Coach: The greatest game of all? Dodgeball, of course

As the autumnal sports seasons wind to a close - and what a glorious autumn it has been - we can now start to peek ahead to some of the upcoming winter sports.

We might need a week or two to "prime the pump" for those cold weather sports soon to come, but it won't be long until wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, basketball and the other indoor recreational pursuits come to the forefront.

But, in the meantime, it got me thinking about what might be - indoors or outdoors - "the greatest game of all."

Understood that each of us have different opinions and fond memories of our favorite games and sports we played when we were young. From baseball and softball, to backyard and playground games such as four square, hop scotch, kickball, tetherball, and even large group games like Capture the Flag. They each, in their own unique way, bring back sweet remembrances and the good times of our youth.

But let me throw this out there: Was there any game with the universal appeal and standard issue overall popularity as the good, old dodgeball and bombardment games?

I suppose there are a few "holdouts" out there that didn't enjoy the raucous atmosphere and intense activity the game provided. But, for the most part, it was sheer, unhinged, unadulterated joy for those of us that partook.

For those unfamiliar, or maybe those that pink slipped out of gym class one too many times, think of dodgeball as all out ball throwing warfare, right in the cozy comfort of your very own school gymnasium. An every man for himself activity where only the strong survived, and those less inclined were relegated to the false safety of the sideline walls. It was 40 minutes of not-so-organized bedlam. Man, was that fun.

Things change, though. I think we all can agree our society has gotten a bit "softer." Dodgeball and bombardment are slightly different games today than what the old-schoolers remember where, then, we used the traditional red round 8-by-11 inch playground ball. It was wound nice and tight, fully inflated, with a rubber outside covering that could definitely provide significant stingage upon impact.

But things, I am sad to report, are different now. Today's kids have to learn the game using the less painful and much smaller foam ball. A softer and no doubt weaker alternative to the red, rubber ball we used, which apparently has been banished for inducing too much pain on today's unsuspecting young soldiers of the physical education gym arena.

However, despite the game's recent " foam over," it remains popular with today's youth.

Many will recall the joys of trying to nail people on the other team, including the unimaginable thrill of knocking the ball out of another kid's hands and then following it up with a plaster shot right to the chest. Or throwing so hard you hit their legs and knocked them off balance, causing them to take an unscheduled immediate departure to the hard gymnasium floor.

Or the supreme satisfaction of having someone take their best shot and fire the ball right at you, but you caught it perfectly with your two hands, thus, sending them dejectedly off to the lonely sidelines (aka, the jail). Good times, good times.

Bottom line? No video game can match the kind of fun and amusement dodgeball and bombardment provided.

The other cool thing about these two games is that I found them to be a window, of sorts, into the personality and psyche of those that play the game.

I told our social worker at the school I used to teach at that you can learn more about a kid watching 30 minutes of a bombardment game than you can in hours of soul-searching conversation.

All the personalities come to life in dodgeball. You see the overly aggressive kid (the ones that immediately step to the front lines in the middle of the action), the standard issue troublemakers (couple in every class, right?), the ball hogs only concerned about themselves and grabbing every loose ball in sight, and then the disinterested kid totally immune to the chaotic action going on around him/her.

There are also the ones I used to call the wall flowers (those afraid to get hit and are last seen fear-hugging the back wall, literally hanging on for dear life), and not to forget the shy kids standing all by their lonesome, afraid to join in on the action.

The largest group of all are the ones in the vast in-between. These are the kids who are kind of afraid to join the loud, maniacal and dangerous action on the front lines, but still enjoy playing the game, and are gaining motivation as they participate. It is fun to watch those particular kids develop their confidence as the game goes on.

Yes, all it takes is a few unsupervised minutes of possible injury-inducing bombardment, in the midst of a gymnasium battlefield, to see all these different personalities show through.

So, my advice is thus: Save all the painstaking social worker observations and psychological analysis, and written evaluations. Just watch kids at play dodgeball. It is all you will need to know.

Oh, and please bring back that red, round, rubber ball!

• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. To contact him with comments or story ideas, email jcsportsandtees@aol.com.