How to Play Kickball

Learning the Rules

Understand the field. The field is set up like a diamond. If you have ever watched baseball, it is the same as a baseball diamond. Home base, where the ‘batter’ kicks the ball from, is the base of the diamond. First base is diagonally fifteen yards away from home base up to the right. Second base is diagonally up to the left fifteen yards away from first base, and third base is diagonally up to the left from home base. Foul territory is everything outside of the line from home base to first base, and home base to third base extending into the outfield.

Learn the positions. The defensive positions include a pitcher, a catcher, three players to cover each base, three out fielders, and one shortstop to cover the area between second and third base. When your team is on offense you take turns standing at home base and kicking the ball that the pitcher from the opposite team rolls at you. The pitcher rolls the ball to the kicking team across home plate. They stand about 10 yards (9 m) away from home plate. The catcher tries to tag players out at home base and passes the ball back to the pitcher. The players covering each base try to get the ball after the opposing team kicks it. Once they get the ball the goal is to tag the runner out before they get to the base safely. You tag a runner out by touching them with the ball or throwing the ball at them. The outfielders want to get the ball if the opposing team kicks it away from the players covering the bases and pass it to one of the bases so that their teammate can tag a runner out. The shortstop tries to stop the ball from bouncing into the outfield and also wants to tag runners out or pass it to the players covering the bases.

Learn how to score. A team scores a run when a player touches all four bases in order and touches home base without getting out. When it is your turn to be up at bat, the pitcher from the opposite team will roll the ball to you. You try to kick the ball in such a way that it stays in the field of play. Once you kick the ball, you immediately try to run to first base before the opposite team tags you with the ball or touches first base with the ball. If you make it to first base, you are safe. Whenever you are on a base you cannot be tagged out. If you have a really good kick, you might be able to run all the way to second or third base before they catch you. The team with the most runs at the end of a game wins. A Kickball game lasts six innings. During an inning each team gets a chance to kick. Your team continues to kick until you have accumulated three outs.

Understand how to get someone out. The defensive team needs to get three outs before they can switch to offense. There are four ways to get an out. The pitcher can strike the batter out. If the pitcher rolls three good pitches at the batter and the batter fails to keep the ball outside of the foul zone or misses the pitch all together, that is called a strikeout. The next player on the offensive team will then come up to bat. Some friendly kickball games play without strikeouts. A tag out occurs when a defensive player touches an offensive player with the ball when they are not on a base. The defensive team can cause a force out if the ball gets to a base before the offensive player arrives and they offensive player can’t go back to their previous base. They can’t go back to their previous base if it is occupied by a teammate or if it is home base. The defensive team can catch a fly ball. If the ball is kicked into the air by the offense and the opposing team catches it before it hits the ground that is considered an out.

Preparing to Play

Gather your materials. You need four bases, although you can use shoes or shirts to designate bases if you don’t have any real bases available. You also need a rubber ball about the size of a basketball.

Find an open space. You do not need to play with an official size field, but you should have enough space to run around and kick the ball. Since people are going to be kicking a rubber ball you should make sure you are not in a place where you will damage anything fragile or valuable.

Assemble a group of people who want to play. Ideally you want nine people on your team and eighteen people total. You can’t play kickball by yourself, and it’s generally accepted that you should have at least four people on each team. With fewer people it becomes much harder to play the field or to get people on bases. Remember to decide who will be on which team.

Playing Kickball

Choose which team will get the ball first. The other team will have to take the field while choosing defensive positions. One person on the defensive team must be the pitcher.

Choose an offensive lineup. The team who kicks first should choose a kicking order. The offensive team should get in a line to determine who will kick the ball first, second, third and so on.

Roll the ball. The pitcher rolls the kicking team the ball. The kicker stands at home base and the pitcher rolls the ball directly toward them over home base. They should roll it in such a way that the ball stays flat to the ground. The ball shouldn’t bounce wildly – that is considered a bad pitch. You are allowed to roll it fast, but kickball is supposed to be a fun game. Generally you want the other team to kick the ball and then it is up to your team to play good defense.

Kick the ball. The first person in line on the offensive team will try to kick the ball out towards the field as it rolls towards them. Start running as soon as you have kicked the ball as long as it remains in the field of play. You can kick it on the ground or in the air. Try to kick the ball so that it doesn’t go right at a defender. The kicker runs to first base, then second base, and so on around the bases. If you get back home base again after touching all other bases, you score one run. The defensive players try to catch the ball in the air to earn an out. If the defensive players are unable to catch the ball, they run to get the ball and then run or pass the ball to the base ahead of the kicker. They want to get to the base in time to touch the base while holding the ball, or touch the kicker himself with the ball.

Switch sides after three outs. Once the team gets three outs, the two teams switch places. The offensive players take up defensive positions and the defensive players form a batting order. You then continue to play the game in the same way. Once each side has batted once, the inning is over. You play six innings in kickball before you determine the winner of the game.

Determine the winner at the end, based on the number of runs. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. After the game the two teams can line up side by side and shake hands and say " good game" to show good sportsmanship.