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Dodging for a cause

By Adam Parkhouse
Home Cookin'
Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 5:09 PM CDT
I can remember playing dodgeball as a kid. I’m sure most people my age or just about any other can remember playing some form of the game in an elementary school gym class.

At Pine School, where I went from third through sixth grade, dodgeball was a free-for-all. 20-plus kids, all running around a gym throwing a rough-skinned kickball at each other.

The last boy or girl standing was declared the victor and had instant bragging rights. For years, this was my dodgeball reality.

That was until the 2001 movie starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn came out and introduced to me a team concept I hadn’t previously considered.

It was that format that was the idea behind the first Play4Life Dodgeball Challenge last September. On that day, myself and the other organizers of the event knew we had something.

This year, the event was held at Michigan City High School’s Wolves Den, the field of teams expanded from 16 to 28 and fan support grew, with all proceeds benefitting The United Way of La Porte County.

On this day, it wasn’t just about team registrations and ticket prices, though. The concession stand was run by Michiana Resources, who benefitted from food sales and food was collected to donate directly to local food pantries.

Days like Saturday are why I’m proud to have called Michigan City and La Porte County home for each of my 31 years on this planet.

It’s never anything less than moving to see the a community come together in support of a common cause.

While charity is 99 percent of the purpose of an event like Saturday’s, athletic competition and spirit make up the rest. Oh, man, is it competitive.

For the second straight Play4Life Dodgeball Challenge I found myself in awe of the teams and their players.

Saturday, I saw some athletic plays that rival just about anything that happens on a baseball diamond, tennis court or other field of play.

Those in attendance were able to witness diving catches, evasive maneuvers that would make a spacecraft in an asteroid field blush and balls rocketed across the court like a Nolan Ryan fastball.

To me, that’s the reason why Play4Life has been a success twice in the last six months or so. The competition has to be good and fierce.

The field ballooning by 75 percent is, I think, indicative of that. Teams want to come back and want to be a part of this event.

I hope you do, too. If you were there, on behalf of everyone who had anything to do with putting on this tournament, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming out to support such a great organization.

If you weren’t able to make it, hopefully the word of mouth has reached you and you’re already making plans to be there next year.Personally, I can’t wait.

To learn more about The United Way and all the ways it helps resident of La Porte County, visit www.unitedwaylpc.org.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.