It's Better Than The Movie

I was a chaperone this past weekend on a camping retreat for more than two dozen 7th and 8th graders. It rained much of the time so we were forced to use the gym for many of our activities. Luckily we had it to ourselves most of the time. We played several different games. Nearly all of them had the adult chaperones standing on the sidelines watching and chatting.

One game, in particular, proved to be a group favorite. Not only is this game fun, but has the added cachet of being banned by Howard County Public Schools. Because they rarely get to play it, the kids requested this game many times. They played it in all sorts of permutations (boys vs. girls, 7th grade vs. 8th grade, etc.).

It finally occurred to them that kids against adults might be fun. After all, they're young, we're old... it would be like shooting fish in a barrel, easy pickings, piece of cake. That the kids far outnumbered the adults only made the idea that much more tantalizing. "Won't you guys play? Please, please, please? We'll take it easy on you."

What was this beloved game?

Dodgeball.

That's right... banned-in-Howard-County dodgeball. I hadn't played it since the Nixon administration. And how did the old farts do? Four of us (3 men, 1 women) took on the 24 middle-schoolers and beat them 3 straight games.

The leaders exulted and most of the kids took the losses in stride. A few of the kids had a gripe or two. "You guys caught the ball too much," said one dispirited youth. (Catching the ball eliminates the thrower.) My favorite comment came from one kid who complained the adults "used too much teamwork."

It wasn't all peaches and cream. One adult over-stretched a muscle in her side. And I needed a 3-hour nap. But we had fun and the game is better than the movie.
K-