
I am fortunate and lucky in the fact that I have adequate resources to choose from when delivering my lessons. Of course, I would love to have much more, but I can essentially get my job done effectively with what I have. However, I know for a fact that many international or even state schools lack the necessary equipment to carry out their lessons the way that they would like. When looked at in a positive light, teachers in situations such as this become extremely resourceful and learn to use creativity and imagination in order to come up with great lesson ideas despite lacking in resources.
For my current striking and fielding unit, I have only 2 tees, but a fair number of sponge bats and balls. The one thing that I do not like about a unit such as this is the wait time necessary to have a go at striking the ball.
Herd of Horses Striking and Fielding Rally Game

Key defensive considerations are that once the offensive player has thrown the ball it must be fielded by the whoever it is closest to. This person must pass the ball (not hand it) to a second player who must then pass it to a third player. The third player is then responsible for running the ball and handing it to the teacher. Once the teacher is in possession of the ball any player who is caught in between bases is out and must return to home plate. If any member of the herd of horses makes it to home plate safely, they mark a run on a score sheet posted.
Every player on the striking team has a chance to strike once by giving them an ordered number. Regardless of where they are on base, if it is their turn to strike, they must run to home plate and take their turn striking. Once everyone has had a go at striking, the teams switch and each player on the other team has a chance. This is a quick moving game with lots of action so each team will probably get 2 or 3 chances to throw during a 30-minute game.
At the start of the game, every starts running from home plate, but this mass or herd of runners will begin to spread out as the game progresses. However, it is essential that the running team pay attention when they are running to base as their may be a defensive player fielding the ball along the base line. The runners are allowed to run around these players off of the base line to ensure their are no unnecessary collisions. OK, enough typing here!!! I don’t like being too wordy or text-heavy when describing, but some times it is necessary. Please watch the video above.
The Assessment
Before the game had begun, I had the students, in pairs, work on striking and fielding at 5 separate stations (below).
A)Self-assess themselves in all 5 methods of striking
B)Identify which methods they could strike with most power
C)Identify which methods they were most consistent at
D)Self-assess themselves in fielding
E)Identify which type of fielding gives them most problems
F)Explain the difference between hitting for power and hitting for consistency
Please see video below of me explaining the assessment to my students and examples of their work.