Dodge Ball: Pro or Con

From WikEd

Development of Dodgeball

Dodgeball is a game that seems to have been around forever. While it may not have been named dodgeball at its inception, people have been playing games with similar rules for many years across different cultures and countries. Some names that you may have heard of are Dr. Dodgeball, Prisonball, German dodgeball and many others. Recently, playing dodgeball in physical education classes has become controversial. Some view the game as having no curricular value and its dangers far outweigh the risks while others believe it is one of the greatest games of all time.

Classroom Application(pros)

Kids playing dodgeball in McCracken Pool.

Why do many teachers and most students still believe dodgeball should be part of the physical education curriculum? First of all, the game of dodgeball is fun for most of the students. http://www.pelinks4u.org/discus/messages/6/25.html. Yes there are students who do not like this activity, but that goes for almost any activity we do as educators. Dodgeball is great for hand – eye coordination, arm strength, balance, and conditioning. http://www.sports-media.org/Sportapolisnewsletter6.htm also states that an individuals agility, catching, and accuracy increases with the use of dodgeball. Teams and individuals also learn how to strategize to win the game. This activity also develops a student’s competitive drive. Competition is part of life and dodgeball challenges a person to compete and do the best they can or just quit and lose. We want to teach students the advantages of being competitive and how that is part of life. Everything we do we must compete for it. Nothing in life is just given and cannot be taken away.

One advantage dodgeball has from the past is the type of balls we can use today compared to those in the past. In the past people used balls that would leave welts on a person of they were hot hard. Today we can use gator skin balls and foam nerf balls that do not hurt the students at all when they get hit. Many people worry about the injury factor and I see dodgeball as no more dangerous than most other activities. I try teaching students in all activities that injuries are part of activity. I try to avoid them, but injuries are part of exercise and athletics. There is risk in everything life has to offer. What we do with our time, how we learn from defeat, and enjoy success, is all part of life. Activities and games like dodgeball offer this lesson to students who may not seek out athletic competition.

Uses of Dodgeball

One of the biggest factors teachers face is when and how dodgeball should be implemented into the curriculum. As we have stated before many schools do not believe there is a place at all for dodgeball, while other districts do not have a problem with this activity. Teachers who do use dodgeball as an activity must set rules before playing with consequences so the students know these before the activity starts.

Criticisms of Dodgeball

Many people believe dodgeball should not be part of the physical education curriculum. These are some of the criticisms: 1. Turns kids into human targets 2. Allows for bullying 3. It is humiliating for some students 4. Students are eliminated early from the game, resulting in less physical activity. 5. Leaves emotional scars http://www.pe4life.org/articles/Dodge_Ball_Column.doc stated these top reasons. Other people just say it is an injury risk and should not be part of our physical education programs. Individuals can get the same advantages by playing other activities other than dodgeball. http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/dodgeball.pdf#search='dodgeball%20in%20physical%20education' There is no reason that our Physical education department should allow more athletic students the opportunity to attack or throw balls at other students. PE should be more focused ob life skills. For those that say dodge ball is fun I would guess that the are more athletic than most giving them an advantage.

Personal Experiences

My school holds a dodgeball tournament for students every year. They hold this tournament during lunchtime and it is not mandatory. The students get to pick their own team, but each team must be co-ed. We end up with a 7th grade champion and an 8th grade champion. After the tournament we have a school wide assembly where it is faculty against the student champions. It is one of the most fun things we do all year. The student body loves to watch the teachers get beat by the students. It is a great bonding activity. Unfortunately, dodgeball can be dangerous if not monitored closely by the teacher. We have not had students get injured, but our P.E. Teachers do a great job making sure the students don't get into any situations in which they can get hurt. The teachers also will remove any student who is being wreckless. If not monitored by teachers I can see how dodgeball could be used by bullies to pick on smaller students. Because most students really like dodgeball they give it 100% effort. This helps them to get into better shape and makes the students more healthy. B. Moore

As dodgeball can be seen as a bullying, it can also be a great confidence booster for children. When I was in jr. high school, my boy scout troop ended every meeting with a game of dodgeball. It was a great opportunity for us to get some exercise and burn off some of the extra energy that we had. Once in a while we ended up with "battle scars", a nice print of the balls surface on various body parts, but everyone had a great time. - W.Rank

I had to play Dodgeball all throughout elementary, junior high, and high school. I never liked playing it. I would always try to get out early in the game so I could go sit on the bleachers and talk to other people. As we got older, the guys could throw a lot harder, and sometimes it could really hurt. I think there was a good mix of students who liked it and those who didn’t. You could always tell who didn’t – we were all out and sitting on the bleachers.

I have been teaching physical education over the last thirteen years and have played dodgeball at one time or another throughout each year. I have found that students love the game of dodgeball. I also believe dodgeball is very beneficial for the students. The students have use so many body parts when they play that the whole body gets a workout. I have very few injuries while we play and believe the positives far outweigh the negatives in the game of dodge ball. Bret Helms

I am not a PE teacher, but the power of of the game is seen everywhere in our school during dodgeball "season." Kids are preoccupied before, during and after gym class about their session of dodgeball. I have seen students who don't normally get excited about anything relating to gym class rambling on about who they hit or a great catch that they made. I've also seen kids come into AP Calculus icing their arms because of a wicked game of dodgeball. Is dodgeball good or bad? I can only say it makes school a little bit more interesting for the 3 or 4 weeks that it is played. Brad Frey - Johnsburg High School

For what its worth- I always loved to play dodgeball in PE. It allowed some of the skinny less-athletic students to show their agility in the dodging. We used to call my buddy the "artful dodger." I also liked watching the social dynamics within the game. I remember numerous times where I would be throwing against a defenseless girl, and I would feel guilty and throw her an "airball"- only to see her catch the ball and get me out! I also liked the venue as a good place to vent frustrations. I have never seen a serious injury from a dodgeball game. I wish every company let the adults play dodgeball at their meetings and conferences! -S. Yunker

