Dodgeball is more than just a movie — it’s an American institution. Whether you’re a champion, like Charlie “Bulls-eye” Walker, or a loser, like Norman “First-out” Landry, we’ve all known the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat on the dodgeball court.
Now, for the first time since they finished the sixth grade, Brooklyn residents who are nostalgic about their glory days as gym class heroes can relive those heady times by joining a ZogSports league in Williamsburg and Park Slope this winter.
The popular co-ed adult recreation organizer, which is also part social network and part charity organization, is making its first foray into Brooklyn this winter after coordinating football, basketball and soccer leagues in Manhattan for five years.
Due to popular demand, ZogSports is inviting Billyburgers to play dodgeball the way it was meant to be played — in grade-school gymnasiums.
“A lot of the people who were playing in our Manhattan leagues were commuting from Brooklyn,” said ZogSports founder Robert Herzog. “So for years, we’ve been getting questions from our dodgeball players about when they would be able to play closer to home. Now they can.”
In an effort to be inclusive for players with limited skills, each league will have three levels of play. The Players Division is strictly for jocks with serious dodgeball skills. The Casual Division is for those who like to play, but don’t put on their game faces in front of a mirror every morning. The Extremely Casual Division is for people who are more interested in socializing than winning the championship (this division is for those who excel in at post-game happy hours).
The rules of the game are exactly as you remember them (or have chosen to forget them): A player is out when he or she is hit by a live ball, throws a ball that is caught, crosses the center line, is forced out of bounds to avoid a throw, or is called out by the referee for throwing a headshot.
That’s right. Beaning an opponent is strictly frowned upon (if only that rule had been in effect in our school). Even though Herzog says he and his staff tested a dozen types of balls to pick one that would hurt the least, getting socked in the head with a dodgeball never feels good.
Herzog says the two new leagues, which will begin a six-game season in mid-January, will have room on its rosters for about 250 players. Each league will have 12 teams, six of which will make the playoffs.
The winning team from each league will select a charity to receive its prize money, which is donated by ZogSports sponsors.
Registration fees are $66 per individual and $698 for a 12-person team for the Williamsburg league, which will play at PS 19 on South Third Street, and $67 per individual and $699 for a team in the Park Slope league, which will play at PS 321 on Seventh Avenue. Registration fees include organized happy hours at local bars after the games. To register, visit www.zogsports.org. The deadline is Dec. 14.
