Resources: Tennis Ball Game

Doug Staneart  |  February 19, 2010
last updated

Tennis Ball Team Building GameThe Tennis Ball Team Building Game: Divide the participants up into small groups of about six to eight people. Then, have them arrange themselves in a circle.

Give a tennis ball to one person and explain the rules of the game:

  1. Each group is in competition with the other groups in the room. The group who can complete the most “circuits” in a given time will be the winner.
  2. A completed circuit occurs when every person in the group has touched the tennis ball.
  3. Only one person in the group can touch the tennis ball at one time. (Therefore the ball must be tossed rather than handed off.)
  4. If the ball ever touches the floor, then production must stop for one-minute.

Have the teams complete a few circuits to get comfortable. They will begin creating patterns that make the process more efficient. The facilitator may want to stop the groups and get feedback as this happens. Also, help them understand that this is a natural progression in business as well.

Have the groups continue to complete circuits, but as time progresses, the facilitator will add additional rules to make the process more difficult.

Additional Tennis Ball Team Building Game Rules.

Use your imagination to come up with other rules and be sure to have a prize for the winning team. At the end of the game, ask the group how did the game relate to things they face in the business world

author Doug Staneart
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Doug Staneart is president of The Leader's Institute ®. He is based in the Dallas, Texas Region. He is a specialist in corporate team building activities and custom presentation skills seminars.
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