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Posted on Thu, Jun. 24, 2004

Dodge this!

As the hit movie suggests, dodgeball definitely isn't kid stuff anymore.

BY RICK SHEFCHIK

Pioneer Press

If the hit movie "Dodgeball" sparks a renaissance for the old grade-school game, Katey Davern won't be a bit surprised.

The Woodbury resident has been playing the game with her 20-something friends for several months now, and she thinks it's a blast.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be 25 and playing dodgeball," Davern said. "But I think it's something that can easily be picked up, something fun, it works every muscle, and it's a tension release. What other sport can you just rip a ball at somebody?"

Davern and her friends play occasional dodgeball events at the Bloomington National Guard Armory, organized by Jennifer Bruning of the Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association. Four to eight teams gather for the tournaments. No prizes, money or trophies are awarded.

"We try to keep it noncompetitive — just another outlet where you socialize and meet people," Bruning says. "We try to make it so it's not violent."

Yet social dodgeball can be surprisingly intense, if not quite as over-the-top aggressive as the fictionalized championship game between Ben Stiller's team and Vince Vaughn's in "Dodgeball."

On a recent Friday night, Bruning was almost as busy tending to injuries as she was refereeing the games.

"This is probably the bloodiest one," she said of that evening's tournament. "I've done this three times, and I've never had so many people saying, 'Oh, I broke my finger.' "

One player left early to go to the hospital for a twisted knee. Another needed a bandage for a floor burn, and another bent a finger.

Aaron Jansson displayed what could be a permanently crooked finger, acquired while trying to catch a dodgeball 2½ months ago.

"Not trying," Jansson said with pride. "I did catch the ball."

BACK TO THIRD GRADE

The basic rules of recreational dodgeball are the same as they've been since elementary school: Players on one team try to hit the players on the other team with the six dodgeballs that are in play; if you're hit, you're out. If you catch it, the person who threw it is out, and his or her teammates get to come back in. You play till all players on one team are eliminated.

"I think of it as a game that would be great for attention-deficit disorder," Davern said.

Though dodgeball has mostly disappeared from gym class, the game is making a big comeback among young adults.

"I was reading an article the other day in a paper from the East Coast about a group of people who thought it would be fun to hold a dodgeball tournament," Davern said. "It's grown into this thing they play every week, with spring, fall, winter and summer leagues."

The game hasn't taken hold locally to that extent, but recreation departments around the metro area are adding the game to their schedules. Apple Valley has hosted occasional tournaments, and Lakeville will begin a dodgeball league this fall, with participating teams from eight cities south of the Minnesota River.

"Our rules aren't strictly defined yet," said Dan Brettschneider, recreation programmer for Lakeville Park and Recreation. "We're not going to go by any sanctioning or governing body. Ours is in the infancy stage. We'll put the word out, and the movie will draw some teams."

Davern was drawn to the game because of her memories of dodgeball from grade school.

"That's the beauty of dodgeball — you don't feel that, 'Oh, I'm not as good as that person,' " she said. "In high school, bullies can throw really hard, but now you're all at the same level."

A SPIRITED GAME

At the adult level, in fact, everyone throws hard. At the Bloomington armory, errant throws that hit the metal curtain in front of the kitchen pass-through reverberated like gunshots. Yet the rubber playground balls — both the full-sized red ones and the smaller blue ones, which can be thrown only by women players unless all the women are out of the game — are soft enough that they don't hurt. Much.

"We were playing somebody who got hit in the face twice," said Andy Goke, captain of Team Green Balls, for whom Davern plays. "There was tension there. She got really upset. The guy who threw was apologizing, but the other team was upset; they almost wanted to fight."

Bruning's tournaments have a rule outlawing high throws. If you hit a player in the head, you can be ejected. But players constantly duck and dive, and sometimes a throw can sail, so inadvertent head-hits are not uncommon.

But for most players, the competition level is just about right: Good shots and catches are cheered, a hard hit can be laughed off, and a win feels good. Dawnn Eldredge, a self-described last pick in grade school, was carried off the court on her teammates' shoulders for making a game-winning catch.

The exercise level is about right, too.

"The first time I played, I could barely get out of my car the next two days," Goke says. Davern had the same experience.

"You end up feeling so sore you can't get out of bed the next morning," Davern says.

Dodgeball players also have to deal with quizzical looks from friends and colleagues when they hear about the game.

"Some think it's a little silly or funny, but if you don't take yourself too seriously, I think most people would find it kind of fun," says Jeremy Green, who plays on the Green Balls with Goke, Davern and Eldredge and works for a wealth-management firm in Edina.

Who knows? By this fall, his fellow investment counselors might be playing dodgeball, too.

People interested in playing dodgeball can contact:

• Jennifer Bruning, Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association, 612-387-8101

Rick Shefchik can be reached at rshefchik@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5577.