I’ve found that it isn’t always the loudest, the biggest or the most vocal person who is the leader amongst a group. Quite often it is the quiet ones who shine and succeed with leadership when presented with the opportunity. Here are a few of my favourite Youth Leadership Games
Chariot Races
Give each team a bundle of sturdy sticks (hockey sticks would do) and some rope (or skipping ropes).
Teams are given a set time to construct a chariot with the equipment provided. The chariot must be strong enough to hold a player’s weight.
Once constructed, teams line up with a player chosen to ride on the chariot. The rest of the team hold the chariot off the ground.
A race is set up around an oval. At about every 30m place a marker cone.
The race starts. When a team reaches a marker cone, they must swap over the chariot rider. Repeat this at every cone so that all team members have an opportunity to ride the chariot. First team to the end with an intact chariot wins!
Poison River
Have a 20m area set up as the ‘poison river’.
Teams organise themselves along one bank of the river. The aim is to get all team members to the other side, without anyone putting a foot into the poison river.
Each team is given a few small items (eg: small mat, tennis racket, small plank of wood) to use as stepping stones. These can be moved by players as they cross.
Any players who make it to the other side, remain there. One player can run the equipment back to the remaining players on the other bank.
If at any stage, someone puts a foot in the water, the whole team must go back to the start (not those who have made it to the other side). The first team to cross wins! Always good to embellish the game with a story of crocodiles, cannibals and piranhas.
Electric Fence
Best to play this team building group game is on soft grass or on a sandy beach.
For the ‘electric fence’, set up two vertical poles about 3m apart, with a string tied between them. The string needs to be about chest height of the tallest player. Do this for each team.
The aim of the challenge is for each team to get all their players over the electric fence without anyone touching it. If any member of the team touches the fence, the whole team must start again.
Sculptor
Sculptor is a fun youth leadership game.
Each team must have a sculptor. His/her job is to create a sculpture using their team as the medium. He/she moulds players into positions, whereby each player is interconnected to the other players in the team.
After a short time, sculptors must stop and explain their masterpiece to the judges. You can amp this game up by having two Sculptors per group. Wackiapp has an excellent video demonstrating this game.
For a full explanation of this epic game check out our article on SCULPTOR or watched our video demonstration.
The Leadership Game
This youth leadership game is a little hard to explain, as it has many elements. Best to view the video to get the idea. The Leadership Game is a serious game, requiring intense concentration and cooperation between players. It requires the leader to maintain calm control when placed under extreme pressure. A game like this is only suitable once a group has already established a certain level of trust. Check out the video.
Check back with us as we are sure to share a bunch more awesome youth leadership challenges that you can try out with your team.
For more ideas read our article on TEAM BUILDING GAMES.
