Watch: What Is Action Ball?
A new sport called Action Ball will be offered as a PEAP course this fall. The sport was developed by Instructional Assistant Professor Chad Nelson and is aimed at providing a unique, action-packed experience to the sport culture at Texas A&M.
Developed in November 2015, the origins of Action Ball began when Nelson saw a need within his classes to help students bridge the gaps of foundational athletics. Drawing inspiration from Tiger Ball, a similar intramural sport developed by a colleague at Louisiana State University, Nelson developed his own version and made it the emphasis for his doctoral degree.
“I teach two activity hybrid courses in PEAP that are half activity and half lecture,” Nelson said. “I found that students didn’t have sufficient knowledge in foundational sports so I modified my own version of Tiger Ball in an attempt to help students build skills and introduce them to another opportunity to have fun.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dTS25m-IbI&feature=youtu.be
Rules of Play
Nelson is in the process of publishing an official rulebook for the sport. Action Ball combines elements of Ultimate Frisbee, football, basketball, and soccer. According to the official Action Ball rulebook, the game is played with two teams of eight players on a soccer field with the dimensions of 50×40 yards.
Players compete using a soccer ball and are allowed to handle and throw the ball until their opponent touches them. The offensive person then has 10 stall counts to release the ball. If the ball falls to the ground, the game then becomes soccer. The only way to bring the ball back to the hands is by contacting the ball with the foot.
Each team also has a goalkeeper set to block incoming balls from entering the 10×5 ft. goal. A goal is scored when an in-bounds player throws, kicks, or heads the ball into the goal. Each point is weighed differently according to the method used by the player.
The objective is to score as many points possible while keeping the other team from scoring. The team with the most points in a match wins the game.
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This article by Justin Ikpo originally appeared in Transform Lives.
