Charles Shaffer, a Cupertino resident and president of Oaks Travel at The Oaks shopping center, said there is always mutual respect between players. He's been playing the game for 23 years, starting when he was a student at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. That's not to say people don't get hurt. Despite being noncontact, the sport involves a lot of running, dodging and blocking. It is inevitable that players collide, fall, pull muscles or twist ankles, backs and other parts of the body.
Some players are out for months nursing injuries.
But there's always a place for them when they come back. On average about 20 people come out to the field. Numbers have been down because of the winter rains, but in the spring as many as 70 people may show up to play. The city field is divided in half for two different levels of play. The side closest to the corner of Pacifica Drive and Torre Avenue is for more advanced players.