Broomball

Some youth directors have to deal with this thing called “Winter”. Going to college in a northern area taught me this game. You will need a corn broom (you know, the one that doesn’t have the plastic thing on it) for each youth. You’ll also need a large snow-covered field. You’ll want to set out the boundaries (hockey ice size) and pack down the snow in the field before the game starts.

The rules are basically the same as hockey except you have brooms instead of hockey sticks. You’ll also want a soft, bouncy ball. We used an old, deflated volleyball. Make sure that the kids use the broom end of the broom.

The best part about this game is that it equalizes those kids that tend to run faster and hit harder. There is a neat element of finesse.