I have to weigh in as someone who has always liked it. I am very competitive but was never the biggest guy in the world. The one big advantage of being smaller is quickness. Dodgeball is for the quick or the dead. If you could throw hard, you could knock others out but if you could not move yourself you were taking a seat before the small quick kids were done playing. -T. Ashley

I think there are worse things that kids can do than play dodgeball. I always enjoyed playing the game in elementary and middle school. My P.E. teachers would always have us play with the nerf balls, which didn't hurt as badly as the rubber ones. Additionally, there are several variations on the game such as with teams etc...As long as everyone plays by the rules I see nothing wrong with it. M.Rice

I think dodge ball is a great game, as long as you get everyone out there you enjoys playing it. If you have people out there who don't want to be there it is just bad for the game. This is why I feel it worked best when my P.E. teacher gave us a choice of whether we wanted to play dodge ball or something else. This way kids who didnt want to play didnt have to and the kids that do can play all the dodge ball they want. Great Game! J. Simmons

I agree that dodge ball is a fun game. However, I also think the fact that often the same students get out of the game early every time and thus get less physical activity is a definite drawback. Therefore, I think it is ok to still play dodge ball in P.E. classes, but I don't think that the game should be played too frequently if the same kids are not getting enough physical activity. I was happy to read though that nerf balls are being used now instead of the red playground ball that we used that left big welts! B. Harnden

We played a variety of games of dodgeball during school. Sometimes it was called prison ball. I didn't really see anything wrong with it, except for one thing. When I was in 7th grade, we were in a class with senior boys. Imagine 7th grade girls being stuck in a class with senior boys. These boys were pretty much fully developed men. We had to play dodgeball with these guys. They threw the ball extremely hard. I think they tried to "tone it down" when they were throwing at the girls, but it still packed quite a punch. Maybe it gave us more motivation to be quicker. ~J. Herrmann

Our school still uses dodgeball as part of its P.E. classes for at least the last several years. Typically it's for a few weeks each semester. The kids really enjoy it and with proper supervision I don't see it becoming a problem. We use nerf like round balls that are about the same size as a volleyball. While they can be thrown hard they won't travel a far distance without losing quite a bit of velocity. For those students who aren't willing to be hit hard they typically stand further away from the dividing line. We haven't had any behavior problems or injuries. R. Folkens

Dodgeball is a great game! What is the purpose? Elimination! Well, I don't believe that it should be used as an activity in P.E., however I do feel that all kids should learn to play the game if they have the desire. It is a great sport and it is perfect for recess. I have always enjoyed the game, even when I got pelted by a rubber ball and it left a mark. It is a great adrenaline rush. ~ R. Hayes

Dodgeball was a big issue in education a few years back, and it seems to recycle itself every decade or so. I can understand how the game can become aggressive when unchecked, and can make some students feel ostracized as being weaker...but then you will have to do away with many other competitive games. Dodgeball, or prison ball, doesn't involve being the biggest or most powerful...in face, there are spots for everyone if the game is managed right. Our elementary school banned dodgeball in my junior-high years, and we started playing a more violent laternative called "butts-up" which used a racquetball and required those that weren't quick enough to march up to the backboard for a pelting. What about those games? -- D. Melone

My school does not play dodgeball, but what fun it would be! Even as a skinny kid I loved playing, perhaps because it was hard to hit me when I was standing sideways. As I got older, I intentionally got hit so I could sit out and chat, as someone already mentioned. I previously worked with a teacher who played dodgeball in the classroom. There was no connection to the content, just a way to occupy students. Now this was completely inappropriate, and the teacher was not rehired. T. Stilts

I just recently watched a segment on CBS Sunday morning concerning dodgeball and I thought that it was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever watched. In the segment there was a whole movement trying to ban dodgeball because it was hurting children’s feelings and stifling their growth. I am not a heartless person, I don’t want my children getting hurt or bullied at school, but competition is good for children, it is what makes the world go around. I think this movement goes right along with the one where every kid gets a trophy even if you loose. Let children live; we don’t need to shelter every PE session they have. – David Troyer

I will say that as a child I enjoyed playing dodgeball quite a lot, even though I was not particularly good at it. Even though I may have gotten out quicker than others, or had poor aim, my feelings weren't hurt that I wasn't the best. I knew I was good at gymnastics and martial arts, which didn't require as much hand eye coordination or accuracy, so I could always go back to the activities I was good at. It was a fun change of pace from the usual PE activities we were doing though. I think it is a fun game and students should be exposed to a variety of games in PE, even though students may get their feelings hurt. Our park district even has one of the larger participation groups in the National Amateur Dodgeball Association and hosts a variety of tournaments. E. Bostrom

I have vague memories of playing Dodge Ball in junior high in the late seventies. I wasn't very good at catching so didn't particularly enjoy this activity. Since one of the negatives of the game is that students that are "out" are inactive there could be a secondary activity for those students. They could shoot hoops or do yoga stretches or some other activity that would work in the space allowed. Alison Mahoney

At my junior high school, dodge ball (we refer to it as Pirate's Prison) has been eliminated from the physical education curriculum because it has been viewed as unfair for students that might not be good at it. However, as the director of Intramural Sports I am always asked to hold Pirate's Prison for the students after school and I am continually amazed at how many students jump at the chance to play this game. Especially last week during ISATs, students really were able to relieve some stress by playing this game. That being said, the intramural sports program is completely, 100% volunteer and therefore no one is being forced to play that wouldn't want to play, which is an important distinction. -- S.R.