Kicking it kids’ style

Kids run up and down the soccer field to the barks of their parents, but on the sidelines, their younger siblings are cooking up their own games.

With the adults focused on big brother, the little sisters and brothers followed their instincts. Here are some of the games they played on their own:

Rolling down modest grass knolls. Whoever reached the bottom first won.

“Angry Birds.” One little kid would lie down on the ground and launch the other little kid with his upturned heels.

Rock toss: Whoever threw the rock farthest won.

Handstands.

Writer’s note: Repeated efforts in several neighborhoods to find a pickup game of basketball among kids and only kids failed. The experts I talked to said kids rarely play pickup games anymore. They’re relics. Gone. Lost.