PLAISTOW — Like a lot of 10-year-old girls, Sara Watkins is always on the go. Whether it’s soccer, cheerleading or just running around the yard with friends, she is never in one place for very long.

So when Rebecca Watkins noticed Sara still playing a backyard game three hours after her daughter invented it, she knew she had to get the rules down on paper.

“That’s doesn’t happen very often,” said Rebecca. “She’s always outside, always very active. But for a game to keep them that interested, that happy — that’s what caught my interest.”

What started out as a simple way to pass a summer day soon turned into a scholarship, when Sara’s invention — dubbed Sponge Ball Fill Up by its creator — won the CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year contest.

“We were playing it in my back yard on a really hot day,” said Sara.

She is a fifth-grader at the Pollard Elementary School.

“My friends loved it,” Sara said. “ We had a great time.” The rules of the game are simple.

They read like a recipe for the perfect way to pass a summer day: run, get wet and have fun.

Sara said she sets up one bucket of water with sponges, directly across the yard from two empty buckets.

Tight squeeze

Two players fill their sponges with water, then run back and forth, squeezing their sponges to fill their empty buckets with water. Players can throw a soaked sponge at opponents, and if they hit them, the other player must drop one of their soaked sponges, putting them at a disadvantage in the game.

“You can end up getting really soaked,” said Sara.

Outdoor motivation

In an effort to get kids outside and away from computer and video games, CLIF Kid (which produces organic snacks for children) challenged children and their parents to reconnect with outside playtime by submitting their most creative backyard games.

Five finalists were selected and flown to New York City to play their games in front of judges at Madison Square Park.

One of the judges was U.S. Olympic women’s soccer gold medal winner Julie Foudy.

She’s a heroine of Sara’s.

“I love soccer, and she really liked my game,” said Sara.

“She told me she really liked playing it. She signed my soccer ball. It was really cool meeting her.”

Sara’s mom heard about the contest in a Children’s Nature Network newsletter.

“Sara and her friends are so creative, they are always coming up with new things to play, but this one seemed to stick,” said Rebecca.

“We sat down that night and entered the contest online, and then I kind of forgot all about it until they contacted us and invited us to New York City.”

Future goals

It’s hard to guess what Sara may end up doing in her adult life.

Rebecca won’t say her daughter is going to design games for a living — unless she does so on the run.

“She’s way too active for a desk job,” said Rebecca.