Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6

    Lesson Five: Longball is not Baseball!

Teacher Information:

Note: The following information is taken from the Virtual Museum of Canada. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/
Traditions/English/woodland_games_03.html

Similar to baseball, longball uses a stick or a bat to hit a ball into the field where the opposing team is standing. The batter will get three attempts (strikes) to hit the ball. Once the ball is hit, instead of the batter running, the batter stays put. The rest of the batter's team must run to a designated line on the field and run back to the place where the batter is standing.
The outfield team must catch the hit ball and then throw it at the runners from the opposing team. Once a runner is hit with the ball, it is considered an out. Three outs are required to change from the field to the batting position. A point is awarded for each team member who returns to the spot the ball was hit from, if the ball has not touched them.

To play longball you will need the following materials:

• Baseball bat
• Soft ball the size of a normal baseball (safe to throw at a person)
  2 - 9.15 meters (30ft) ropes or chalked lines.

Main Lesson:

The playing field should be approximately 15-23 meters (50-75 feet) long and with no width boundaries. The Finish & Start line is placed at one end with the safe line parallel to it but 15-23 meters (50-75 feet) away. (See Longball Field Diagram.)

Getting Started:

1. Divide the players into two teams.
2. Select a pitcher, an umpire and a catcher (an adult or neutral player) for the entire game.
3. Outfield Team - has no assigned positions, should be scattered between the start/finish line and the safe line. No outfield player can be positioned behind the two lines.
4. Batting Team - selects a batter who will be the batter for the entire time this team is up to bat. Batter does not run. The batter has three good pitches to hit the ball (the umpire and pitcher decide if it is a good pitch).
5. Fouls - there is no foul ground save the area behind the start/finish line. If the batter misses three good pitches this is counted as an out. Three outs are required before the teams switch positions.
6. Batting Team - Runners are the remaining players from this team. They are positioned along each side of the batter who is in the middle of the start/finish line.
7. Hitting the Ball
1. Runners: once the ball is hit into the fair ground, the runners run toward the safe line and back if possible. Runners can no longer be called out or hit once they cross the safe line. At least one runner must make it to the safe line and back to the start/finish line after each hit.
2. Outfield: the outfield team must catch the ball to get an out or they can throw the ball at the opposing team below the waist. If a ball throw goes above the waist it will count as a point for the opposing team.
3. Outs: Three outs are required to switch team positions. The outfield team can try to get three outs on one hit.
4. Points Scored: A point is scored every time a runner makes it from the start line to the safe line and back to the finish line. If the hit is good the runners can continue to run back and forth from each line as many times as possible, until an out is made. Note: remember that at least one runner must make it from start line to the safe line and back each time the ball is hit. The final score can get high into the 100s, thus scorekeepers are required.
5. Innings: Three innings are played because the score increases quickly.