Schools throw a wrench at dodgeball

Palm Beach Post ^ | 6/18/04 | Aime Palmer

[qam1]

The sting of a red rubber dodgeball, the shame of being the first struck out, the rapture in being the last player standing.

Though nostalgic Baby Boomers and a subsequent generation might recall sensations such as these, children in Palm Beach and Martin County schools might not have the chance.

"Not as long as I can help it," said Kevin Sterling, program planner for physical education for Palm Beach County grades K-12. "It's an extremely aggressive, dangerous game."

Dodgeball is not officially banned in Martin County, according to Delores Calloway, the director of school improvement and curriculum for the Martin County School District. But it has been banned in Palm Beach County schools for about 10 to 15 years, Sterling said.

Sterling said he cannot recall any serious injuries resulting from the game in Palm Beach County, but he said there have been many minor injuries. And he thinks dodgeball is an unhealthy form of physical education.

"I think it definitely has a negative effect on the self-esteem. We can do much more productive things," he said.

At Hidden Oaks Middle School in Stuart, the days of dodgeball ended three years ago. But Principal Jenny Lambdin said the kids might be missing out.

"I know when I grew up we played it on the playground, and I always had fun, but... I know times have changed," she said. "I think that there are certain students that maybe other kids like to pick on; they might just throw the ball to hit them.... They don't have a lot of sensitivity sometimes."

Sandra Brown has been principal at Belvedere Elementary School in West Palm Beach for three years and says no balls have been -- or will be -- dodged under her watch.

"I prefer not to have anything thrown at children," she said, adding that the physical education curriculum has many ball-handling activities for children to prepare them for sports such as baseball and basketball.

But organizations such as the International Dodge-Ball Federation are working to bring dodgeball back into the mainstream and back on the playgrounds.

After learning about IDBF online, Larry Self of New Smyrna Beach, 55, was so nostalgic for his dodgeball days at Davidson High School in Mobile, Ala., that he agreed to work full time as the federation's Florida commissioner without pay.

"It was exciting, and it had a thrill element to it that other sports didn't seem to have. It was this excitement, and the fear of being put out," he said. "You really wanted to be the last one standing."

New equipment and strictly sanctioned rule books are making for safer play, and Self plans to meet with public school officials and city parks and recreation departments in an attempt to bring the childhood pastime America loves to hate back into mainstream children's sports.

"(The new balls have) a fabric cover and only weigh 2 to 3 pounds, so you can throw it hard and hit somebody with it, and it's not going to leave any abrasions or anything like that," Self said. "We want to eliminate any fears about the way it was played in the past."

[festus]

I've been forbidden to teach this game to the children by the matriarch of the house.

But then I've done many forbidden things......

It was a hoot.

[Looking4Truth]

"Not as long as I can help it," said Kevin Sterling, program planner for physical education for Palm Beach County grades K-12. "It's an extremely aggressive, dangerous game."

The wussification of America continues.

[sergeantdave]

Dodgeball is great. It hones your reflexes and speed. The training in dodgeball helped me dodge grenades later in life.

[Chode]

Let the ones that WANT to play play and those who don't... let them play hop scotch or whatever.

We had three different sizes of the famous red rubber balls and the small ones were the hardest to catch.

After dodgeball my favorite was Scooter-Scoccer.

We had one foot square castered scooters with a four foot canvas ball and a big circle taped on the wall at each end of the gym where you had to make the ball touch inside.

All you had to do was get your finger/hand run over just ONCE and you learned to be VERY careful where you put your hands. Alas that went away even before dodgeball.

Thank god it was after I got out of school though or I would of been pissed.

[pepsionice]

I was introduced to Dodgeball at 15, and for about 18 months...I was terrible at it and really hated the game. I sat down one day and watched a game...and came to realize the strategy to it. During the next game...most of my squad was mowed down, leaving only three people on my side, and 12 on the other side. I had sat in the back and allowed the folks in the front to take the hits. With room to move..I then moved up front and began "catching" the ball...time after time. I took down the opposition in less than 3 minutes. The next game was the same way. The PE teacher sat there for several days watching this whole thing, and it constantly repeated itself...I would take down the opposition after the majority of my team was gone. After two weeks of this...the PE teacher took me to the side, and told me to sit on the bench while the games continued on with the other guys. The teacher said to me...you've learned a lesson in life now...when you can stand up to an opposition that is heavily favored against you and continually take them down...then you have confidence...and you can take that anywhere in life. I sat there and thought about...as a kid, these little chats didn't mean that much to me. Years later, I grasped the meaning. He was right. A strategy in life is the glue that holds things together. You need a strategy, and you need to stick with it. The trick is not to have fear, always plan on catching the ball, and endure...cause nothing comes easy.

[sharktrager]

"...they might just throw the ball to hit them.... They don't have a lot of sensitivity sometimes."

Isn't that the point of the game, or did we play it wrong?

[sharktrager]

I have no idea what a beer board is, but I want to join.

[sharktrager]

We had a rule that, if you caught the ball, the thrower was out.

If you were the last one on your team and you caught the ball, your whole team was back in.

Imagine a 3 on 1 game suddenly becoming 20 on 3.

[hollywood]

OMG!! Cancel the upcoming Olympics!! Someone's self-esteem might get injured if they only win a Silver Medal!

[Bonaparte]

The feminization and sissification of boys continues.

Remember back in the 1970s, when the "counter-culture" spawned new psychotherapies that involved the use of foam bats and pillows to smack people with? It was billed as a harmless way to get anger out. Now the same social engineering crowd has reversed themselves on that sort of thing -- violence is ok for islamics because its "justified," violence is ok for Mumia too. But games of aggression that don't kill or injure anybody are not ok for American boys. Next, they'll try to get rid of boxing, football, wrestling and anything else that gives testosterone-fueled kids a healthy outlet for their natural aggression.

[Bonaparte]

"...and I LOVED dodge ball!"

So did I.

In my school, it was called just what it was: War Ball. Afterward, you could always tell who was a sore loser and who was a stand-up guy. It was a great litmus test for who you wanted to be friends with.