VOORHEES — South Jersey residents are getting a chance to relive their school days through dodgeball, a popular sport played over the years in gym classes across the country.
Glory Days Sports, based in Winslow, started an adult dodgeball league at the Virtua Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees in early December.
The coed league has games on Wednesdays between 7 and 9 p.m. during the roughly 10-week season, said Matt DeNafo, president of Glory Days Sports.
"We've done coed softball, a wiffle ball tournament and a kickball tournament, but this is the first time we're offering dodgeball," DeNafo said. "We have 12 teams this year, and each team can have up to 10 members."
DeNafo said the league costs $500 per team, which includes team shirts. The game is played by having six players from each team on the court at one time.
Six balls are lined up along the center of the court, and when the game begins it's a race to grab as many as you can. DeNafo said the players then toss the balls at the opposing team, and if the players are hit, they're out.
The team with the most players left on the court at the end of each six-minute game wins. If a team gets every player on the opposing team out before the time limit, they win. DeNafo said each team plays about 10 games a night.
"I think the movie "Dodgeball (A True Underdog Story)' brought a lot of the popularity back," said DeNafo, referring to the 2004 movie featuring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. "Everyone remembers those days when you used to play back in high school."
What attracted Bordentown Township resident Chris Prendergast to the game was a chance to keep active and get together some friends and neighbors for a competitive but friendly game.
Prendergast, the team captain for the Bordentown Pink Panthers, said he heard about the league after playing softball with Glory Days Sports.
"I'm 33 years old and I'm trying to remain active," Prendergast said. "I think anyone can enjoy dodgeball. In high school it was always fun, and you don't even really have to be athletic."
DeNafo said the league is one that encourages both sexes to get involved, and at least two men and two women from each team must be on the court during a game.
The games are played by a strict set of rules, which forbids things like throwing a ball at someone's head or stepping out of bounds.
Michael Valenti, a Winslow resident, said he played softball with Glory Days Sports in the past. Valenti is team captain for the Agile Giants, a team that has several players as tall as 6 feet 5 inches.
"The league is competitive but also fun," Valenti said. "You don't have to be an avid dodgeball player to play in the league. It's just people looking to have a good time and share some laughs."
DeNafo said with so much interest in the dodgeball league, he'll consider offering another league after this one ends.
Reach Rachel Misenko at (856) 317-7871 or rmisenko@courierpostonline.com.
