The Dodgefathers arrived dressed to impress.
The five-member dodgeball team, made up of middle school-age boys from Wheeling, W.Va., journeyed Saturday to West Deer to compete in the inaugural New Year Smash Em Dodgeball Tournament.
Sporting matching custom T-shirts with a sporty play on the classic Italian mafia film, the Dodgefathers enjoyed a departure from the normal sports routine, said coach and dad Brandon Pape.
“We play in baseball tournaments, and we just thought it would be fun to do,” Pape said.
The event was hosted by No Offseason Sports (NOS) in West Deer.
“I just thought it was a fun activity for the kids on New Year’s,” said Joe Voloch, director of operations at NOS. “We wanted to organize something different.”
Voloch said participation wasn’t quite what he anticipated, with six teams of five participating. But he’s hopeful next year’s enrollment will increase.
“It’s new this year,” he said.
Under a giant inflatable bubble, about 30 players competed in six matches each, vying for bragging rights and medals.
The object of the game is to eliminate all opposing players by hitting them with dodgeballs.
Each game had a time limit of 3 minutes, and the tournament was open to youths in grades 6-12, adults 18 and older, and 30 and older.
Kaedyn Joris, a seventh grader at Leechburg Area High School, said his friend encouraged him to sign up.
Each team paid a $125 registration fee.
“It’s fun, challenging and competitive — like baseball. I just started playing dodgeball,” Joris said.
Dodgeball spectator and mother Tricia Beatrice, 46, of Beaver County brought her son Owen, 14, and his friends to the tournament.
“It’s fun and gets them out of the house,” Beatrice said.
Their team name, Shopkin Slayers, was created by some girls, Beatrice said.
Only one female team competed.
“We practice soccer here,” said Tessa Hollibaugh, a student at Deer Lakes Middle School. “We wanted to rep the girls.”
JoLeene Condle said the competition provided something different during their winter break from school.
“It’s fun to play against the boys,” she said.
Voloch used Rhino Skin dodgeballs during the tournament, a smaller ball inflicting less sting than the traditional dodgeball many adults might recall from their childhood gym classes.
“It feels like cotton when you get hit,” Joris said.
