How to play

No previous experience or minimum level of fitness is required, if you can throw a ball, that’s all you need to get started!

Check out the video below for more information.

 

Core Skills

This sections focusses on the five core skills of dodgeball

Catching

Catches win matches! Catching is the most valuable skill you can improve, here are some tips:

  • Figure out your “Catching Zone” this is the area of your body where you can easily catch, usually it ranges between your waist to under your shoulders

  • Let it hit you first - Letting the ball hit you, and then grabbing it on the rebound will slow the ball down

  • Don’t Reach - Never reach out for a catch, they’re almost impossible to catch and you risk a finger injury

  • Play Dead - Act as if you’re not focussed on a player with a ball, when they make a quick, solo throw, prepare to catch!

Dodging

  • Jump around - Most throws are aimed low, get jumping!

  • I need some space - Give yourself some room on the court, if you’re next to the side lines or another player, your options are limited.

  • Face your fears - Always stay facing the opponent, spinning or turning will blind you to the ball

  • Teenie weenie target - When dodging, make yourself as small a target as possible, crouching into a little ball!

Throwing

Throwing isn’t all about strength and speed, a few simple tips will help make your throws far more effective

  • Throw at the front of the court

  • Throw with your team

  • Aim low to make it hard to catch

  • Throw with your whole body, plant your feet & twist your hips

  • Grip the ball on the logo and rubber valve

  • Experiment with different throwing styles to find what suits you (Overarm, underarm, hook throw)

Throwing Advanced

Blocking

Blocking keeps you and your team safe, here are a few tips to make the best of it:

  • Hold the ball firmly with both hands

  • Crouch low to make yourself a small target behind the ball

  • Bait the opponent into throwing at you

  • Fingers count as part of the ball when blocking

  • Deflect balls away from your team (Deflections are still live!)

  • Deflecting into an opponent gets them out

  • Deflected balls can still be caught, by your team or an opponent

Countering

There are a few techniques for countering your opponents in dodgeball, here are a few:

  • Faking out a throw while your opponent are throwing

  • Throwing while an opponent is winding up for a throw

  • Rushing forwards after the opponent has thrown

Basic Tactics

Other Tips

Here are some general tips & techniques for playing dodgeball, as you can see, it’s all about the teamwork!

  • Share the love - If you find yourself with 2 dodgeballs, pass one to a team mate

  • Catch-Ready - Always be ready to make a catch, but dont try to catch every ball

  • Spread out - Give yourself space to dodge, or angles to throw

  • Stay in your lane - Try not to run side-to-side as you will block your teams vision

  • Covering fire - Use your ball to keep the pressure on, to protect a vulnerable teammate

  • Save your balls - Don’t throw all five balls, try to keep at least one for countering

  • Eye on the ball - Keep facing your opponents, try not to spin around while dodging

For more tips or to discuss dodgeball please join our discord! - https://discord.gg/gqTv9se79D

 

Commentary

Check out the channel MattDoesDodgeball featured on the left, for some commentary and breakdowns on official British Dodgeball matches between some top teams in the country.

Notice the importance of teamplay, including ball retrievers, covering fire & throwing together.

As a general rule, you’ll always beat a fitter & stronger team through:

  • Patience

  • Teamwork

  • Communication

Equipment

Trainers/Sneakers

The footwear you wear can make a difference, I would personally recommend basketball and tennis trainers, as they’re the most popular, similar sports.

Tennis involves driving power through the feet. Basketball involves a lot of jumping. Both sports involve sudden stopping and changing of direction (I’ve personally had my toe poke through fabric trainers before, due to the force in stopping).

Trainers should secure your toes nicely, too much room for your toes to wiggle around can lead to injuries when landing on them.

  • I would highly recommend using RunRepeat, as a community driven trainer review platform - https://runrepeat.com/

  • It’s important that the trainers fit your specific foot well, awesome looking trainers that don’t fit, can result in angle, toe and other injuries.

 

Knee Pads

I highly recommend everyone to wear knee pads, giving you the option to drop to the ground without a high risk of injury opens up whole new opportunities.

  • I recommend gel kneed pads, they are better at absorbing shock and spreading it evenly, foam work too but tend to wear down over time, and don’t distribute the force as well

  • Asics are the brand PB mostly uses, they’re affordable (for knee pads) and are good quality

  • Practice dropping to your knees and catching, your body will naturally be positioned well for catching, creating a bucket around your stomach to make a catch

Strategy & Calls

Target/Hold

Key to winning competitive matches is quick decision making, communication and execution as a team, this takes a lot of time and practice to get right. Below are a few calls that PB uses:

  • Target-Hold - This call numbers players on the opposing team from 1-6 (Left to right) and numbers players on your own team holding a ball 1-5 (left to right), the caller says the first number (target) then the second number (holding player). An example of this would be the caller shouting 1-3 (Targeting player 1, player 3 on your team holds)

Burners

This is a new call we’ve recently introduced, burning a ball means to throw it as safely as possible, low chance to hit and low chance to be caught. The reason for this call is to give the other team 3 balls, forcing them to throw first, and focussing on countering them.

  • The call is “B” follow by number 1-5 depending on which player holding a ball on your team is to ‘burn’ their ball

  • Burned calls should be thrown very low, and not directly at an opposing player, but close enough to not be called out for a foul throw

  • Burned shots should encourage the opposing player to jump, targeting them low repeatedly, to wear down their energy levels over time.

  • Burned throws are usually made against a player without a ball, though if an opposing player is pushing forwards, it can make sense to target them to keep the pressure on instead