Does dodgeball belong in P.E. class?

It's been becoming more and more common for schools to take dodgeball out of their physical education classes. Most of the time they claim that it's too cruel to put kids through and that it can cause psychological damage. I realize that gym class can be a tough time for an adolescent, but for the time being let's close the psychology books and talk things over rationally.

Firstly, the anti-dodgeballists claim that kids are forced to play the game against the will. In reality, they are absolutely right! Students are forced to play every sport in P.E. class, so how can they even bring this into the conversation? I was forced to do math homework every night, even when I didn't want to but you didn't see me complaining to the school board.

Also, have any of the anti-dodgeballists been in a high school gym class recently? Of the 30 kids in the class 27 of them want to play the game. Compare that to when they go outside to play softball where you have the girls picking wildflowers and the boys trying to catch the ball without a glove on I think you should be happy that you have as much participation as you do. Sure not everyone wants to play dodgeball in gym class, but I think you could argue that more don't want to do the dance unit either.

Secondly, the anti-dodgeball wackos have labeled the game as a sport that causes psychological damage. As I stated above, I understand that gym class has given some people painful memories. For me, it wasn't painful at all. However, the hour before in math class it was pretty painful for me when I failed the exam.

How is dodgeball different than any other sport in that regard? Don't you think that Scott Norwood's psychological damage from missing the game winning kick in Super Bowl XXV is worse than someone getting hit by a rubber or foam ball? Sure it might sting a little, but by the time you change back into your gym clothes I'm going to guess you've forgotten about it.

I think it's also to point out that dodgeball forces you to develop a lot of different skills. Not every student has a great arm, so maybe they focus on catching. If they can't catch, then maybe they have to become a matrix style dodger.

So the next time a mom with a school-aged child, that has nothing better to do comes up to you and complains about dodgeball being played in gym class you have something to combat her with. Though, if she is anything like the moms that convinced the supreme court to change the high school basketball seasons around, you might be in for a tough battle.

Winter break's effect on dodgeball

I can't help but notice how much my dodgeball game usually declines over winter break. I don't expect this year to be an exception either, as I was finally getting to the point I wanted to be at before the fall semester ended. And then, a four week layoff happened and I really am worried about how bad I am going to be tonight at practice.

However, I have been getting back in my workout routine, so maybe... just maybe I will be better than where I left off. While I'm sure I need to get a little rust off I am hoping that I can get my form back and play some of the best dodgeball I ever have.

Enough about me, I also think that effects the team as well. Take SVSU for example. We had a fantastic fall portion of the schedule. Our only loss was to GVSU (aren't they like the two time defending champs or something?) , and we flat out dominated the rest of our opponents. It may sound like bragging, but I will stand by the scores of our games as proof.

That being said, I think a lot of that has to be thrown out the window the rest of the season. Teams have gone about a month without practicing, so really it is like starting over. There are people on our team that aren't able to come back, and a few others that plan on joining. So the chemistry of our team is going to be effected at least somewhat. While I still expect SVSU to be one of the best teams the rest of the season, that isn't going to mean we are going to dominate everyone as we did.

Sunday Jan. 18 we play Delta. Obviously there are plenty of reasons that this is a big game. I think that a lot of people, including Delta's players think that SVSU is going to beat them. I'm not going to say that Delta is going to win, but I think that it's going to be more of a battle than most people realize. I don't care how many players Delta lost last season, they still have Dave Halloran, who is one of the best on the court generals in the league. Had we played a month ago, I would have said SVSU would have won 8-0, but throwing in the curveball of winter break I think it's anybody's game. I still think SVSU has the edge, but it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.