Hall of Shame Games

When thinking of Dodgeball in schools, immediately I wonder. The number one concern in any classroom is the students safety, and that comes into question when thinking about introducing the game of Dodgeball. I would agree with schools who ban the original way of playing Dodgeball. This form is violent and selective. No student wants to feel targeted, or be injured. However, I do agree with playing modified forms of DodgeBall.

I played a version of Dodgeball in Adventure Activities last semester which was school appropriate. We used soft foam balls which don't hurt like the original playground/kickball balls. Another modification was having to bounce the ball before it hit an opponent. I think changing just these two things makes this much more school friendly, but even more can be done. In keeping in mind that we always want children actively participating in physical activity, we need a way for children to get back into the game after being tagged out. A few ideas: they may come back after a teammate catches a ball thrown at him, back in if they get a ball that's out of the playing field, do some sort of exercise such as lunges, sit ups, or push ups to get back in.

Implementing these modifications reduces injuries, increases confidence, and physical activity.