Inspiration from Team USA brings dodgeball to Ball State

<p>The Ball State Dodgeball Club competes in a tournament &nbsp;Dec. 1, 2018, in the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreational Center. The Cardinals competed against Wisconsin-Platteville, Cincinnati, Miami (Ohio) and Grand Valley State. <strong>Drew Pierce, DN</strong></p>

The Ball State Dodgeball Club competes in a tournament  Dec. 1, 2018, in the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreational Center. The Cardinals competed against Wisconsin-Platteville, Cincinnati, Miami (Ohio) and Grand Valley State. Drew Pierce, DN

How the game is played:

Dodgeball games are comprised of two teams battling it out on the basketball court. Once all of the opposing team’s members are out, the team with members remaining get a point. Teams win by getting the most points before time expires.

Kevin Frye competed as a member of the USA Dodgeball National Team a year ago. Now, as a junior at Ball State, he is the one responsible for introducing club dodgeball to the university.

“Dodgeball is literally my life, and I have put a lot of time and effort into the club,” Frye said. “When it comes time to graduate, it will definitely be hard for me, but I can’t wait to see how the club will grow and develop afterward.”

Frye is the founder, creator and current captain of the Ball State Dodgeball Club. When he transferred to Ball State from the University of Kentucky in the summer of 2017, he brought talent and knowledge to start up a new club sport. 

Frye had the opportunity to travel with top dodgeball players in the country while on Team USA and competed in the national tournament in Canada. According to Team USA’s website, the team is home to the Men’s and Women’s National Dodgeball Teams representing the United States in international matches. Frye used this experience to create the club sport that is becoming more and more popular by the week.

“With any sport, competitiveness sometimes overpowers the fun involved, but even if the games didn’t end like you wanted them to,” Frye said, “as long as you had fun, that is all that matters.” 

Ball State Dodgeball Club offers all students at Ball State the opportunity to compete, have fun and even travel across the country to play the gym class staple. The dodgeball club was officially established in October 2017, and recruitment allowed it to take off in January. 

The new club officially joined 37 other schools in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA) in March at the Average Joes’ Throwdown in the Jo Ann Gora Recreational Center. 

Recently, Ball State hosted its second ever dodgeball tournament Saturday with a total of five schools taking the court. Along with Ball State, the field consisted of Wisconsin-Platteville, Cincinnati, Miami (Ohio) and Grand Valley State. 

The dodgeball club is making a commitment to host at least one competition every year in addition to multiple away tournaments.

Although much of the time spent as a member of the team is chucking dodgeballs at opponents, sophomore Cory Mosson said the comradery and networking is the real reason people are attracted to the club.

“I like the team aspect of the club,” Mosson said. “There are definitely some close-knit people in this group.”

Saturday was Mosson’s first tournament with the team. He added that he made close friends through the club, something Frye said was one of the main reasons he created the dodgeball club – to give all students the opportunity to network and make new relationships. 

For those interested in joining the club, there’s still time. The Ball State Dodgeball Club meets at 9 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday in the Rec Center and accepts members year round. 

“If you’re wanting to learn all about competitive dodgeball on a college level, then this club is for you,” Frye said. “There is quite a large learning gap involved with learning new things… but there are always members waiting to give a helping hand when needed.”

Contact Drew Pierce with any comments at dlpierce2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @dpierce3cc.

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