Monday, January 11, 2016
With 6 players required on the court, everyone knows that Dodgeball is a team sport. However, many new teams (and well as some veteran teams) underestimate how much teamwork and strategy is required to be successful! Here are some tips to pass along to your teammates and practice at your next game:
- Throw together! Choose a target, let your teammates know and throw on a count (most teams count to 3).
- If your count to 3 gets interrupted (often by an opponent throwing a ball), train your team to start the count over again. This technique takes a lot of discipline and practice. If you don’t do this, what often happens is that only one or a few of your players throw their ball(s) and the other team is more likely to make a catch.
- When throwing together, try to have all balls reach the target at the same time (e.g. if you have a very hard throw, wait until your teammates have released).
- Defensive Throws: If your teammate is in danger, throwing a distraction ball at your opponent may prevent them from hitting your player. If you don’t have a ball, a fake throw could work as well.
- If your player is on the ground, you can stand in front of them to avoid an easy target for the other team.
- Try to stop balls from bouncing off the back wall and rolling back to your opponents.
- Understand your team: Discuss strategies before the game. Get to know your players and soon you will be able to ‘mind-read’ and anticipate their moves.
Understand your opponent: If you can watch your opponents, you will learn their tricks and strategies. If you know something key about one of their players, make sure you share this information with your entire team (e.g. a player may be known for ‘no-look’ throws, popping up deflections, catching, being sneaky and sniping players from the corner, etc.)
