I. The players "fall in" for a march in single file. They march up the center of the room or ground; the first player turns to the right and the next to the left, and so on alternately, taking stations at the sides of the ground; they are thus separated into two opposing groups, those which turn to the right forming one group or team, and those to the left another.
This method is even quicker if players march in columns of twos or fours, alternate ranks turning to alternate sides.
II. Players may be required to march in columns of twos (two abreast), halt, and those in one file of the column step to one side of the playground instead of marching to the front and separating, as in I, and those in the other file to the opposite side.
Where an even division of running ability, or height for catching balls, is necessary, players should be sized when lining up for either of the above methods.
III. When players in a gymnasium or playground have already been numbered for gymnastic purposes, the odd numbers may be directed to one end of the playground to form one team, and the even numbers to the opposite end for the other team.
GROUP FORMATIONS.—To get players into many small groups, a division may often best be made from the marching formations. Players may be brought for this purpose into columns of four or more (marching four abreast), halted, and each file in turn directed to some particular location in the playground.
Where time is not a consideration, or the number of players is smaller, more deliberate methods of counting out, choosing sides, etc., may be used, described in the chapter on "Counting out."