Perform Better with PB

Join us on our journey of improvement, to help us, and the wider dodgeball community to Perform Better!

We recommend taking a self-assessment survey, to help you to identify and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Take the test and check out the tips below, based on where you want to focus your development.

Core Skills

This sections focusses on the four core skills of dodgeball (Unfortunately they don’t all start with D)

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

Basic Tactics

Countering

There are a few techniques for countering your opponents in dodgeball, bear in mind that countering does not equal throwing, you can counter the opponents rush by rushing back, keeping pressure on your opponents in general can be a huge help to your vulnerable teammates.

  • 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

  • While holding a ball, move up the court in front of a teammate without one, to cover their retreat

General

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

 

Decision Making

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

Footwear

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 ankle, toe and other injuries.

 

Knee Pads

We 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.

  • We recommend gel kneed pads, they are better at absorbing shock and spreading it evenly, foam works too, but tends to wear down over time, and doesn’t distribute the force as efficiently

  • Asics are the brand PB mostly uses, they’re affordable 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 1-3 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 can be targeted at any player, though if an opposing player is pushing forwards, it can make sense to target them to put pressure on them.

Counters

Countering calls help to maximize on your opportunities, while having a plan with your team to align on, best judgement should always be used to have flexibility to maximize on unexpected opportunities . The call we use is “S#” for Standing and “R#” for running, with the number being the opponent you are targeting.

  • Standing Counters - This call is to pre-throw or throw at the opponents while they are throwing, in an effort to:

    • Hit out a vulnerable player while they’re in motion

    • Reduce the accuracy of the opponents throw

    • Delay the opponents throw

  • Running Counters - This call is to allow the opponent to throw, to get the majority of balls, and then to rush forwards, causing them to have to back pedal and looking for an opportunity for a hit

Physical Fitness

Speed

Improving your agility will always help in dodgeball,

  • Running - Beep Test

  • Jumping - Skipping

  • Dodging - Side-step

Flexibility

Flexibility will reduce the chance of injuries drastically, as well as allowing you to perform better overall, being able to move quickly between movements and having a further range of motion.

  • Shoulders

  • Back

  • Core

  • Legs

Strength

Some areas where strength training can be beneficial

  • Throwing - Legs, Shoulders, Arms, Core

  • Blocking - Grip Strength, Ankles

  • Jumping - Legs, Ankles

Endurance

Work on building up your endurance, allowing you to perform consistently throughout all-day or even multi-day competitions

  • Know when to sub out

  • Don’t operate at your peak, all the time

  • Build up endurance by

    • Running

    • Cycling

    • Swimming

    • Skipping

Mental Fitness

Confidence

Easier said than done, confidence is a slow build over time, keep putting yourself just out of your comfort zone and it will come with experience and a supportive team & environment.

  • Fake it ‘til you make it - Go into “Acting” mode and pretend to be a professional Dodgeball player, even if you feel silly, it will build up your comfort in having that mindset.

  • Talk to the coaches - Get feedback from the coaches, take part in training, self-development (like reading this page!), fill out the self-assessment survey and work with the coaches to track your progress.

  • Help someone newer - Teaching someone newer can help boost your own confidence, you’ll realize that you have something to offer, and that you’ve improved since you started!

Preparation

Before going into a match, give yourself some time to prepare yourself both physically and mentally, to perform at the top of your ability.

  • HYDRATION

  • Healthy Diet

  • Breathing Techniques

  • Frame of mind

  • Stretching

Visualization

Somewhat tied to confidence, visualizing the outcome you want can really make a difference in your drive, determination and self-belief to make it come true

  • Aim small, miss small - Aim for a small part of an opponent, a badge, logo, or string. Focussing in on one specific spot, rather than “hit the player” will improve the accuracy of your throws

  • Decide who you will catch - When the enemy wind up for a throw, decide that you’re going to catch the ball from a specific player, visualize it, and when the ball comes, it has your full focus and commitment for the catch

  • We’re going to win - Imagine your team beating the opponent you’re about to face down, remind yourself as the match goes on, if you’re falling behind don’t tunnel vision on the negative score, instead look into the ‘future’ at what your winning score will be.

Concentration

There’s so much going on during a tournament; everyone is trying to out-shout the noise, the refs are counting down to send you off, the enemy are preparing to throw and your team are trying to communicate a plan. Phew, that’s a lot of distractions!

  • Don’t think about what you’re doing - It sounds counter-intuitive, but getting carried away by focussing on your own gameplay will blind you to everything else, thinking about the impact you’re having or how well you’re performing is a distraction.

  • Focus on a team-mate - By focussing on what another player is doing, it will encourage you to play alongside them, rather than as an individual, consider yourself a support player and aim to keep them covered as best you can (positioning behind them for catches, moving up with them for counters/pressure ect.)

  • Ball counting - Try to keep track of how many balls each team has, you don’t want to be throwing your last ball to the other team, even if there is a tasty-looking counter available!