{"id":1075,"date":"2022-01-26T18:46:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T18:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2022-02-04T20:57:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T20:57:50","slug":"sportsball-is-very-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/2022\/01\/26\/sportsball-is-very-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Sportsball Is Very Real"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And the Sportsballers Want You to Know That!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Peerawut Ruangsawasdi<\/p>Staff Writer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Alexandria City High School Principal Peter Balas retweeted a video posted by the International Academy of Alexandria City High School (IA) in early November 2021. The video showed a group of students engaging in a sporting activity that, on the surface, may look vaguely familiar. But for many, they could not seem to quite put their finger on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days during Lunch and Learn at the edge of Chinquapin Field, you may find a group of diverse students, male and female, playing with a rubber ball. However, they are not playing any traditional sport. The players call this activity \u201cSportsball,\u201d and their group \u201cACHS Sportsball,\u201d having rebranded from \u201cSportsball International League.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juniors Ben Rinkema and Spencer Klaus, the founders of ACHS Sportsball, said the game is a mix of other sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine if you got every sport and put them in a blender,\u201d said Klaus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rinkema said the Sportsball players created the sport after they got together to play as a result of boredom during Lunch and Learn. \u201cWe found this dodgeball and wanted to do something with the dodgeball. There was a goalpost, so we thought we should shoot the dodgeball through the goalpost,\u201d said Rinkema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klaus explained the origin of the term, \u201c[We call it] Sportsball because sport and a ball. \u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klaus said he finds the increased popularity surprising, especially since the activity began as a joke, \u201cIt was a joke at first. We were bored out of our minds. It gained a lot of traction now [with] a lot of people playing. It is surprising.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rinkema shares a similar sentiment, \u201cIt is cool. I\u2019ve seen a lot of people come out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI randomly walked into it, because I was taking videos and pictures of the community and school soccer, it\u2019s a new program that we have here. I saw a bunch of guys playing [\u2026] so I went over and just started recording and that was kind of fun,\u201d said Gabriel Elias, an English Learner teacher with the IA and a sponsor of Sportsball. He was among the early supporters of the activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI talked to them for a while and we decided that we\u2019re going to change the school with Sportsball,\u201d said Elias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elias believes that ACHS is a \u201cbig institution\u201d with \u201clots of separation\u201d and \u201ca separation because of classes, because of sociocultural status, because of linguistics and because of where they live and who they interact with.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elias said students who are not on sports teams are separated from a lot of activities. He hopes that Sportsball, along with other activities facilitated by teachers, such as field trips within the school, can bring students together, including international students both inside and outside of the IA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSports is really popular with the International Academy students. But getting into an organized sport is more difficult. [\u2026] So, I just thought this was a natural opportunity to take these two groups that can be united by sports and kind of get them together and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elias laid out future plans for Lunch and Learn activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlso, we [teachers on \u2018the Lunch and Learn team\u2019] are planning for intramural activities that may include Sporstball but also basketball and other activities through Communities in School NOVA, especially if we can maintain this respectful and positive atmosphere in the school during lunch and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sportsball has continued to receive positive feedback from its participants, which has increased dramatically since the start of the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just a wonderful experience,\u201d said Balas, who participated in Sportsball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sportsball is currently off-season and will meet regularly again for the spring season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I like about Sportsball is [\u2026] teamwork, and you can hang out with your friends, and physical activity during the day,\u201d said junior Will Jahns, a Sportsball player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n