Kids burn off extra energy at dodgeball tournament

CHICAGO — “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball,” once said Patches O’Houlihan in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

While there were no wrenches involved Monday, there were plenty of kids dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging some more at 19th Ward Alderman Matt O’Shea’s holiday dodgeball tournament on the Far Southwest Side.

More than 250 Chicago children from preschool to eighth grade kicked off a two-day event that featured dodgeball games and tournaments at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood.

In its 11th year, Ald. O’Shea said it’s a great event to bring the community together and let kids burn off some extra energy, although he noticed the dodgeballs used now-a-days aren’t as rough and rigid as they used to be.

“Yeah, you’re not going to get hurt if you get hit with one of these,” O’Shea said. “It’ll ring your bell but you’ll be okay.”

For more information on the dodgeball tournament and other events in the 19th Ward, you can visit their website here.