Sports Fundamentals and Game Strategies

About This Course

Sports Fundamentals and Game Strategies introduces students to the foundational skills and rules of key team sports including basketball, soccer, volleyball, and pickleball. Through hands-on practice, students will develop basic athletic skills while gaining an understanding of the rules and dynamics of each sport. In addition to sport-specific skill development, each lesson integrates a variety of warmups, workouts, cognitive prompts on rules and regulations, formative and summative assessments, reflection prompts, movement journals, and activity trackers. Prerequisites:  None

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• Demonstrate competency in foundational skills across basketball, soccer, volleyball, and pickleball, including passing, shooting, dribbling, serving, and defensive movements (Sport-Specific Skill Development)
• Apply knowledge of movement concepts, game strategies, and skill execution to improve performance and decision-making in a variety of team sport contexts (Movement Concepts and Strategy)
• Set SMART goals for sport-specific improvement, track personal progress through movement journals and self-assessments, and adjust strategies based on formative feedback (Personal Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring)
• Explain key rules, positions, and tactics of each sport, and apply this knowledge to simulated gameplay scenarios to build sport literacy and strategic thinking (Rules, Tactics and Gameplay)
• Execute sport-specific warm-ups, cool-downs, and recovery activities to promote mobility, prevent injury, and build lifelong fitness habits (Fitness Foundations and Injury Prevention)
• Adapt sport drills and equipment as needed to safely and effectively practice skills in limited spaces or with minimal resources (Adaptability and Resourcefulness)
• Reflect on personal growth and skill development using guided journaling prompts, performance logs, and self-evaluations (Self-Reflection and Metacognition)
• Demonstrate responsible and inclusive behavior in physical activities, including respectful communication, teamwork, and peer encouragement (Respectful Participation and Collaboration)

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Basketball

Unit 2: Soccer

Unit 3: Volleyball

Unit 4: Pickleball

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: This course emphasizes "Adaptability & Resourcefulness" to practice skills in limited spaces or with minimal resources. Many drills are designed to be modified for home practice environments, which may reduce equipment requirements while maintaining skill development opportunities.
Required materials include: comfortable/flexible athletic clothing that permits movement; supportive, athletic shoes suitable for court and field sports; water bottle for hydration; towel; stopwatch, timer, or heart rate monitor; measuring tape; a safe area for exercise practice, including a clear floor space adequate for movement drills; access to a wall (for passing and skill practice drills across multiple sports); basketball (regulation or appropriate size) and basketball hoop/goal (regulation height preferred, but adjustable acceptable); open court space or driveway with hoop; soccer ball (size 4 or 5); volleyball (regulation or practice ball)--note: this course emphasizes skills "a learner can do alone with just a ball and a wall; pickleball paddle and pickleballs (plastic pickleballs with holes - multiple recommended); pickleball court and net or alternative practice space with marked boundaries--note: as pickleball differs significantly from tennis and table tennis in rules and equipment, sport-specific gear is essential for authentic skill development.
Optional materials include: cones or markers (for agility drills and creating boundaries); small goals or markers to create target or goal areas

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.

Ensure that your school or district network and device administrator establishes network access permissions or exceptions for online resources relevant to the course in which you are choosing to enroll. Ref., Michigan Virtual Course Allow List

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements.

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building, discussion-based assessments (one-on-one conversations with your teacher), and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: None