A while back, I wrote about how many of us used to exercise as kids. It was largely through games or sports. I remembered how we couldn’t wait to get outside on the first warm days of spring and reacquaint ourselves with the round ball, whether it be baseball or basketball, tennis or golf. Well, there was a game that even kids who didn’t like sports were willing to play. I’m talking about the round ball sport of kickball.
It is generally accepted that the game of kickball was invented in 1917 by Nicholas Suess, then a playground supervisor from Cincinnati, Ohio. Suess recommended that the public school system incorporate his game into its physical education program to familiarize young children with the sport of baseball.
The game had some advantages over its model. Less equipment was needed, which made the cost less. Plus, there was less chance of injury since there were no hard little balls to catch or bats to swing. Finally, kickball required much less experience to play than baseball. Kicking a large rubber ball was much easier than hitting a pitched ball with a bat inside a defined batter’s box. As a result, kickball remained a popular children’s game for several decades, although it also appealed to adults, including American soldiers during World War II.
kickball rules mirror those of baseball, but there are some differences. Kickballs are inflated rubber balls, usually between 8.5″ (adult size) and 16″ in diameter with varying amounts of pressure, often determined by level of play. The kickball assumes the role of the baseball and the leg acts as the bat to hit the ball. The kickball game starts when the kicker rolls the ball towards the kicker. While a kicker can miss the ball three times and strike out, that’s not likely to happen. (In a variation of the rules, strikeouts are even excluded from the game.) Once a player punts the ball, he must run to first base and will be safe there (or at a subsequent base) unless one of four things happens first. :
- He or she is tagged out by a fielder holding the ball.
- He or she is tagged for a thrown ball
- His kicked ball gets caught in the air.
- A fielder throws the ball to another fielder who tags first base before the kicker arrives.
Since it’s a bit more difficult to throw and catch a kick, and easier to put into play by kicking it, there’s a higher chance that more runs will be scored than in baseball. Therefore, it’s crucial that fielders take full advantage of a unique kickball option that allows them to pick off runners by hitting them with a thrown ball. Just like in baseball, when a player reaches all three bases and then home plate safely, he or she scores a run. The team that scores the most runs after 6 innings wins the game. Sometimes teams will agree to play more or fewer innings.
Kickball is widely played in the United States and is a staple in schools, playgrounds, and backyards. Gamers of all ages come together to play at family get-togethers and gatherings and company picnics. The game is also popular in Latin America, especially Colombia and Venezuela, and is played there with a soccer ball. Other countries where kickball is played in large numbers are Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
In the last 15 years or so, informal adult kickball leagues have sprung up in the United States. organized leagues, such as GO kickball, strive to combine the game with social networks for adults over 21 years of age. Multi-week seasons culminate in postseason tournaments designed to crown a champion. furthermore, the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA Kickball) was founded in Washington DC in 1998 and has leagues operating in 35 states and other countries. This organization has officially written kickball rules for his league play.
Whether adult players are nostalgic for the game they played as children or simply want to play a form of baseball that doesn’t require the same level of experience, kickball has made a comeback as a popular way to exercise and socialize. As each new generation of children continues to play, its popularity seems destined to last indefinitely.