The Push or Catch Game

Push or Catch is a challenging quick reflex exercise that is simple, energizing, and highly engaging for small groups.

Start by asking your group to form a circle. Stand in the centre of the circle, holding a ball.

Explain to your group that you will soon start to pass the ball, randomly, to one person at a time at the same time as randomly calling one of two commands “PUSH” or “CATCH.” Challenge the person receiving the ball to do the opposite of the instruction.

That is, if you say “PUSH” as you pass the ball, you expect the receiving person to catch the ball, and vice versa. If the person receiving the ball successfully performs the opposite action, they may remain in the game and pass the ball back to the middle person.

This process of passing the ball, calling instructions and responding continues multiple times. The game continues until there one last person is declared the winner.

This exercise requires one to completely rewire their brains. Naturally, when our brain hears “CATCH” every fibre of our being is programmed to catch the ball.

You may wish to start passing the ball relatively slowly. This helps introduce your group to the parameters of the game as much as build a little confidence in what is required.

Moment of Reflection

• How did you respond to the challenge of this game?
• What emotions did you experience as you played?
• How did you respond to these emotions? Did your reactions improve or impede your performance?
• What strategies did you employ to improve your ability to respond accurately?
• What did you observe in the experiences or reactions of others? What did you interpret these to mean?
• Did your performance improve over time? Why?

The topics of this publication: interactions, active listening