We’ve all been in a rut with our fitness routine, and as teachers, it can be especially challenging to think of new activities to engage high school students. If you’re ready to escape the monotony of your current drills, you’ve come to the right place. We have games for warm-ups, team-building, and skill development to keep things fresh. So, get ready with this list of 38 gym games for high school students and be on the mark to reenergize physical education!
Warm-Ups
1. Down And Back Dynamic With Yoga Stop
This game is perfect for warming up fundamental movement skills. And, even better, once you’ve taught your kids the basic poses, it becomes a self-paced activity. Using the lines of a basketball court, students pair up, take turns running to the half court, complete the yoga exercise, and then switch roles.
Learn More: Gopher Sport
2. Skills Circuit
Create a quick and fun opening activity of circuit training for your basketball unit that challenges your athletes to multitask! Set up signs around the gym for them to move through each of these drills that focus on improving ball handling, agility, and footwork!
Learn More: One Up Basketball
3. Steal The Ball
Your students will love this team game that can be adapted for several different sports! Start with a bunch of balls in a central area that are equally spaced from your teams. When the whistle blows, they’ll retrieve a ball by either dribbling, throwing, or setting, depending on the sport they’re learning.
Learn More: Phys Ed Games
4. Trash Clash
This one is geared toward younger students, but don’t underestimate how much fun your high schoolers will have with this team game! Divide the gym in half, spread around bean bags and dodgeballs, and then let the two sides battle it out to get as much ‘trash’ off their ‘yard’ as possible.
Learn More: Phys Ed Games
5. Basketball Flag Tag
Your basketball stars will love this twist on flag football. They’ll practice dribble control as they try to steal the flags from other players while avoiding having their own flag pulled. If caught, they must move outside of the court and perform an exercise to rejoin the game!
Learn More: The Physical Educator
6. H.O.R.S.E.
This classic game challenges your students to make shots from a specific place around a hoop. If they make it, the next player has to try a shot from the same spot, but if they miss it, they’ll get a letter. The first one to spell the whole word is out!
Learn More: Rookie Road
7. Spaceship Passing
Imaginations will soar in this fun game that has ‘astronauts’ passing ‘NASA files’ while avoiding ‘alien’ interception! Your players are spaced apart on mats where they must work in teams to make clean passes to each other without allowing the other players in the middle to intercept.
Learn More: Screen Pal
8. Soccer Mini Golf
Set up a mini-golf obstacle course for your high schoolers to practice their dribbling, shooting, and passing skills. They’ll love this clever drill that refines their soccer skills with the use of a golf ball all while competing with a partner to complete the course for the lowest score possible.
Learn More: YouTube
9. Soccer Bowling
Soccer bowling is another hybrid game that makes skills practice more interesting! Place mini cones in a triangle like you’d find in a bowling alley, and have your kids take aim with their best strike to earn their team points. Follow the same scoring practice as bowling and watch the games begin!
Learn More: YouTube
10. Soccer Noodle Tag
This one keeps things moving! Start by dividing your students into dribblers and taggers. The dribblers pass a soccer ball to a teammate while avoiding a noodle tagger. If tagged, they’re ‘frozen’ in a free dance until a teammate makes a successful pass to bring them back to the game!
Learn More: The PE Specialist
11. Dead Fish
Simple, yet effective, this game is a surprisingly fun way to work on aim for volleyball serves. Players on the opposite side of the net either sit or lie face down on the floor in their receiving positions. The server on the other side must hit one of the ‘dead fish’ in order to change servers.
Learn More: Art Of Coaching Volleyball
12. Bound Ball
This easy-to-implement game can be designed with any number of players and doesn’t require a volleyball net! The focus is on setting your kiddos up for success by having them make passes with a bounce to encourage quick footwork and effective ball handling.
Learn More: YouTube
13. Royal Court
Start this competition by arranging at least four mini-courts around your gym and dividing your students into pairs. Each pair will take on an opposing team while practicing setting, bumping, and spiking. As pairs win, they’ll make their way to the royal court where they’ll defend this coveted position.
Learn More: Open Phys Ed
14. 9 Square
Get your players off the volleyball court to continue their practice of control and area ownership with the use of a 9-square setup. This is a unique way for them to refine their setting and receiving skills as they tactically aim for another player’s square.
Learn More: 9 Square In The Air
15. Obstacle Course Relay
Set up your gym, or if weather permits, take this one outside for a little added fun in the sun! Start by dividing your class into teams to complete a challenging obstacle course relay style! This is the perfect way to adapt a classic activity to promote teamwork and camaraderie.
Learn More: The High Schooler
16. Secret Agent Dodgeball
This one adds a clandestine element to the classic game of dodgeball that your kiddos are sure to love. Follow the regular dodgeball rules, but this time, assign a “secret agent” on each team who has the power to bring a teammate back from being ‘out’ with an ‘undercover’ high five!
Learn More: The PE Shed
17. Bench Dodgeball
Another dodgeball variation includes placing benches at the back of each side of the court. Your students will follow the regular rules of dodgeball, but if they get hit, they’ll have to stand on the opposing team’s bench where they must catch a pass from a teammate to rejoin the game!
Learn More: The PE Shed
18. Capture The Flag Squads
The twist in this classic gym game is that rather than only two teams, you’ll mix things up by having up to four teams! Your players will love raising the stakes by working together to steal flags from the other squads while being on the lookout for “attacks” from multiple angles!
