Great series, Matt!! That was fun!

This was great. i am doing a project on dodgeball and it was really helpful

You have some good advice, but I bet you throw like a girl.

It's best to have a direction of movement in mind before the ball is thrown otherwise the time it takes for you to see and react is just enough time for you to take it to the nose

that's some really good advice, dalton.

u said throwing at the shins was good. I find that jumping is generally a good defensive move to this sense most people aim for the shin/feet.

more of a question, how to deal with elbow strain that comes from throwing fastballs multiple times

Thanks for all your help. Good Stuff...Very Useful Information!

Thanks for the tips. My school is having a dodgeball team, and my debate has entered as a team, this should definitely win it for us

dude...this was so helpful. i get the feeling my team has a total edge in our tournament next wednesday

about the sit down technique what you wanna do is squat then as the ball comes for you thrust forward so you land on your knees and the ball should be coming to your cheast making it easy to catch of course because you can hug it to your body. but another way is to only squat enough to create a hole big enough for the ball at your stomach and then as the ball comes you can pull it to your body just like you would want to do any catch. Hope this is Helpfull

Hey DBaller, you asked about elbow strain. I used to have that problem constantly when I started playing but I've been playing for a year now and rarely have problems. Here are some tips:

1. Make sure you warm up before the game. Start with some light throws and gradually throw a bit harder. Sometimes I don't even throw my hardest until we've played a few rounds.

2. Don't always throw your hardest. If you are close to someone or have them off balance, often you don't have to kill the ball to get them out. As a side effect, taking a bit off your throw can greatly improve your aim.

3. Throw properly. A friend of mine works out every day and is way stronger than me but he always throws out his shoulder because he doesn't throw correctly. He throws only with his shoulder, not with his entire body. First his shoulder gets sore and then his elbow. Think of how a baseball player throws.

4. If you go to the gym, focus a bit more on your shoulder. A few months ago I changed up my routine to focus a bit more on the shoulder and I've noticed that my throw is harder AND more accurate and I still don't have any elbow strain.

5. Get a better team! This might sound rude but seriously it helps! The better your team is, the less any one player has to throw.

I play in a league where we play on Monday nights. When I used to have elbow strain I often found that the most helpful thing was taking a week off. Though, if you're playing in a tournament you don't really have that option. Hope this helps, happy dodging!

B

Catching is the most risky element in dodgball. Any throw where you would have to reach for is a dangerous one. Only attempt on balls within your path and as far as the sit-down technique, unless you want to get hit in the face I would avoid using it. Effective but again dangerous.

B-Tak, funny you should say that about getting hit in the face with the sit-down catch technique, because I did it a couple weeks ago in a tournament, and sure enough, I got pegged right in the face. Gave my sunglasses a nice little crack too. Heh.

hey spudart my school has started a turney and I've joined a team together to compete. my group is for lack of better words the nerd herd. I'm the only person that has aim/strength/dodge which really worries me because its a one time elimination. my team is full of great people but they can't throw and they are very anti-dextrous. I need so suggestions on ways to improve myself and my team. we only have until monday to prepare. PLZ give me some information thanks.

i like to try and catch balls in my mouth using my teeth, i find this to be very self satisfing.

I love your tips! We have intermirals (don't know how to spell) that are in world teams. I lost against finland today, but tommorow i'm gonna win mexico!! thanks!

about the sitdown... the sitdown (2 seconds before i visited this page i thought of it) is a very easy catcher. most people would avoid throwing the ball at you, but they are forced to extinction when you are the only one left. oh, and ALWAYS cover your head. any fast "whips" and BAM, your gonna be VERY VERY hurt

when atamting the sit down technique either cross les or get on knees if crossing legs make sure knees don't get hit

DUDE-ARUNI i love dodeball! My team is awesome but some of your techniques r not good for teams u should come up with more team techniques and other crap maybe i would visit your sight more then. SEE YA LATER ALIGATOR!

my friend and i tried the sit down technique during a practice, but we use a squat. It allows us mobility and easy catching as we can cradle a ball between our legs body and arms, as well as dodge if we cant catch it. We try two players in that position and the other 4 running around during the regular stuff, give it a try^^

THe best way to BEAT the sit-down tequnique is to flank them when they get closer than back court.

Sitters should stay to the back, and hugh the walls

I like what this Dan has to say about splitting the players up.

The squatt allows for a slow mobility, but more importantly ROTATION.

Dropping one knee to the ground and using the other to help catch, or just catching at the knees works great.

i finally got off my lazy a$$ and read more of the comments. A lot of ppl complained about gettin hit in the face using the sit-down technique. again im gonna bring up my squat technique, because u have the ability to stand up quickly. With this, if a ball is heading towards ur face, stand up a bit more so it is level with ur chest allowing for an easy grab. And thanks for the compliments Jon^^

I hate people who use the sitdown technique, but i find it easy to defeat. Since they are sitting down in a catching position, they will try to catch anything thrown at them. Use this to your advantage. Throw high enough so they will have to stretch out to try and catch it. Hopefully it will bounce off and you will be a hero. OWNED!

Me and my friends are going into a tourney, were not very good, my school wont let any students play because kids have gotten hurt if there going to get hurt then they shoudlnt be playing!

hmmm.... I think the sit down technique will be very effective, but i haven't tried it yet, i'll have to see the next time i do dodgeball.

