ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Summer Sports and Games

Updated on August 23, 2016

I have fond memories of summers as a child. We lived in a middle class neighborhood with a circle (culdesac) where the neighborhood kids would congregate each evening and play sports or games.

Because of the long days, we could stay up 'til dark or until our parents would give a call out from our front door.

Run, sheepy, run (just kidding)
Run, sheepy, run (just kidding)
Kick the Can - Be sure to wear shoes
Kick the Can - Be sure to wear shoes
Red Rover
Red Rover

We got plenty of exercise and most of the sports or games we played included using a ball or other equipment. We also played many of them in teams.


Dodge Ball or Dodgeball was one we always enjoyed. In this game you try to hit other players with balls but avoid being hit yourself. Be sure and watch the video below for the biggest Dodge ball game you probably will ever see.


Anti I Over is played with a ball which is played over a house (yes, I said a house - if the parents approved of course). In those days, we only had one level houses, usually looking like a cracker box with an A-framed roof.

One team would stand on one side and one team on the other side of the house. Then one team would throw a ball over the house and call out, "Anti-I-Over". If the ball did not make it to the other side, you could try again.

If the ball makes it over and someone on the other side caught it, you run around to the other side and try to tag as many as you can and then they wwill be on your side. The object of the game is to try and get all the players on your side.


Another game we played often was Kick the Can. In this one you had a can (any size will do) and a goal.

One player is the goalie and he hides his face or closes his eyes and counts while the rest of the team run and hide.

The object of the game is for the goalie to find the players. While the goalie is hunting, someone will try and sneak in and kick the can which automatically releases all the players who have been found. Then every one hides again.


Red Rover is played between two teams of players, normally about thirty feet apart. The team on the receiving end hold each others hands to form a barrier.

Each team lines up and one person calls out, Red rover, red rover, send [call the name of a player on the other team] right over .

The person who was called is supposed to run towards the other line, looking for a weak link, and break the line. If the person who was called is unable to break the chain, he/she joins the other team.

If the player is successful in breaking the chain, this player may select either of the two persons whose arms he was able to get through, and they join with the team that had called out.

The other team then calls out Red rover, red rover, send [call the name of a player on the other team] right over . It continues like that back and forth until only one is left. The team with the most players at the end wins.

The game can be a risky or painful. When the runner or attempts to break through, it can hurt the team player's arms or body and even knock them to the ground. I understand that the game has been banned in a number of schools because of injuries.


Run, Sheepy, Run is a game played with a wolf and as many others (sheep) who want to play. The wolf will hide his face with his hands and count to 100. While he is counting the sheep run and hide. Then the wolf will try to find the sheep.

It is similar to Hide and Seek, but in Run, Sheepy, Run you are caught by the wolf. Once the wolf catches a sheep, he puts them in a make believe corral. Sheep who are still hiding while the wolf is looking for them can sneak in and release the captured sheep.


Tag is one of the Favorites of children and there are many variations.

Chain tag is a variant where the first person to be caught joins hands with 'it' and the two must chase the others as a pair. As more people are caught they too join hands, forming a lengthening chain. Only those at the ends of the chain are able to catch someone, as they are the only ones with a free hand.



Octopus tag is a mixture of Red Rover and Tag. The playing field is known as the ocean . The fish line up along one side of the ocean and try to run to the other side without getting tagged. The octopus tries to tag the other players. After getting tagged the fish become seaweed and they must freeze or sit where they were tagged, but they can wave their arms around and help the octopus to tag other fish within their reach. The last fish to be tagged becomes the next octopus.


I have read that organized sports aren't right for every child and certainly not for every age.


If you as a parent encourage your child and set an example of being active yourself, chances are a few sports will spark his or her interest.


You can encourage them by taking your child to local sporting events and explaining how different games are played.


When the time is right, and they show true interest, you can provide opportunities for your child to try out equipment and play informally with other children.


Teach your children how you can get great satisfaction from playing without even wanting to be the best. Don't force children to play sports they are not interested in.


Children don't need organized athletics to develop athletic skills or to get physical activity. "A healthy lifestyle doesn't have to include sports," says Edward Laskowski, M.D., co-director of the Sports Medicine Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minn. "It's more important that your child is involved in some sort of physical activity, whether it's hiking and biking with the family or playing pickup baseball or basketball with the neighborhood kids."


Competition has its place, but it is important while children are young to let them enjoy fun sports and games without feeling stressed to succeed. The physical activity is necessary for proper growth and development.


I have fond memories of all these times we spent until late in the summer evenings.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)