Learn More: YouTube
19. Hoop Scrabble
A mix of wit and speed, this game requires working together to spell words from tiles. Your kids will race to gather tiles, return them to their hula hoop home base, and create words that meet a category called off by you. They’ll love assigning a runner to ‘‘steal’ letters from opposing teams!
Learn More: Mr. Gym
20. Hunger Games Field Day
Your kids will definitely get into the spirit of this field day activity as they work their way through obstacle course challenges that reflect those faced by popular Hunger Games characters. Include ceremonial activities and speeches to really round out the experience!
Learn More: PE Central
21. Hunger Games Tag
Kids invented this creative game that was also inspired by the Hunger Games. You’ll need three tags per player, string, and extra tags to hide in an area that has plenty of trees and hiding spots. Your high schoolers will use wit and speed to confiscate tags and outlast others!
Learn More: We Have Kids
22. Kickball Frenzy
This hybrid game of kickball and cricket is sure to get everybody moving! You can choose to be the pitcher or allow your students to take turns. The kicking team must defend the wicket, while the field players have to get the ball back to the pitcher as quickly as possible.
Learn More: YouTube
23. Matball
Another twist on kickball is matball which includes multiple runners and larger mats to serve as a team’s base in enemy territory. Assign one of your kids from each team to start on their team’s mat as the catcher with the goal of eventually getting all team members to the mat!
Learn More: The Physical Educator
24. Blasterball
This take on baseball is a race against time! After a player from the batting team hits the ball, they’ll try to make it around all the bases without stopping. The challenge for the fielding team is to pass the ball to five different teammates before the runner makes it home!
Learn More: YouTube
25. Water Balloon Volleyball
This warm-weather game is sure to result in loads of laughter! Set up your nets outside, create your teams, and then surprise your students with water balloons instead of volleyballs! The goal is to use a beach towel and soft hands to catch the balloon and toss it back!
Learn More: The Game Gal
26. Ultimate Frisbee
This game has definitely grown in popularity since its invention in the 1960s and it continues to be a fun and fast-paced team sport that your kids will love. They’ll work together to pass the frisbee in the hopes of scoring a goal in the opposing team’s end zone.
Learn More: Gym Class Ultimate Frisbee
27. Disc Golf
Another classic frisbee game is disc golf, sometimes known as Frolf! Your students will use the scoring system of golf by attempting to have the lowest number of tosses toward a target. Play this one individually or in teams, or consider including it in obstacle courses and relay racing!
Learn More: PE Central
28. Touch Football
Your athletes will appreciate the challenge and excitement of this game which is modeled after the rules of American football. The difference is that instead of tackles, they’ll only need to be touched for the play to end. This is the perfect game for both fitness and teamwork!
Learn More: Australian Sports Commission
29. Handball
In this classic team sport, your high schoolers will be on teams of seven where they’ll pass a ball from teammate to teammate to eventually score a goal. This game requires teamwork, communication, and skills like speed, agility, and precision!
Learn More: PE Links
30. Four Square
Need a simple yet fun game to add to your circuits? You can begin by teaching the classic game, but as your kiddos get more comfortable with control and pace, think about making adjustments. Better yet – have them add different rules to make things more challenging.
Learn More: Be Well Played
31. Sharks And Minnows
Younger kids are certainly fans of this game, but your older students will also love this twist on the classic version of tag. One of them will play the ‘shark’ who will control when the minnows ‘swim’ and when there is an ‘attack’. Those tagged can become a shark or sit out.
Learn More: Playworks
32. Yuki Ball
Just the name of this one sounds fun! This game is modeled after a snowball fight and your kids will love using barriers for protection while aiming Yuki balls at their opponents. This all happens while they attempt to move in on the opposing team to steal their flag!
Learn More: Canada Go 4 Sport
33. Sabakiball
This inclusive and action-packed game is played in teams of five players. The challenge is to move a sabakiball quickly down the court to strike the opposing team’s goalpost. The ball must be thrown within three seconds, thus forcing your students to include all the players on the field!
Learn More: Sabakiball International
34. Tchoukball
Despite being unfamiliar to us, this one has been around since the 1960s! This is another non-contact team game that borrows from the likes of handball and volleyball. Your kiddos will love the unique scoring process – points are only scored when the ball launches off the tchoukball frame and hits the ground!
Learn More: Today Online
35. Circuit Training Course
Circuit training is wonderful for pushing your students to challenge themselves and each other! After you teach them the exercises, allow them to complete as many of the circuits as they can in a given amount of time. Have them record their progress to promote personal goal-setting!
Learn More: Action for Healthy Kids
36. Deck Of Cards
Trainers love using cards to up the ante and this approach is now working its way into high school gym classes! Each suit is assigned an exercise, with the number on the card equaling the number of repetitions in a set. It’s great for adding an unexpected element to circuit training!
Learn More: Very Well Fit
37. Fitness Bingo
Add variety to your gym class by giving your kids blank BINGO cards. Have them get creative and choose the exercises for each square, or create the boards yourself. They’ll mark off when they’ve completed each activity and win a prize for being the first to achieve BINGO!
Learn More: YouTube
38. Yoga Circuit
Yoga is great for helping your teens focus on developing muscle tone while learning the benefits of mindfulness. Plus, yoga is a powerful strength builder and a solid way to restore bodies after an intense workout. Teach the poses and have them work their way through this holistic circuit!
Learn More: Tummee
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