Why play EnTeam Games?  Because players learn to bring out the best in others.

For example, Maurice Burns directed Project Respond, a program for at-risk children in north St. Louis City. Maurice tested EnTeam games by using them as activities for the middle school students in the after-school program.

One afternoon, Maurice chose four students to participate in EnTeam table tennis or ping pong. Three boys were experienced ping pong players, and the fourth student was a girl who had never played ping pong.

The objective for EnTeam ping pong is for two players to work together to get the ball across the net as many times as possible in one minute. A point is scored each time the ball crosses the net successfully. (See rules.)

When the first two boys played, they worked together well and racked up a high score by hitting the ball across the net to each other. The same thing happened with the second and third boy.

The first boy to play with the girl became frustrated because she did not know how to hold the paddle and couldn’t return the ball to him. He began to call her down, cuss at her, and complain that she couldn’t return the ball. The result was that they couldn’t get any points together. The second boy to play with the girl got so frustrated that he gave up before the time for play was over.

The third boy watched these two experiences, and before he began to play with the girl, he talked with her on how to hold the paddle. He explained the game. They practiced together for a little while. Then, when the clock started, he hit the ball directly to her, and she was able to return it. They began to get some short volleys going, and she began to feel better about the game. Together they were scoring points.

The final scores showed what happened. Since the boys were relatively equal in skill, they had been able to get approximately the same number of points. Only the third boy realized he needed to work with the girl to help her play with him. Therefore, the third boy had the greatest total number of points. Therefore, he won the match.

Maurice described the experience as a lesson for the two boys who lost. Maurice said that they realized that if they had worked with the girl, they might have been able to win the match. From the girl’s point of view, since this was her first experience with ping pong, she had a mixed experience. The first two games were frustrating, but the third game was fun.

 

Did the players compete?

Yes, the players were competing against their previous performance. They were competing to improve their performance each time they played. 

If their combined scores did not improve, they lost together. 

If their combined scores improved in a series of matches, they won together. 

 

What was the basis of the competition?

The competition was based on skill in bringing out the best in others. The stronger players have an advantage – ability to perform is important. But, two equally skillful players can have very different scores in an EnTeam match if their skill of cooperating differ — especially when cooperating with the novice player. 

Success in EnTeam Games requires skill in bringing out the best each other — including skills in helping the weakest players improve.