Protect the President

Engage (What you need to know) 

• Ages

  • 13 - 25

• Number of Participants 

  • 10 - 30

• Time frame 

  • 10-20 minutes 

• Necessary Components 

  • Beach ball 

    • Dodgeball can be used too if you want to make it more competitive. 

• Engage (Purpose)

  • This game is designed to get everyone up on their feet and throwing a ball around. It puts everyone into a big circle with a very clear goal so everyone is working together while being face to face. It is also just fun to try and throw a ball at someone. 

Demonstration / Guide

1. First I gather everyone together and have them form a circle. Then I will randomly select two people to come and stand in the middle circle. One of them is now the president and the other is the President’s body guard. 

2. The president is not allowed to their feet whatsoever. They are now completely rooted in place. They are allowed to duck, dodge, cower, cover, but they must stand in the same spot in the exact middle of the circle. If they are hit by the ball at all, they are ‘killed’ and go and join the rest of the circle. 

3. Which leads to the body guard. The body guard must “Protect the president” they are allowed to move around, and take shots for the president. They can jump in the way, block with their body, hands, feet, ect. If they catch the ball they must throw it back out into the rest of the circle. If the president is killed, they become the president. 

4. The circle. The circle's only goal is to try and hit the president with a ball. The person who succeeds in hitting the president with a ball becomes the next body guard and must protect the new president. The game continues on in this pattern until I decided to call it. Some optional ways to make it harder are to introduce a second ball or restrict the bodyguards area of movement. 

Explaining the requirements 

• Gather everyone in a circle 

• Select one president to start

• Select on bodyguard to start

• The president cannot move their feet

• The bodyguard must protect the president and can get hit by the ball 

• The circle must toss the ball around the circle to circumnavigate the body guard and try and hit the president. 

• The person who does successfully hit the president becomes the bodyguard

• The bodyguard becomes the president 

• The game continues on in this manner until the facilitator ends it.