Do I remember kickball? Who else here remembers going to kick, missing the ball completely and landing flat on yer back?
::crickets::
Okay, I was an uncoordinated child. I’m much better now.
Wow, a kickball thread and a dodgeball thread in the same week.
A large part of the reason games like kickball and dodgeball are largely not played in PE programs these days, is that they are not very good fitness activities.
I don’t think I need to tell you that we Americans are pretty out of shape. Kids are becoming more obese too (see the recent Surgeon General’s report). Consequently, fitness is a huge focus of PE programs.
Now think about kickball. Say it’s 9 against 9, which is extremely unlikely given that class sizes tend to be larger than 18.
How often does a given player actually touch the ball?
In the field, maybe once every couple of minutes if they’re lucky. And you may wait quite a while for your turn to kick.
Hardly a worthwhile fitness activity.
So you say, “Heck with fitness! What’s wrong with the kids having fun playing this game?”
Again, I point to the logistics. It may be fun if you are the pitcher, or the one kicking. But there’s a heck of a lot of down time in these games. And that’s when a lot of discipline problems happen.
And it’s not just dodgeball and kickball that this applies to. I teach elementary PE, and I NEVER have the kids play a “traditional” game of any sport. I’ll have them work on baseball SKILLS, but not actually play an According to Hoyle game of baseball.
I’ll play modified games that increase the kids’ activity levels and give lots of chances to practice skills. But if they want the real thing, they can play Little League. That’s what those leagues are there for. Physical Education is there to improve fitness levels, teach basic skills and rules, and prepare kids to lead a healthy and active life.
So take your kids down and join the adult kickball league. I might! It sounds great!
Boy do I remember kickball.
From 2nd to 4th grade, I attended a yeshiva in New Jersey called the Hebrew Academy of Morris County. Kickball during recess was practically a tradition there. Since there were only 12 kids in our class, the teams were a bit short, but we made do.
We had one kid in the class, Ephraim, who could kick the ball a country mile. Whenever he came to bat, the other team always had one person play deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep outfield. The second best player in the class was Joel. As a rule, the two of them could not be on the same team.
Likewise, I was the second worst player in the class. The worst kid (in kickball) in the class was Arthur. As before, the two of us could not be on the same team either (which was a bit of a shame, since he was my best friend in the class).
In any event, I remember when I kicked my first home run. No one in the class was expecting it. It came as a shocker to all, myself included.
Zev Steinhardt