By Tom Rohrer
Do you dodge or duck? Throw over hand or under? Catch or cradle?
There are a variety of techniques on display in the Pacific Northwest Dodgeball League (PNWDL), which is now in the middle of its fourth season, all of which have taken place in the last calendar year.
After two seasons inside the gymnasium at the Lacey Boys & Girls Club, the league moved to a bigger facility at Komachin Middle School for the last two campaigns.
The 16-and-over league (all minors with permission from their parent or guardian) has expanded to fourteen teams, and is nearly at capacity for the space in which they play at.
Created and run by David Garcia, the PNWDL provides individuals with the opportunity to work off some steam every Sunday night in a friendly, but still competitive environment.
“I think people enjoy the camaraderie and competition with each other,” said Garcia. “And it’s just a really fun sport to play, and that joy can spread quickly through (word of mouth).”
Lacey Parks and Recreation offered a Dodgeball league for several years until it disbanded in 2010. Garcia, and a host of other PNWDL players, felt the void of no local Dodgeball league.
“I just wanted to see it continue. We had a good group of guys, who played basketball and football together and we saw those relationships develop,” Garcia said of the players in the Lacey Parks and Recreation League. “When we started, it was the same core group of teams and it just kept spreading through word of mouth, and now we’re here. Obviously there is a demand for (Dodgeball) in the area.
To start up the league, Garcia needed to obtain a business documentation, liability insurance, and of course, a place to play.
“I told him it would be perfectly fine to do it at (the Boys & Girls Club),” said Garcia’s friend Mason Bassettt, who is the Teen Director for the Lacey Boys & Girls Club. “For the size of their league, it worked out well for a while.”
With the increased space at Komachin, the league was able to expand to more players, teams and a higher level of competition.
“It’s a little more serious, competition wise, but still very friendly,” said D.J. Taisipic, the captain of Brownballs. “The rules have changed to make the game faster and more intense.”
The game begins with six players from each team on the back line. Upon receiving a signal from the referee, the teams make a run for the assortment of balls laid out at the center line. If a player is struck by the ball without catching it, they must sit along the wall and wait for a teammate to make a clean catch. Through catching the throw of an opponent, as many as eight players per team can be on the court at one time.
To make sure these rules are met, Garcia uses a collection of friends and family, and community Dodgeball enthusiasts to help run the games each Sunday.
Garcia’s uncle, Scott Mendenhall, keeps statistics and monitors the courts in case of a disagreement or point of confusion.
“I don’t need to provide much help,” Mendenhall noted. “Everyone does a good job sorting things out on the court.”
That family style feel certainly carries over to the court. Teams maintain a positive rapport, no matter if their opponents drill them in the stomach or not.
“It’s the sheer fun, and win or lose, you have a good time,” said Headshots team captain Cisco Deleon. “Playing with everyone here is fun.”
But who said adults should be having all the fun?
Dodgeball has long been a staple of P.E. classes at the elementary, middle and high school level, and the PNWDL is looking to incorporate the area’s youth into the league.
Garcia reached out to Bassett about starting a 12-and-under youth Dodgeball club for students in the Lacey Boys & Girls Club, and the idea may soon be spreading into an area wide league. On Sunday, March 10, Garcia and several other PNWDL members instructed the youth on the rules and techniques of the game, and created makeshift teams for them to play on that evening. Needless to say, it was a big hit with the kids.
“They loved it, and couldn’t stop talking about it all the way back to the club,” Bassett said. “The number one issue with parents was if kids would get hurt, but we told them about the adult supervision, and our instructional period. It’s an active, fun and safe activity.”
“It makes sense,” Garcia said of the youth program. “I’ve talked with (Bassett) about how once we get fliers to other Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County, and all the schools, that there is a big potential for a youth league. Right now, we’re just exploring options, but it’s going very well.”
Garcia is still exploring options for the adult league as well. He noted that if the demand for teams keeps growing, PNWDL may look for a new facility, or have league play on multiple evenings per week. The league has already brought in teams from Seattle for an evening of competition, and sent squads to tournaments in the King County area. Garcia hopes to one day send a team to the Dodgeball World Championships in Las Vegas, hosted by the National Dodgeball League.
“We’ve done a lot, really seen this league blow up, and it’s awesome because there is so much potential still untapped,” Garcia said.
Like all other sports, the PNWDL has the ability to bring people together.
“There are young guys, old guys, women, athletes,” Taisipic said. “The arrangement of players makes it great.”
For more information on the Pacific Northwest Dodgeball League, click here.
You can also email pnwdodgeball@gmail.com or call David Garcia 360.515.6800. You will also find the league at a booth during the Lacey Spring Fun Fair on May 18 and 19.
