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Schools

Dodgeball Debate Continues in Windham

Find out what other towns, school employees and business owners had to say.

The debate about the School Board’s decision to ban “human target” games, including dodgeball has many people shaking their heads.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Lesa Meuller, a parent of two boys ages 9 and 12. “I’ve never heard of anyone getting hurt playing dodgeball.”

The School Board voted 4-1 last week to remove dodgeball and other human target games from the physical education curriculum as recommended by the National Association For Sport and Physical Education.

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NASPE believes that dodgeball is not an appropriate activity for K-12 school physical education programs. While NASPE agrees kids need a daily dose of physical activity to combat the growing childhood obesity epidemic, it states this activity should include positive experiences so that kids want to be physically active outside of physical education class and throughout their lifetime.

“There are certainly pros and cons to this,” said Bill Raycraft, athletic director for Windham High School. “If dodgeball is done right, it’s safe and well worth the activity.”

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Raycraft said the balls used are not the hard rubber balls used years ago. The game uses gator balls, which are foam balls lighter than a Nerf football. 

“I think (the School Board’s) concern was not of injury, but of elimination,” Raycraft said. “The goal is to keep kids in the game and moving for physical activity.”

Raycraft said the rules could have been modified to accumulate points instead of eliminating kids from the game.

Windham High used to compete in dodgeball tournaments with surrounding towns as an extracurricular activity, but that, too, will be nixed.

“There are a lot of variations of dodgeball,” said Howard Sobolov, athletic director at Londonderry High School. “It’s a very strategic game by nature and there is a collaboration with teammates.”

Sobolov said dodgeball is still played in physical education classes throughout the Londonderry School District.

“They don’t play it too much, but sometimes it’s played for fun, like the day before the Christmas break,” he said.

Dodgeball is a regular activity at Kenpo Karate School in Derry. Students enjoy a game after the discipline of their karate class, said Senei Lenny Demers, owner of the school.

“It’s a great game for exercise and teaching quick reaction skills,” he said.

Raycraft, who said he enjoyed dodgeball growing up, said it was too bad the game was lumped together with all the human target games.

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