Here's a review of last week's quiz:

What were the two main ball-based games played on the school playgrounds in these parts? 

I lied to you last week. Although it's true that I was the 1981 Caldwell Cardinals C-team halfback of the year, it's only half of the story in that year of my life of sporting awards and accolades. That same year, I was also the "Wilson School Kickball Champion." Of course, there was no such title awarded to anyone, but I created it and anointed myself, decades later. It was born of wistfully looking back at the days when a playground ball combined with a few free minutes at lunch time. Let me explain, and shoehorn in some answers to last week's Remember When? quiz!.

A Chip Off The Old Base

Kickball is a simple game, and by second grade I had taken to it. It's based (pun intended) on baseball, for starters—and how many games can lay claim to that? I mean, look at hockey, basketball, and lacrosse—they're all kissin' cousins on a family tree, entangled by nets. Using Starbucks as an analogy (because I'm sitting at one while writing this), hockey adds ice, soccer is venti-sized field wise, while lacrosse is grande and basketball tall. I'm really proud of this analogy, by the way. 

By extension, one can even throw water polo (but not marco) and even football as distant relatives, and derivatives of the "run to end of court/field with object" formula. Jai-Alai too, although I'm not sure— I can barely spell it, let alone play or describe it. 

No Dugout, Just Run Out

In case you have been floating in a satellite for the last few decades, playground or casual kickball is played thusly: two teams compete for points on a baseball diamond (three bases and home) of some kind—a field, dirt or pavement. One team kicks, trying to make points/runs until they make three outs. There are no strikes or balls as it's pretty easy to get a "hit." 

There's no major training, just a base understanding (repeat pun alert) of offensively where to run after your foot strikes the ball, and then defensively whether or not "pegging" someone is OK. (Throwing the ball at someone to get them out was always more exciting, and brought a distinct touch of dodgeball to the game.)

In some ways kickball is the ultimate "just do it" sport.

Wilson School: Home of Ronnie Albanese, 1981 Kickball Champion

Kickball at Wilson School was BIG when I was a kid, and I assume is was just as big at Washington, Harrision, Jefferson and Lincoln—why? The same guys probably painted the blacktops. 

Flashback to 1980: Every day at lunchtime, we'd get into the gym, eat our mostly brown bag lunches—"hot lunch" had just recently come into play, and hadn't totally caught on yet. If it were one of the days where ice creams sandwiches were sold (for a quarter!), we'd quickly devour one, and after Mrs. McWilliams said it was OK (she was a toughie), bolt down to the blacktop.

We'd assemble teams as quickly as third- and fourth-graders without adult supervision could (read as: "bickering") and then it was "game on!"

When I kicked, I had a distinct stance. I'd chide pitchers with demands: "slow and smooth—and over the plate" or "fast and bouncy!" I'd field like my life depended on it. 

The only other player I deemed my equal was Billy Panitch—he had a heck of a kick.

It was a lot of seemingly endless fun, and then that dang bell would ring and it would be time to go back to Mrs. Shain's social studies class or something. On the way in the building, we'd taunt the other team by singing "We Are The Champions" to the kids, who according to our fuzzy math, had lost.

The Fallacy: Kids That Play Soccer Are Good at Kickball

At this point in my dissertation, you may have the thought that a kid who plays soccer could jump right into the game of kickball. In fact, the sport has even been recognized as a relative to soccer ... not so. Those who say that walk in darkness. Soccer kids always kick the ball like a soccer ball, with the side of the foot bringing too much science into the game, and the resulting 99 foul balls really slow things down.

To get a good kick, one just has to take a few steps into a pitch, get their kicking foot under it, and give it a good kick. Directly under the ball, one could send it sailing over the heads of the team on the field, or even "off the blacktop" in old Wilson School-ease.

Sometimes, getting too far under the ball would result in a geyser-like kick, which makes for good drama—the ball seems to hover in the air forever, then suddenly makes a quick descent. Due to its bouncy properties it isn't always easily caught.

A foot strike to the middle of the ball could yield a sort of line drive, usually in the arms of an infielder, and a grounder, which invites being safe by side-stepping an incoming ball while running to base.

One can bunt, but with the bigger playground ball, such a play loses the element of surprise, and one could get pegged out pretty easy.

"Welcome to Monday Night ... Kickball"

These days, kickball has seen a renaissance.  As you can see via me, it's fondly remembered as a fun game— and the simplicity of it perfectly matches the yearnings of the easier, less complicated times of youth. In addition, it is cited as a wholesome and healthy family activity, an easy way to get kids moving.

We always play what I've coined "'70s Kickball" on my block, with people from 5 years to dinosaur partaking in the fun. 

There are some recreational kickball leagues around—visions of beer-bellied guys are dancing in my head—and I too would like to put a local one together at some point—how about an Official Caldwells Patch K-Ball Team?

I still hope kickball can someday become a bona-fide professional sport— just think how cool the uniforms could be. If cricket can fill stadiums, why can't kickball?

What are your kickball memories?

The "Also Ran" to Kickball on The Playground: Box Ball

In addition to the basketball and baseball markings painted on it, The Wilson School blacktop also had a hopscotch "court" and two 10-by-10 boxes divided into fours. This was for box ball (this is the answer to last week's quiz question No. 2!).

Box ball also made use of a playground ball, and required a minimum of four players. Each player took to a box and bounced the ball around in an effort to eliminate another player. You could put a spin on the ball, go fast or slow—the only important thing was letting the ball bounce only once in your box before sending it on its way to another.

Box ball was a cool game, and seemed to attract a more diverse group of kids—there was no running, and force and speed were not vital. The learning curve was also not too great.

As my kiddie entertainment character POLKA DOT!, over the summertime I entertain the kids in the West Caldwell/Caldwell Recreation Department summer camps. After we do some activities, we always wrap up at the Westville and Francisco Park locations with a game of "four square."

This  is what's happened to box ball: there are dozens of rules ("no holding!" "no bobbling!") and there are now a ton of sophisticated throw and deflections the kids know. The whole thing is amped up a bit, and the kids (these are fifth- and sixth-graders) love when I play them with my "old school"  method—but get mad when I usually just bounce the ball over their heads to win.

Links—this is just a sample of some great kickball sites out there!

1. Wikipedia's kickball entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball

2. Wikipedia's page for the "World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Adult_Kickball_Association

3. Kickball 365—another adult kickball site

http://www.kickball365.com/find-kickball