Captains Tim Miller and Shaylene Kern have just finished picking the Laurier Brantford extramural dodge ball team last week with two things in mind: one is to come first in every tournament and two to earn some respect amongst the other extramural teams at the campus.
The dodge ball team, on average, does well at the tournaments they play in, coming in third at every tournament last year with about eight teams on average that compete in the tournaments. But the men’s extramural hockey team gaining all the headlines for their tournament win last year. The team is comprised of eight guys and three girls with Tim and Shaylene each being elected captain by their teammates.
While selecting their team Tim says “They [Captains Miller and Kern] are looking for people who have good arms, which are good athletes and are able to handle constructive criticism.”
In an effort to improve on their results from last year, Kern says, “They’re going to put more strategy into their games this year rather than just going out and playing dodge ball.” Both captains feel that by adding strategy combined with a couple new faces that this team could improve from last year.
The dodge ball team is scheduled to compete in three tournaments this year on October 4th, 18th, and January 23rd.
A major part of the team is the fundraising that they do throughout the year. The team is planning a barbeque at some point of the year. And, like last year, they plan on putting together a comedy show. Last year Tim set up a comedy show through Yuk Yuks that raised $550 dollars in profit for the team and they are looking to build on the success from last year.
“Everyone enjoyed the show last year and this year we are looking to get new comedians because they usually don’t get new jokes for at least a couple years,” Miller says.
Talking with team members from last year’s team, the overall feeling was that they seemed to enjoy playing and travelling with the team. Steven Haines, who played last year, says “Playing was very exciting and very competitive and the team atmosphere was very friendly.”
Team bonding appears to be a major part of the dodge ball team this year, like in years past. Road trips to Toronto for tournaments on top of fundraisers they do throughout the year should help them come together as a team.
If history is true to form, this team will build on the success they had last year and will come in first place in a couple of the tournaments they participate in. If the captains are right, then they will have the athletes, they will use good strategies, and they will use team chemistry in order to have a successful year. If they are able to do that this year they should continue to put Laurier Brantford on the extramural map and gain the respect they are looking for throughout the campus.
