BROOKSVILLE – Six balls sit lined up at center court of the Jerome Brown Community Center gym. The players sprint to grab them, and quite literally take aim at their opponents.
It’s the City of Brooksville Parks and Recreation Department’s version of dodgeball, and no it’s not broadcast on ESPN 8 The “Ocho.” Actors Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn are nowhere in sight.
Yet the action does indeed bring to mind the 2004 comedy DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story. “We send out video clips (from the movie) in emails before the game to get everybody pumped,” said John Taylor, captain of the LRE Ground Services team. “We don’t care if we win or lose. Obviously winnings a perk, but we just go out there and have fun. If we look like people from DodgeBall, that’s fine.”
Of course, the city’s rec services isn’t trying to mimic a movie. This is the second season of the league, which started last year with four teams and continued this spring with three.
Currently there is no championship awarded. The teams simply play for pure enjoyment. “We definitely want to it grow,” said Lindsay Gulledge, Recreation Leader III for the City of Brooksville who runs the league. “Softball is huge but it’s been around for years and years. We’re hoping dodgeball grows, too. We have a huge gymnasium in our community center and it’s really not utilized. We’re just trying to think of more programs in the gym.”
Indoor volleyball and three-on-three basketball are other programs that the department has attempted to start up, but hasn’t received enough interest.
At present dodgeball runs opposite the kickball season, which takes place when the weather cools in the fall. “We’ve kept it off and on like that,” Gulledge said, “but we’d really like both programs to grow to where we have dodgeball season in the spring and fall, and kickball season in the spring and fall.”
The first season the league didn’t even have officials, depending on city employees to oversee the games. This season, which ended on Wednesday, the league added a true referee.
Though the rosters are predominantly male, each team is required to have one female. “I love competitive fitness stuff anyway, so anything that John (Taylor) brings that’s community involvement plus sports, I’m all about,” said Rosemary Woolever, part owner of LRE and member of the squad bearing the name of her business. “I can show them a thing or two, so I like competing against guys.”
No matter the person, the common goal seems to be having a good time. “It’s fun. It keeps us active after work. Kind of brings the team together,” Taylor said. “(Parks and Recreation director) Mike Walker does a lot. He sends out all the information and makes it easy to sign up for dodgeball, kickball, softball, all the different events he puts on here.”
For more information, contact the City of Brooksville Parks and Recreation Department at (352) 540-3830.