A good technique is the train were all ur players get behind each other and the person with a ball goes in front then u send ur best catcher or dodger away from the train by him self this way its less likely for somone to get hit also about the sitdown technique i use it all the time and u rarely get hit in the face and even if u do its not that bad but i go on my knees instead of sitting down this way the ball wont bounce off one of my knees then when they throw it at u it will only be able to hit ur chest or your face either way as soon as it hits u just grab it and u have a catch also watever u do dont reach just wait for the ball to hit u then grab it dont try to grab it first or you will b out

yeah my team used that is a tourney (witch we lost in the finals) and we kicked ass with it, there arnt any rules agianst it though

Yea i have a friend that uses the sit down catch. He holds a ball for blocking then drops it to catch another. He stays in practly the whole game.

If you aren't that good of a thrower then you could feed balls to another player on the team to create more progress and so that it will be less likely to get out.

I think that catching is the most important part of dodgeball. its an easy 2-1 swing. last in my last tourney i caught 4 balls and hit 2 people in less than a minute. I got the whole team out by myself!

i saw someone in the opposing team use the sitdown techinique and it works really well (if you are good at catching).

Our strategy to counter the technique is to just not throw the ball at him unless if he is not paying attention. I have no idea what to do if an entire team uses the sit-down technique.

hell ya i did this technique. i got pegged and my my glasses broke. and peolpe laughed at me, (but i am used to that) atleast i did not cry this time i wish i was good.

Thank you for the helpful tips. I need to teach my team them.

im in the 8th grade and were getting ready to go to a prison ball tourniment, which is the same thing xcept u have to have to roll pens over and knocked them down...while playing the same rules as dodgeball...thanks for the tips homie

Thanks for these, they should help. I just started to play in a tournament

I think that you should use the sqaut becuz u can move around quicker so it would work

The sit down only works for me when they only have 1 ball. Because once I got triple teamed, but wen there was 1 ball I caught the ball perfectly! ;^)

thanks this really helped me out with my project.

You are talking in metaphors here. Catching the ball can mean a lot of things, especially if it’s about one’s own balls. Now, that is a sensitive subject. It depends on how many balls you do have and you can catch at a time, isn’t it so. I can catch no more than one at a time, especially in my office where I have to be very careful with my palls there that want to throw more than one at a time.

Hey thanks for the tips. We are a new Db team in toronto Ontario and honestly we are nto doing all that great. We are having a great time but these tips would have come in useful 15 games ago :)

I have emailed a link to your page to my team mates and hopefully we have a better season next year :)

I like to distraction tip about everyone jumping up at the same time... I laughed a little and i could see that working :)

thanks for the sit- down technique! i'll be sure to use it in the middle school tournament on friday.(i'm in eight grade) but i'll probably go on my knees.

I have actually used the sit down technique for a different use. When holding a ball already, & i feel the opponent is quick with a strong arm, I lure him in to try and hit me, & when he does, I go into the sitdown position (more of a kneel for quick standup reaction) & I can block it w/ my ball & jump up or sprint at them (overwhelmingly) & strike...VERY affective.

My friend uses sit down technique! It is awesome! he sits down and shields himself with a ball. When the people throw the ball he deflects it then
WHAM!!!!!!!

i do use the sit down technique in gym class and in my skools last dodgeball tourny and i have never been hit with a ball and i caught 2 balls the last tourny. if there r no returnies u can do the sit down with a ball and just deflect balls they throw at u

the sit down tech is mean ow we play every day and its really good from new zealand and is middle school intermediate

Thanks! We're doing a dodgeball tourny at our school and this was really helpful!

At my school, you're not allowed to sit down.

Hector, on your long sit-down technique post, falling backwards is a better plan.

I always stand up, so I can move better. I'm an excellent catcher, but a better dodger. If a ball gets thrown at me directly, I usually fall backwards on my rear, which is similar to the sit-down tech, but it reduces the force that the ball has, making for an easier catch.

Haha. I throw like crap, but hopefully this will help. That site doesnt work anymore by the way. =(

Sometimes I use the sitdown technique. What I do is go to the corner where the line you cant cross and the out of bound line meets then just squat there. This works because it cuts down the number of angles you can be attacked from.

i usually throw at the nuts or maby even chest depending on who it is.i throw quite hard so no one usually catches it

if u play when u can deflect balls with other nalls, use the sitdown technique, get 2 balls, and block every incoming ball also i like to have 2 people with a ball, have the first person bounce it near the target and when the target is distracted, nailem

also u can deflect a ball upward and have an easier catch

the sit down technique is actually pretty effective, but it really ticks off the people in charge

Perhaps there should be a rule where you cannot sit down for more than three seconds. If you do so, you will considered "out."

play like u suck then start playing like a pro

get all the balls and throw em at 1 person

My boyfriend does the sitdown technique, I think. He kneels on the ground and waits. It works well for him.

THESE ARE STUDLELIKEDNESSLY STUDLYISTICAL TIPS. DO MORE ON DODGEBALL, BECAUSE IT WAS STUDLYISTICALL. i LOVE TO MESS UP THE COMMENTS SECTION WITH A BUNCH OF CRUD, TOW. sINCERELY, jASON FARVE

me and yo mama sitdown tequniqe