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GAME OF THE MONTH

2 Truths and 1 Lie

Spring leagues are on their way to practice season, and teams are coming together as they plan for events and time together on the trails. It’s important to build trust with student-athletes and foster a team environment at the beginning of every season. There are many games, both on and off the bike, that can help foster a fun and inclusive environment from the very beginning, and in a way that is fun for everyone.
This month, check out “2 truths and 1 lie” – a game played with the intent of getting to know each other that also makes a great filler between activities or while on a break from riding and skills exercises. Coaches can get in on this one, too!

Where: Open space 

Objectives: I can build a strong team culture. I can learn more about my teammates.

Setup: Divide your team into groups of 5-10 depending on your team size. Have all student-athletes form a circle. 

Rules:

  • Ask everyone to think of 3 statements about themselves; 2 that are true and 1 that is a lie.
  • Begin with a coach in the center of the circle. Randomly assign one student-athlete to close their eyes and say, “Start” and “Stop.”
    • Coach will spin in the center of the circle with their arm pointed out when the student-athlete says, “Start.”
    • On “Stop”, the coach in the center stops spinning and the student-athlete closest to their pointed arm shares their 2 truths and a lie.
    • Others guess which statement is false.
  • When everyone has guessed, the student-athlete reveals which statement is false.
  • Once a student-athlete has revealed their statement, they now go to the center of the circle and spin to select the next student-athlete to share.
  • Once student-athletes have spun in the middle they are to go to an area to continue to listen/guess false statements, but are no longer in the circle.
  • Continue until everyone has shared. 

Variation: You can play this activity with more movement by setting up “zones” for each answer and then asking participants to ride bikes or walk to the zone associated with each truth/lie.  For example, in a field you could designate one corner for the first fact, the middle for the second fact, and the opposite corner for the third fact.  Then have student-athletes ride to the zone they think is the lie.  You could do a smaller scale movement activity using flat cones or hula hoops in a similar manner.

 

This post is intentionally simple in its design so that it is easy to print and take to your next NICA practice!

This resource is intended for use by licensed NICA coaches.
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Click to see more NICA games at The Trailhead!

In addition to our growing library of games here on The Trailhead, NICA’s entire collection of on- and off-the-bike games are available in full PDF form in the NICA Coach Resources. To access the coach resources, log into Pit Zone and click the “Courses, Resources, & Benefits” button. Use the resource links on the dashboard, or the search function at the top of the screen.