Rick Hanetho, the association's director, understands there isn't much about the activity that is educational, but he insists players are not targets and considers the game a part of growing up. I think there are so many more important issues regarding youth sports in our country. The instructors in his Illinois community don't schedule dodge ball, he said, but use the game as a backup activity. It's their favorite thing to do. . . . Ed Langan, Cecil County schools' athletic director, agrees.
Kids come out wringing wet, and that's our objective.
We're not there trying to hurt anyone. . . . You can tell kids to go on the track, but they don't like it. You're fighting with them. Like many school districts, Cecil County has replaced traditional gym classes with a friendlier approach favoring individual exercise regimens or games played by groups of only a few students. We don't want anything that keeps you out and waiting.