Sharks and Minnows

1. For 8 to 16 players, mark a 20 by 20 metre area. The two end lines are the shores. Every minnow has a ball and starts behind one end line; two sharks without a ball wait in the middle.
2. When the sharks shout "go", all the minnows dribble across together and stop the ball over the far line.
3. The sharks try to win a ball or kick it out of the area. A minnow who loses the ball leaves it at the side and becomes a shark.
4. The next crossing starts as soon as the last minnow is over. Keep crossing until one or two minnows are left; they are the sharks for the next round.

The minnow on the shore has to read the sea before going: where the sharks stand, where the gaps between them are, and whether to go early with the crowd or wait until a shark commits to someone else. Halfway across, the choices come faster: speed up into space, slow down and shield, or turn away from the shark closing in. The sharks decide too: which minnow to press, and how two of them can close one gap.