Dodgeball

What it feels like…

To get hit playing dodge ball:

Photo by Jonathan Welch

“Mentally or physically? Physically it’s not bad. You can get hit in sensitive areas that sting for a couple of minutes. But all in all, the balls are like foam balls. Some of the guys who throw it harder, it feels like getting punched. But nothing too painful. I’ve been hit in the face a few times, and it made my vision a bit blurry. But I’ve never been hit in the ultimate sensitive area. I know other people that have, and that seems to linger a bit longer.

“But mentally … for me, it’s just disappointment and frustration. Anytime I get hit, most of the time I feel like it’s something that I did rather than the other player making a good play—whether you turned your back or just weren’t paying attention or something, or maybe you’re just getting old and slow.”

To be No. 1:

“Recently in the tournaments, we’ve become one of the more hated teams, just because people want to show that they can beat us. But the Atlanta tournament was actually pretty good. People there were generally more respectful and well-behaved. The Richmond tournament was a little rougher.”

— Casey Conner, whose Black Mountain All-Stars team won the 2009 Dodgeball World Cup in Atlanta in January

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