recess is the destination.
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The shared rule set
Eight moments students can actually remember.
The Fix is intentionally not a professional rulebook. It teaches the moments most likely to stop this schoolyard version, then gives students one neutral sequence for restarting play.
RULE 2
PITCHER ROLLS A SMOOTH GROUND BALL.
The pitcher rolls from the centre toward home. No bouncing or overhand throws.
RULE 3
KICK, THEN RUN THE BASES IN ORDER.
Runners touch first, second, third and home in order. No passing the runner ahead.
RULE 4
CAUGHT BEFORE IT LANDS = OUT.
A clean catch in the field records an out before runners continue.
RULE 5
BALL TO THE BASE FIRST = OUT.
A baseman with control of the ball on the runner’s target base beats the runner there.
RULE 6
BALL BACK TO PITCHER FIRST = OUT.
If the pitcher controls the returned ball before a runner reaches the next base, that runner is out and the play ends.
RULE 7
NO TAGGING OR THROWING AT RUNNERS.
Fielders move the ball to the pitcher or a baseman. Bodies are never the target.
RULE 8
THREE OUTS, THEN SWITCH.
After the third out, kicking and fielding teams switch jobs and continue the fixed order.
How the class runs it
WATCH → FREEZE → CALL → LOCK → PLAY.
The teacher can run the whole activity from one projected screen. Students do not need devices, logins or accounts. If the class makes a poor call, the moment replays and the rule is repaired before it is locked into the final outdoor play card.
Use the indoor training once when the game is new, then return only when the same close call starts consuming recess again. A successful Playground Fix should gradually become unnecessary because students can start, rotate, settle ordinary disputes and keep playing without a teacher standing beside the game.
Equipment
One soft soccer/playground ball · 4 bases · optional cones
Outdoor setup
Use a diamond with four bases. The pitcher rolls a playground/soccer ball. The field gets outs by beating runners with the ball at a base or back to the pitcher — never by tagging bodies.