A cage ball, also known as an Earth ball, is a large, inflated

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

, used in many American

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

programs. Cage balls typically have a diameter of 48" or 60", though 72" diameter models are available. The inventor of the cage ball is Doctor Emmett Dunn Angell. Crab Soccer (8423494658)

Physical education teachers will make many uses of cage balls, but perhaps the most common use is to employ it in a pseudo-soccer game. Because of its size, the ball is virtually impossible to

dribble In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

downfield, and students simply push against it with their bodies, often with several children climbing on the ball at once. As normally inflated, the ball yields easily to pressure. Some teachers use a rule under which children are permitted only to use their legs and not kick the ball. Cage balls are also used in "cooperative games".NCHPAD : Maintaining or Improving Fitness in Childhood Disorders
/ref> Cage balls are often used to play crab soccer in American schools. The competitive adult sport of

Kin-Ball Kimball, is a team sport created in Quebec, Canada in 1986 by Mario Demers, a physical education professor, in which the main distinctive characteristics are the large size of the ball (1.2m (48 inches) in diameter) and that the matches are played ...

is also played with a cage ball. Cage balls have an internal rubber bladder to contain the air. The outside is sometimes

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

, though for many years the covering was only made of

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

. Although

spherical A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ce ...

(when not being pushed), the cage ball shares the

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

's "

laces Lace is a lightweight fabric patterned with open holes. Lace(s) may also refer to: Arts and media Films * ''Lace'' (1926 film), a German silent crime film * ''Lace'' (1928 film), a Soviet silent film * ''Laces'' (film), a 2018 Israeli film M ...

", which hold the bladder in.

References

Balls Inflatable manufactured goods {{sport-equipment-stub

See also

References