Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 314501adb2f7db51b589e4e0c67be0f63e0006d556171ba3a5cc1d564a3efec3

# Throw and Catch

Participants stand in a circle and establish a set passing sequence with one ball, then maintain that exact pattern as the facilitator introduces multiple balls at once.

**Time:** 15 minutes. Source recommends 10 to 20 minutes; 15 minutes provides adequate rounds and debrief.
**People:** 8 to 20. Single standing or seated circle

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Practice clear handoffs, sustained team focus, and coordination under increasing task loads.
**Use it when:** Use as a physical warm-up or an energizer when a team needs to reset focus and coordinate directly.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the meeting room lacks clear floor space, or when participants cannot catch or throw safely.

## Materials and tools

- 3 to 5 lightweight balls (such as foam or soft tennis balls)

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear a central floor space free of tripping hazards, chairs, and loose bags.
2. Have all participants arrange themselves in an unobstructed circle where everyone can see everyone else.

## Say this to open

We are going to pass these soft balls across the circle in a set pattern. Our goal is to keep several balls moving simultaneously without drops or mix-ups. To start, you will throw to one person across from you while saying their name. Remember who throws to you and who you throw to, because that exact sequence will stay the same for the rest of the game.

## How to run it

### 1. Establish the sequence (4 minutes)

Take one ball. Say a participant's name across the circle, make eye contact, and toss the ball gently underhand. That person catches it, calls out someone who has not received it yet, and throws to them. Continue until every person has received and thrown the ball exactly once. The last person tosses it back to the facilitator. Repeat this exact order once at normal speed so everyone memorizes their sender and receiver.

### 2. Introduce multiple balls (5 minutes)

Start the sequence again with the first ball. Once it has traversed three people, launch a second ball along the exact same path. As the group demonstrates control, feed in a third, fourth, and fifth ball. If a ball drops, the person nearest picks it up and continues passing to their assigned receiver.

### 3. Test maximum flow (3 minutes)

Challenge the group to keep as many balls circulating as possible for two minutes without dropping any. Call out time checks at one minute and thirty seconds. Stop the round when the timer ends or when juggling breaks down entirely.

### 4. Debrief coordination (3 minutes)

Gather the group in place. Ask two reflection questions. Take two or three brief observations from the room.


## Debrief questions

- What specific adjustments did you make when more balls entered the circle?
- How did eye contact and naming help manage handoffs under pressure?

**Finished output:** Completion of a shared multi-object passing sequence across the entire group.

## Remote

This physical exercise cannot work online without becoming a different method. If working remotely, run an alternative verbal chain game: establish a set speaking order where each person calls the next person's name and passes a shared word prompt, then run the sequence with increasing speed.

## Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because catching physical balls requires co-presence. If split, have in-person participants form the physical circle while remote members act as callers or timekeepers, or pivot everyone to the remote verbal alternative.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may sit in chairs within the circle or use underhand rolls on the floor if throwing or standing is inaccessible.
- Anyone may choose the role of ball supplier or timekeeper instead of catching.

## If the session gets stuck

**Balls collide in midair in the center of the circle.**

Remind players to use gentle, arching underhand tosses and to verify eye contact before letting go.

**Participants forget who passes to them or whom they pass to.**

Pause the round, reset to one ball, and walk through the assigned sequence once while players point to their partners.


## Terms used here

- Passing sequence: The fixed order of participants through which every ball travels from start to finish.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Participatory Methods (participatorymethods.com) under the title 'Throw and Catch'.

Retained the core mechanic from Participatory Methods: establishing an assigned name-calling pattern with one ball and gradually adding 3 to 5 balls to test coordination. Added concrete time allocations, explicit underhand safety cues, access roles, and a structured debrief.

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/throw-and-catch/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/throw-and-catch/