Dodgeball wooing them at YMCA
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Above, Marlboro’s Jack Desefano fires the ball at an opposing player during a recent dodgeball game at the YMCAof Western Monmouth County. At left, Marlboro’s Adam Levo set his sights on an opposing player.

Dodgeball is making a big comeback at the YMCA of Western Monmouth County, Freehold Township.

The Y has started a dodgeball league this spring that is attracting both teens and adults of all ages, who can return to the nostalgic days of their youth — everyone can recall playing it at grade school and summer camps.

A.J. Brack, of Old Bridge, said that he feels like he’s 12 years old again when he is busy dodging throws, catching them or trying to hit a moving target.

The league, however, isn’t just a trip down memory lane. Jon Uhrich, the director of the YMCA’s league, noted that the sport has become very popular with today’s youth. As a result, the YMCA is offering an adult league on Tuesday evenings from 8-10 p.m. for those 18 and over, and a high school league on Friday nights at the same times.

“It has gone over a lot better than I thought,” said Uhrich. “The wide range of ages is impressive.”

There are eight teams in the adult league and four in the high school loop. For a first-time league, it is a very strong start.

“What attracted me to the sport was that it was an activity I’ve participated in since I was little, and playing with some friends would not only make it competitive, but a lot of fun,” Brack said. “It’s outstanding.”

Marlboro’s Jason Faigin, who, like Brack, was exposed to the game as a youngster, said there is a simple explanation for dodgeball’s success — it’s fun.

“We’re like a bunch of kids playing a kids’ game,” he said. “It’s all aggression.

“It’s fun, and everyone is really into it,” he added.

For players like Faigin and Brack, who are teammates and ex-professional baseball pitchers, dodgeball provides more than just fun, it’s an outlet for their competitive juices.

“We take it seriously,” said Faigin. “It’s really competitive.”

Teenagers take the game just as seriously. Alex Guzzo and Sal Moutone both credit the recent Ben Stiller movie “Dodgeball” with rekindling interest in the game.

“I see it taking off,” said Guzzo, a junior at Freehold High School, Freehold Borough. “Next year it will be even bigger.

“We love the game,” he added. “It’s an adrenaline rush when you play.”

Moutone, a junior at Freehold Township, noted that everyone has grown up playing the game.

“Even before the movie, we’d get together and play it,” he said. “It would be cool if there were [professional] leagues.

“When I heard about the [YMCA’s] league at first I was skeptical about it,” he added. “Will people go for it, paying to play it in a league? When I brought it up to my friends, they thought it was great. It says a lot that we are giving up Friday nights to play dodgeball.”

Guzzo pointed out that dodgeball, while not requiring anyone to be of a particular size, is a good cross-training sport.

“It takes agility, speed and eye-hand coordination,” he said.

Moutone agreed, calling dodgeball a “pure athletic” sport and much more physical than people think.

“You have to be in shape,” he said. “You are drained when you are finished.”

Action is fast and furious, with three dodgeballs in play at all times.

There are 11 games to a match, with an eight-minute time limit per game that is seldom realized. Each game starts out as five-on-five (each team has eight players). If at the end of eight minutes, each team has one player left, then players are added and there is a three-minute overtime. If, in a very rare case, it is still tied, the game is declared a no contest.

Officials are present to observe the play. If someone throws at the head of an opponent, for example, he is thrown out.

“There are officials there to keep someone from getting hurt,” said Uhrich.

It didn’t take Faigin and Brack long to realize there is a lot of strategy in the game. It’s not just who can throw the ball the hardest. They came out winging, and lost the first six games of their first match before turning the corner.

“We thought we had the best athletes, but we had no strategy,” said Faigin. “You have to go for the catch and throw low. The strategy for us is to catch it, catch it, catch it.”

Catching is the key because it brings one of your players back onto the court and sends one from the opposition off. It’s a two-for-one exchange, Moutone explained.

The game is played with three balls, and Faigin noted the real object is for one team to have all three at the same time and aim all three at one player. That ensures a hit, taking one player off the court.

The inaugural dodgeball season concludes at the end of this month, followed by playoffs, but there are plans to start it up again in the fall. Anyone interested in participating or finding out more about the league can call Uhrich at (732) 462-0464, ext. 121.