Dodgeball is no longer just a kids’ game played during gym class in junior high with the jocks teasing the nerds.
Nope, dodgeball is now an adult game played for fun in leagues across America, and last week we decided to get it on right here in Glendale, Arizona at Jump Street. It’s a great way to spend time with your friends while getting in a competitive workout, so the members of Events & Adventures Phoenix did battle five-on-five—with the added twist of blending in a trampoline to raise the stakes, and insanity level. We picked our teams, decided our strategies, and summoned our inner Patches O’Houlihan!
Even if you were never very competitive before, that part of you will reveal itself when it comes down to deciding who will be the last man standing after a game of dodgeball. The good news is that no matter how hard a ball is thrown even a direct hit on the chest does more stinging than any real harm. It starts out with members of each team lining up on the base line and charging to center court on a whistle or clap to pick up as many of four balls as possible to be thrown at the other team. But first, each team must retreat behind the free throw line before attempting to hit an opponent.
Some teams will have a certain technique, while others will not. The most common strategy is to target the other team’s best player and whip several balls at him or her in a coordinated barrage, presuming the player cannot dodge them all. It took me several times to figure out how to actually dodge the ball rather than attempting to catch it flying at me. When a team is ahead in the number of players remaining, another tactic is to pick out an opposing individual and bull-rush him until he is tagged. Play continues until one team is out of players. Teamwork will win more games than rogue individual play.
So how does the trampoline factor into the dodgeball game? Well if you’re able to go out and enjoy any activity when you’re laughing at yourself after repeatedly falling down, then you’re the perfect candidate to attempt this workout of a game on a trampoline! At the end of the night, not only will your thigh muscles and arms burn from a good workout, your sides will probably hurt from all the laughs. Trampoline dodgeball is definitely a lot more fun than just working out the gym.
As famed dodgeball coach Patches O’Houlihan once said, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” So next time you want to try it, join Events & Adventures for an intense and hilarious round of dodgeball!