POLEBALL
MODIFIED RULES
MODIFIED RULES FOR THE GAME OF POLEBALL for younger players and/or when using a small Play Area
Someone in control of the play area or someone else must take control and delineate or designate the playing field and the rules of play. With that in mind, the following should be done:
Explain to all involved that the game of Poleball can be played with two teams of 2 or more players on each team. The number of players you can have will depend on the size of the space available. After the teams have been playing on the space you have, you can determine what number will work best.
You play with a #3 or #4 soccer ball or some other similar ball that can be kicked and thrown by the players. To score points in the game, the ball is directed toward a pole that is the object that is the goal the players must hit with the ball by using their hands or feet to propel the ball to that goal and be awarded points for their efforts. These efforts are called throws or kicks in this explanation. Throws or kicks in the game have to be made from behind a line which represents the minimum distance they can be made at the pole. They can be made from anywhere on the field except inside that minimum distance line. You establish the line based on the abilities of the players.
The teams and players have to be briefed on the limits of the play area that have been established as well as the location of the line in front of the goal that shows the closest players can come to the goal and behind which they can throw the ball at the goal. How points are scored when the goal is hit has to be explained to the players as it may vary depending on how the goal is built or designated. Points are scored by the players on offense throwing the ball at the goal and by kicking it for extra points as is explained later in this description of a modified game of poleball.
You next explain the out of bounds lines and the point from which the ball is brought into play from out of bounds to start the game, when there is a turnover of possession, and after each scoring attempt. Now, these are the rules of how the players play the game: One of the teams is given the ball and it is the offense. That team brings the ball in from out of bounds by throwing it to one of its players who is in-bounds. The team should want to get the ball near enough to the limit line in front of the goal to be able to make a throw that will score points. The team moves the ball by throwing it from one player to another, and the opposing team, the defense, cannot interfere with the ball while it is in the air, and have to let the offense players catch the ball, and if they drop the ball, recover it. However, if the ball hits the ground before any offense team player touches it, it is a free ball and goes to the next player who touches it, and if that player was on the defense, that is a turnover and the ball is then brought in from out of bounds by the new offense.* If the offense causes the ball to go out of bounds, that causes a turnover. If the defense causes the ball to go out of bounds, the offense gets the ball where it went out of bounds or at the point where the defense first or last touched the ball depending on the circumstancs.
Players cannot run or walk with the ball, nor can the ball be handed off to another player, and when a player catches a thrown ball, he/she must stop. A player who is in-bounds with the ball can throw the ball to another player or throw it at the goal in an attempt to score points. The players on defense try to touch the player with the ball. Once one of the defense players touches the player who has the ball, that player with the ball cannot make a throw at the goal in a scoring attempt and can only pass the ball to another player. Now, if a second player on the defense touches the player who has the ball before he/she can throw the ball away, the offense loses the ball and it is turned over to the defense at the designated out of bounds point.* When making a touch on the player who has the ball, the touch must be on the ball, hands, back, waist, or stomach, and must be above the beltline. The touch cannot be on the head, neck, feet, chest, or below the beltline. The touch should be firm so that the player being touched should feel it, but it cannot be a hard slap or punch. Other safety rules are that players cannot play recklessly. They cannot dive at the ball or a player with the ball and fall on the ground, they cannot run into another player, they cannot touch a player on the other team unless that player has the ball, and they can’t throw the ball at a player on the other team in anger or in an attempt to hurt that player.
After each throw that scores points, the player who scored the points gets a free kick opportunity to kick the ball at the goal to score additional points. (If the player who scored is unable to kick or doesn’t want to make the kick, another player on the team can make the kick, or the opportunity can be turned down.) These free kicks are made from the point that has been agreed to at the start of the game.
The awarding of points for throws or kicks that hit the scoring goal will depend on how the scoring goal is structured. The guiding principle in making these decisions is that you want to try to award more points for more accurate hits on the goal. Generally, you want to have a goal that has a 40 inch space that the ball must pass through if it doesn’t hit the center pole and a center pole that the ball must hit to get more points for the throw or kick.
Creating or Establishing the Scoring Goal and Awarding Points -
Establishing the scoring goal, which is the goal at which points are scored or awarded, is a task that can be done by those who control the space where the game is played or by the players if no one else has taken on the task.
If you can build a regular poleball goal to the Poleball Rules specifications, that is best. But, in most instances where children are playing, there is no need for that. There are many other ways to have a scoring goal that will enable the playing of poleball. Here are some examples: 1. Use the pole that holds up a basketball backboard as i t is for the center pole or attach a 2”x 10”x 8’ board or a 2"x 8"x 8' board to that pole to be the center pole and hang down two ropes or chains from the backboard 40 inches apart. The ropes or chains represent the two side poles. With such a scoring goal, you could award 2 points for a throw or kick when the ball touches the center pole and 1 point for whenever the ball goes between the chains without touching the center pole.
2. Use a 4’x8’ piece of plywood as the scoring goal. Paint an 8’ stripe down the middle (7” to 13” wide) and two other stripes on each side of the center stripe so that the space between these two side stripes is 40 inches. These stripes represent the three poles of a regular poleball scoring goal. The scoring could be the same as that in 1. Above.
3. Use a tree trunk, a light pole, a telephone pole or some other standing pole that can be safely used as a target for the players throws and kicks and add something to show the 40 inch space, or just forget about using that space for scoring points.
4. Play on a basketball court and use the backboards at both ends to score. You score by throwing the ball at the painted on rectangle above and behind the hoop. You decide the points to be awarded for hitting the rectangle. For example, 2 points for the ball hitting the hoop or fully inside the rectangle and 1 point for a hit on the edge of the rectangle. Remember, Poleball is designed to award more points for the more accurate throws. Now once a throw scores, there is a free kick for an extra point. The kick is made out of the player's hand, just like a punt, and if it hits the backboard score 1 point. So, these kicks can be made from the foul line or the 3 point line for basketball. But, for adult players, all throws should be from the 3 point line or farther out. 5. Use a player as the goal and points are scored based on the accuracy of the throw or kick to him/her.
* But, if you are playing with 2 goals, as on a basketball court, the play continues from the point of interception, turnover, or where the ball went out of bounds.
PRACTICE DRILLS TO TRY
GO TO poleballworld.com and look under Poleball Rules of Play to learn how to do some practice or training in the skills you use in playing Poleball.
Created by Robert A. Lincoln 2017. All rights reserved, except that copies can be made by schools, spectators, and non-professional teams and players.