4 Little League Team Building Activities

Team building is an important part of any sport and little league is no exception. Here are four little league team building activities

Kids are full of energy: and Little League is a great way to get that energy out in a healthy, fun, and productive way. 

However, channeling that energy into a cohesive functioning team can be a challenge. 

Luckily, we have compiled a list of the four best Little League team building activities. With these, you are well on your way to helping the kids interact and becoming a close-knit and winning team! 

1. Get in Shape: Competition Style 

If your child is passionate about participating in Little League, they probably have a zest for competition as well. 

A great way to promote team building and simultaneously get the kids in great shape for the season is to host a fitness competition. It's simple and effective. 

We'd suggest holding this competition during the first two weeks of the season. Here are some ideas for the challenge 

• Individual Practice: Have the parents track the time their child spends practicing at home. Whoever has logged the most individual practice hours at the end of the two weeks is the winner!  
• Obstacle Course: If you're looking for a way to conduct an outdoor team building activity, you should consider setting up an obstacle course with Hoola hoops, cones, and balls. The kids will have a blast with each other and it will promote healthy competition. 

• Minute to Win It: This competition is fun: and free! It requires no equipment. Simply have the kids plank for a minute, or stand on one foot. Create a point system so all players feel encouraged to participate no matter if they win or not.
• Tennis Racquet Scrimmage: For a more baseball-specific replace traditional baseball supplies with a tennis racquet and a tennis ball. Play a realistic scrimmage using the tennis supplies to make it more fun and easier.  

 2. Human Knot

Human Knot: it's a classic. Plus, the instructions are simple, as not to confuse young children. This activity requires team building to solve a puzzle. 

To conduct this activity, have the children form a circle. From there, have each child grab a hand across from them in the circle.

Once everyone has grabbed a hand, and everyone is connected, the kids have to undo themselves without letting go of each other's hands. 

After spinning, stepping over arms, and ducking, the children should unravel to resemble the original circle. 

At the end of the activity, the players should feel a sense of pride in solving their human knot puzzle. Be sure to tell the children the importance of being a cohesive team unit when playing baseball. 

This is a great game that solely focuses on team building, rather than competition. Each child has to work together if they are to solve the puzzle successfully. 

3. Name Games 

Ice breakers are great for both kids and adults, and Little League players are not an exception. At the beginning of a Little league season, learning names can be difficult for coaches, parents, and players. 

For this name game, grab a baseball. Have the children sit crisis cross applesauce on the ground.  Have the kids take turns passing the ball to each other. When a child has the ball, have them say their name and a fun fact. 

For example, little Tommy catches the ball. He says "Hi my name is Tommy and my favorite subject in school is lunch!" After he's finished he will pass the ball to another child to again repeat this process. 

Hopefully, by the end of the game, the team should be more familiar with each other.

4. Play Bolf 

The game of Bolf is a fantastic team building activity for any sport, but it works great for Little league because it incorporates ball-tossing as well as fundamental team-building skills. 

To set up to play Bolf with your team, first grab two large buckets. If you don't have any buckets, save money and grab a couple of garbage cans. 

To start, split your group into two even teams. Set the buckets or trash cans apart fifteen feet. If you think this is too far for young children, try moving the buckets closer together. Each team will be given two soccer balls, ping pong balls, volleyballs, baseballs, basketballs, footballs, and golf balls. 

The overall objective of the game is to throw and sink each type of ball into the bucket. Have the children line up and let the first one attempt to throw one of the balls into the opposite bucket. If the child makes it, the ball they threw is set to the side. 

If they don't, the ball is handed off to the next child in line. The child that didn't make the ball into the bucket should retreat to the end of their team's line.  

As the game goes on, the children should continue tossing the balls one at a time. The first team to score a bucket of one of each kind of ball should be deemed the winner of the game. 

This game is great for healthy competition, as well as the children should cheer one another on when they are up to toss the ball. 

Little League Team Building Activities Matter

Young children are impressionable, and having a cohesive team unit is incredibly important for Little league teams. They will have to go through their season together-- so it's a good idea to have the kids start to bond early. 

Not only are these team building activities important to having a cohesive team, but they are also a great way to help children developmentally.  If you use these Little league team building activities it will help the children develop socially. 

For more information on tips for having a great Little League season, feel free to look through our other blog posts!