Rex Gonzales and Brent Mackin are co-founders of Winnipeg’s first minor dodgeball league for kids nine to 17-years-old. The league is currently accepting registrations for the fall.
Organizers of Winnipeg’s first minor dodgeball league are hoping kids will rush to the line this fall and join in the sport’s growing momentum in the city.
Brent Mackin and Rex Gonzales, co-founders of Winnipeg Minor Dodgeball, say the new city-wide league will provide an opportunity for players between nine and 17 years old to get involved with the dodgeball community and develop a foundation that will help carry them through adult leagues.
"We know the sport of dodgeball is growing quite a bit in Winnipeg, mostly right now in the adult league it’s exploding, but there’s nothing like it for kids," explained Mackin, a long time sports organizer and coach from Whyte Ridge.
"There are so many benefits to the game for kids — the teamwork aspect, the skills, and anybody is able to play. There’s such a low barrier to get into the sport," he said. "We started looking at ways to make a cheap, cost effective league for parents and kids."
Beginning in October, Winnipeg Minor Dodgeball will run a program out of the gym at École LaVérendrye (290 Lilac St.) on Tuesday and Thursday nights, teaching participants the basics of dodgeball — everything from how to properly throw and dodge a ball to strategies and rules — and then organize scrimmages between teams.
Gonzales, a member of the Dodgeball Winnipeg league who has been playing for about five years, agrees the sport’s popularity is growing among adults, with over 1,000 players in Winnipeg. However, participation for those under 18 has been limited to gym classes without a formal youth league. After meeting young players who wanted to get involved but had nowhere to go, Gonzales decided to team up with Mackin to get the ball rolling on a new league.
"We would be playing in community centres like this and there would be kids around all the time," Gonzales said. "Constantly they would be asking if they could play, and technically they weren’t allowed to because it’s only for adults.
"They would be watching in the window the whole time," he said. "We would have to let them down."
By starting players off at a younger age and expanding dodgeball programming, Gonzales believes other leagues in Winnipeg will benefit by having more well-rounded players with a solid knowledge of the game. It could also improve the perception of dodgeball as a serious sport among the general public.
"I think the sport still has lots of stigmas on it," he said, noting that people unfamiliar with the game often think of the Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
"We don’t like being associated with that," he said. "We want to legitimize the sport sobigger associations take us seriously."
A new provincial dodgeball association is currently in the works and the city will also be hosting Dodgeball Canada’s National Championship Tournament in 2018, Gonzales added.
In its first year, Mackin is hoping for a strong turnout and anticipates anywhere between 20 and 40 players per session.
"We want the kids to have fun, enjoying it, and coming back," he said. "We’re hoping in the first fall season that everybody does have a great time and other kids will want to join."
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