Lindsey- Playworks- Day Two

Tuesday, January 15
On Tuesday, the Playworks program director Collin came to College View. Collin is about 6’7” tall, always has a smile on his face and is extremely friendly. Since it was still pretty cold outside in the morning and early afternoon, we had indoor recess for lower grades and played basketball bowling and dodge ball.
Coach Tim uses a different method for dodge ball than what I am used to from my years in grade school. I have never really enjoyed playing dodge ball, because I always thought it was just a time for the athletic students to gang up on their non-athletic peers. However, the younger grades at College View Grade School played a dodge ball bowling game. Instead of targeting their peers to win, the students threw the dodge balls at cones set up on the other side of the gym. The older grade levels got to throw the dodge balls at each other, but they had to hit their peers below the waist.
Despite the below-the-waist rule, some students can still get hit in the face. During dodge ball, one student got hit in face and her glasses smashed into her face. She was crying on the sideline, so Collin came over and asked what was wrong. When she explained what had happened, he took her glasses off and said, "Can you do this for me?" And put the collar of his shirt over his eyes and shook his head back and forth quickly. The girl followed his lead, giggling, and did the same actions. By the end of it, she walked away with puffy eyes from crying, but a smile on her face. Another person in my group and I watched the whole situation, impressed with Collin's ability to help this young girl who was in pain.
Luckily, it was warm enough on Tuesday to have outdoor recess for 5th grade, so we learned and played a new game called aerobic kickball. The team in the outfield has to chase after the ball after it has been kicked. When they all get to the ball, they have to pass it over their heads and between their legs, alternating from person to person as the ball is passed backwards through the line of the outfield team. The team in the outfield must accomplish passing the ball in this manner before the kicker of the other team makes it back to home base. It was a really fun way to play kickball, which was a game I used to dread in grade school. It took away the focus on athletic ability of the kicker, and focuses more on teamwork and getting all of the players active and engaged. It took away the focus on how far someone kicks a ball since everyone has to move around the field each time the ball is kicked. Personally, I got pretty winded from running all over the field. However, it was completely worth it because I felt like I actually participated in kickball, instead of standing around in the outfield, not moving much.