Chicken Baseball

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Energize participants through rapid physical coordination and whole-group relay movement.

Use it when: In-person retreats, workshops, or training sessions when participants need physical movement, quick laughter, and a break from sitting.

Skip it when: When playing space is confined, flooring is slick, participants have mobility limitations without suitable alternate roles, or quiet concentration is required.

Group arrangement: Two teams, ideally equal, facing off in an open room. An odd participant or non-runner serves as scorekeeper.

Timing: Playmeo suggests up to 15 minutes or 5 innings; UWT suggests 15 minutes total including setup and debrief.

Materials and tools

• 1 rubber chicken (or safe soft toy)
• 1 flip chart or whiteboard with dry-erase marker for scorekeeping
• Floor tape or cones to mark playing boundaries

Before participants arrive

1. Clear an open area free of tables, loose chairs, and tripping hazards.
2. Mark a perimeter boundary so throws remain in a safe zone.
3. Position the flip chart where both teams can clearly see the running score.

Say this to open

We are playing Chicken Baseball. One team bats by launching our rubber chicken into open space. While their runner circles their own team to score runs, the fielders retrieve the chicken, form a line, and pass it over heads and between legs. When the last fielder gets it, they shout STOP and scoring ends. Let us set up our teams.

How to run it

1. Form teams and explain rules 3 minutes

   Divide participants into two teams. If the count is odd or someone opts out of running, assign them as scorekeeper. Designate Team A to bat first and Team B to field. State safety rules: toss the chicken into open space away from faces, pass with care, and keep balance when bending.

2. Play first half-inning 3 minutes

   Team A huddles together. One batter throws the chicken into open space and runs laps around their cluster, scoring 1 point per full lap. The first fielder to touch the chicken stays in place. Other fielders line up behind them immediately. Fielders pass the chicken backward, alternating over heads and between legs. The last fielder grabs it and shouts STOP. The runner halts instantly, and the scorekeeper records completed laps.

3. Reverse roles and play additional half-innings 6 minutes

   Swap team roles so Team B bats and Team A fields. Team B chooses a thrower and runner, launches the chicken, and runs laps while Team A retrieves and runs the over-under relay. Repeat for a second full inning (two more turns) if time permits, rotating who throws and runs each time. Stop play when the timer reaches 6 minutes.

4. Tally scores and debrief 3 minutes

   Announce the final score. Gather the group and ask 2 debrief questions about speed, communication, and line organization. Take 3 or 4 brief observations from the room.

Debrief questions

• What helped the fielding team organize into a single line without delay?
• How did your team communicate when passing the chicken under time pressure?

Finished output: A recorded score tally across completed half-innings and an energized, reconnected group.

Remote

This activity requires physical sprinting and a tactile passing relay. It cannot be run remotely without abandoning the defining mechanic. For an online energizer, run a camera scavenger hunt or word-relay challenge instead.

Hybrid

Chicken Baseball is strictly an in-person physical energizer. Remote participants cannot participate in the physical relay or running laps. Do not attempt a hybrid version; run a separate digital game for online groups.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who choose not to run or bend can serve as scorekeeper, boundary referee, or stationary center anchor for the batting cluster.
• Any participant may pass on throwing or running laps without explanation and take a stationary relay role.

If the session gets stuck

Fielders scramble around the chicken and create confusion about who leads.

Remind players that the first person to touch the chicken stays where they are as line leader; everyone else must file behind them.

The batting cluster drifts outward, forcing the runner into an exhausting wide circle.

Pause briefly and instruct the batting team to squeeze shoulder-to-shoulder to keep the running lap compact.

Terms used here

• Over-under relay: A passing line where teammates pass an object backward, alternating over the head and between the legs.
• Batting cluster: The tight group of teammates standing together while a designated runner circles around them.