Before Katie and I started the Badassilisks I played dodgeball on the lower east side for Downtown Dodgeball. I quickly became friendly with Adrienne and Rob the couple who started the league and even played on Rob's team Pepe's Cheese Bitches for 2 seasons. During my third season Rob and I went to play for another team Dodge a bro, Hug a Ho. Then the unthinkable happened Rob decided to put Downtown Dodgeball on hiatus for a while. I kept in touch with Rob first asking his advice on starting a league and I even tried unsuccessfully to get him to play beater.* I mentioned all of that to tell you this. For a while I would message Rob to see when Downtown Dodgeball would return. He eventually told me he wasn't sure. He started playing for Party Dodgeball on Thursday night and he enjoyed being just a player for now. Of course I'm disappointed but I understand.
Since the beginning of the Badassilisks I've always been the coach and I've always watched the game through that filter. While I enjoy playing I feel that I always have to keep my eye on everything. Last weekend while we let the pitch recover Chris, Irvin and I went to play for Stony Brook in a 3 team tournament against Hofstra and NYU. I can't tell you how amazing just being a player feels even though we lost all 4 games. I didn't have to haul equipment, write a practice agenda or pay attention to the time. I was just the keeper. It truly gave me a fresh perspective so when we practice next I can contribute more as a coach and player.
*I had this crazy dream of this unstoppable beater duo of Greg Strong and Rob.
