Dodgeball at camp
It's amazing the things that stick in our minds. Many experiences, we forget. Others remain with us, as vivid as when they happened.
I can't remember the exact year. I think that I must have been in high school. The Lions Club in Hueytown, Alabama (my home town) sent me and a friend to a summer camp. I don't remember much about the camp except for one event: a game of dodgeball.
Now, dodgeball is not something that I play, or have ever played, on a regular basis. But on that day, it was one of the activities, so we divided into teams and played. Each team would take a turn in the center with the other team encircling them and throwing the ball at them to put them out. The sides were timed, and the side that stayed in longest would win.
My team was in the center. Somehow, during the entire time, I managed not to get hit. As the game progressed, I watched the strategy, or lack thereof, of each team. My team would, en masse, run to the other side as far as they could from whoever had the ball, to give themselves more time to dodge. The team in the circle would then pass the ball rapidly around the circle to get it close to the cluster of players inside, who would then be easy pickings.
Well, again, somehow, I managed to avoid being hit and was the last man standing on my team. Now, I am no athlete and I know it. At school, I was always the one chosen last when we divided up teams. So, not unexpectedly, the team in the circle was clapping and cheering, "OK! Last one! Easy out! Easy out!" But I had been watching what the other players on my team had been doing. I thought quickly and came up with a plan.
I knew that I could not run fast enough to stay far from the ball as they passed it around the circle, so I went to the center of the circle and stayed there. I would make them do all the work. They started passing the ball around like before. I just turned to face whoever had it. When they threw it at me, I just pivoted or leaned aside, turning quickly to face the direction that the ball had gone. Several times, it came within an inch of me, but it never touched me. I stayed up until we had surpassed the other team's time.
After it was over, one of the other boys came up and asked me if I was on the dodgeball team at my school. That made my day. I had never heard of a school dodgeball team. I doubt if his school had one either.
To be honest, on the next round, I got caught up in the mass of my team as they ran around the circle and was unable to stick to the center. I got put out early.
After the camp, the deal was that I would go back and talk to the Lions Club about what had happened. I don't remember whether I told them about the dodgeball game.
What is the point of all this? I doubt if there is one. It is just a cute story of something that I remember from long ago. There are probably many more important things that I have forgotten. If it has a point, it probably is: watch what others are doing and learn from it, even from their mistakes. What looks like the best strategy on the surface may not be the right approach at all. Oh, and it helps to be able to think quickly on your feet.
I can't remember the exact year. I think that I must have been in high school. The Lions Club in Hueytown, Alabama (my home town) sent me and a friend to a summer camp. I don't remember much about the camp except for one event: a game of dodgeball.
Now, dodgeball is not something that I play, or have ever played, on a regular basis. But on that day, it was one of the activities, so we divided into teams and played. Each team would take a turn in the center with the other team encircling them and throwing the ball at them to put them out. The sides were timed, and the side that stayed in longest would win.
My team was in the center. Somehow, during the entire time, I managed not to get hit. As the game progressed, I watched the strategy, or lack thereof, of each team. My team would, en masse, run to the other side as far as they could from whoever had the ball, to give themselves more time to dodge. The team in the circle would then pass the ball rapidly around the circle to get it close to the cluster of players inside, who would then be easy pickings.
Well, again, somehow, I managed to avoid being hit and was the last man standing on my team. Now, I am no athlete and I know it. At school, I was always the one chosen last when we divided up teams. So, not unexpectedly, the team in the circle was clapping and cheering, "OK! Last one! Easy out! Easy out!" But I had been watching what the other players on my team had been doing. I thought quickly and came up with a plan.
I knew that I could not run fast enough to stay far from the ball as they passed it around the circle, so I went to the center of the circle and stayed there. I would make them do all the work. They started passing the ball around like before. I just turned to face whoever had it. When they threw it at me, I just pivoted or leaned aside, turning quickly to face the direction that the ball had gone. Several times, it came within an inch of me, but it never touched me. I stayed up until we had surpassed the other team's time.
After it was over, one of the other boys came up and asked me if I was on the dodgeball team at my school. That made my day. I had never heard of a school dodgeball team. I doubt if his school had one either.
To be honest, on the next round, I got caught up in the mass of my team as they ran around the circle and was unable to stick to the center. I got put out early.
After the camp, the deal was that I would go back and talk to the Lions Club about what had happened. I don't remember whether I told them about the dodgeball game.
What is the point of all this? I doubt if there is one. It is just a cute story of something that I remember from long ago. There are probably many more important things that I have forgotten. If it has a point, it probably is: watch what others are doing and learn from it, even from their mistakes. What looks like the best strategy on the surface may not be the right approach at all. Oh, and it helps to be able to think quickly on your feet.
posted by John at 7:45 PM
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