Table Tennis Games for Physical Education

Table tennis, or ping-pong, teaches Physical Education students about hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, position play and social interaction. Before introducing table tennis games, Physical Education teachers should ensure there are enough tables to allow a substantial number of students to play at one time.

Knockout

This version of table tennis may be played as doubles or singles and is great for classes that have a large number of students in comparison to tables. Divide the class into teams. Begin as a normal game of table tennis; however, when one player misses or hits the ball in a way that allows the other player to score, he is out, the next player on his team steps in and so forth.

Hanetsuki

This Japanese version of table tennis categorizes each table into its own team of six to eight players. The object of the game is to keep the ball in play longer than the other competing tables of teams. The Physical Education teacher eliminates tables as their ball goes out of game play. The table who keeps their ball in play the longest wins. The teacher may require assistance, depending on the number of table teams.