Re-Introducing an Elementary Sport from the Past: Kickball
As the new intramural director at Florida College in Temple Terrace, I was given the assignment to re-energize the intramural department and expand playing opportunities for the student body.
As a small college (enrollment 520) intramurals is the biggest activity on the school calendar so I searched for a sport in which the most students would likely participate.
After considering several options, kickball seemed to be the most likely candidate. It is a game most all kids played in elementary school but probably had quit playing by junior high school.
At the meeting of social club athletic directors during the first week of school, the lineup of sports for the coming year was introduced and kickball was the first sport scheduled to be played. At first, there were several raised eyebrows at the thought of college students playing a children’s game, but I told them to trust me and give kickball a chance.
Up until the first game, there were still doubts as to how college students would react to playing an elementary school game. But once the first ball was rolled and everyone started having fun, the doubts quickly vanished.
Students quickly discovered that kickball:
- is still fun to play as a young adult
- is a game most anyone can play and be competitive and
- for a team to win, the team still needed to have good athletes and use teamwork.
The participation rate for kickball was excellent as approximately half of the student body participated in the kickball season. Florida College now has more than six co-ed social kickball teams with 30 scheduled games. Over the course of 30 games an average of 29 players participated in each contest.
So if you are looking for a new sport to add to an intramural program that is easy to play, fun, and competitive, re-introduce an elementary sport: KICKBALL