Dodgeball... In or Out?

The field of physical education is constantly being discussed by teachers, parents, and administration. What should be included in the program and what shouldn’t? How do we evaluate students in this class? Why do the students even NEED to be in physical education? All these questions have been talked about widely, with the school program trying to explain to parents the importance of the program and justify the content taught in class.

This post will focus on the great debate surrounding the game of DODGEBALL. There are two main arguments in this debate, both that have many good points. One side focuses on the negative aspects of dodgeball and the violent nature of it. The other argument focuses on the positive aspects of dodgeball on student’s aerobic fitness and reflexes, as well as the teamwork and leadership that is developed from the game. The benefits of dodgeball are immense and in this reflection both sides of the argument will be explored and analyzed in goal of creating modifications to limit the negative aspects and increase the positive.

In the movie Dodgeball, the coach of the underdog team states “Dodgeball is a game of humiliation, exclusion, and degradation.”. While this quote may be extreme, many students and even adults can agree with it to some extent, recalling their experiences in the gymnasium. Typically, the “jocks” whip the balls across the gym trying to hit their peers as hard as they can, while the less athletic students hide in the back praying for the game to end. The goal of physical education is to teach students how to be active for life and promote intrinsic motivation to stay active as well as gain satisfaction from it. The image painted above of a typical dodgeball game is far from what the physical education program aims to achieve; it has few students actually participating and running around while the others either are sitting out or standing still in the back taking one step to the left or right to dodge balls. So not only does it limit the exercise and movement the students are doing, but it also creates an environment for bullying. Students are turned into human targets and are humiliated in front of the entire class when eliminated. Arguments have been made that the game is also a stress reliever and induces laughter. This statement can be both true and false depending on the culture of the class, depending on the students’ relationship it can be an enjoyable experience.

When looking at the physical aspects of dodgeball there are many benefits that improve our physical literacy; it improves our agility, balance, hand-eye coordination, flexibility, aerobic fitness and reflexes. The game is simple which allows for everyone to participate even if they aren’t the most skilled, compared to a game like basketball where if you can’t dribble, you won’t be playing much. Dodgeball requires you to be focused on many things: retrieving the ball, throwing it, watching for incoming balls and trying to catch them, as well as moving around your teammates. All these things happening at once not only improves our physical literacy in the fields described above, but also helps students cognitively. Having the attention alternate between many points improves a students’ ability to track, their peripheral vision, as well as their ability to multitask. Dodgeball also improves the leadership, teamwork, and sportsmanship of students as they must work together towards a common goal while respectfully trying to take down their opponents. In certain variations of dodgeball students must work together to “revive” their teammates or designate a specific player for one task. Many schools make a rule that to tag someone out the ball must be waist down, this decreases the violence and shows students to have respect for one another. All these skills that dodgeball develops is useful in any sport as well as the day to day life. Similar to all sports, students have a chance to learn what it feels like to win and lose, both which are crucial to building character. Because the game is so simple and quick, usually both teams get an opportunity to win. Here a teacher can step in and talk to students if they are reacting inappropriately. Dodgeball has the potential to be a violent sport but under the control of a teacher who has set a good culture in their classroom, the benefits of dodgeball are plentiful.

Similar to most sports taught in the physical education classes, dodgeball is not fully inclusive. However, there are many adaptations that can be made to allow all students to play. Things such as increasing the area of play for students in a wheel chair, to using bright colored ball for students with visual impairments, to increasing size/decreasing amount of balls for students with cognitive impairments are all examples of ways to create a more inclusive class. This also is applicable for the different age groups in the school system. For example, a grade 9 class would play differently than a grade 3 class. Applying adaptations such as “hitting below the waist, or below the chest” or changing the area of play are ways to ensure that the game is appropriate for the grade level.

There are both positive and negative sides to the game of dodgeball so how can we minimize the negative areas and increase the positive? The first step is to move away from the traditional elimination dodgeball. There are many variations of the game which keep the students engaged even when they are tagged out. Variations like Doctor Dodgeball, Prison Ball, Swamp Ball, Sky Scrapers, Poison Ball, are a better alternative to traditional dodgeball and increase student engagement and decrease the “elimination and humiliation” aspect of the game. Many schools now offer an extra activity class on top of the mandatory physical education class. Dodgeball could be played less in the mandatory class and more in the sports performance, this levels out the skill of the students as those classes are often filled with athletic students who play sports outside of school. This allows the students who enjoy the game to play more often and equal the playing field.

Overall the benefits of dodgeball are greater than the negatives and SHOULD be kept in schools. It is important to listen to your students and modify games for their abilities and desires. If something isn’t working in a class, change it to create a more positive experience. Dodgeball is a very popular sport that is enjoyed by many, to increase enjoyment across the class try moving from the traditional game to the thousands of variations of the game!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reed/dodgeball-has-no-place-in_b_5281756.html

http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,110160,00.html

http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-dodgeball-be-allowed-in-school

https://thebablueprint.com/8445/opinion/dont-ban-dodgeball/

https://www.participaction.com/en-ca/programs/participaction-150-play-list/activities/dodgeball

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dodgeball_variations#Prisonball

https://sportsaspire.com/list-of-dodgeball-variations

http://www.summercamppro.com/my-favorite-18-dodgeball-variations/