The Dodgeball Incident
Another moment that stands out from my teaching days didn’t involve the kids directly, but it still cracks me up to this day.
Not so much for the other guy...
I was in the middle of phys. ed class, and the students were enjoying a game of Badger Ball. It was a fun version of dodgeball where students hid behind those big blue foam mats that grace school gyms everywhere.
As the game was being played, another teacher, who happened to be on his prep, popped into the gym to see what was going on.
Let’s call him Mr. X.
I’ve decided to keep his name secret as a sign of respect.
And possibly for my own protection.
Mr. X put his papers down by the side of the gym wall, grabbed a dodgeball, ran across the gym and immediately started throwing balls in my direction.
Now, I wasn’t one to pass up a good game of dodgeball, so I left the sidelines and entered the game.
As I stepped onto the court, a ball sailed over my head.
I looked around to see where it had come from.
The kids all pointed toward Mr. X.
Now, I should probably mention something important.
I played baseball for most of my life. I had a pretty good throwing arm, and I was quite good with my aim.
Remember that for later.
Mr. X danced around on the other side of the court, so naturally, I felt obliged to throw one back.
After a few near misses, he made his way behind one of the mats. Every so often, he would pop his head up and make a silly face.
This was a Grade 5/6 class, so naturally the kids thought it was hilarious that another teacher had randomly joined their game and was now engaged in a full-scale dodgeball battle with their teacher.
After a few more taunts from Mr. X, I decided it was time to step things up.
That’s when I asked the kids to find me one of the heavier dodgeballs.
In hindsight, this may have been the moment when things started to go wrong.
I grabbed one of the balls, curled my arm around it and hurled it toward my target.
THUD!
The ball slammed into the front of the mat.
Mr. X popped out from behind it and gave me the moose taunt. You know the one. Hands beside your head, fingers spread wide, thumbs touching your ears.
He was enjoying this.
Perhaps a little too much.
I let another ball fly.
THUD!
Once again, it slammed into the front of the mat.
At this point, I was determined to at least scare him.
Mr. X jumped out from behind the mat and fired about five balls at me in rapid succession. I danced to the left and then back to the right as they narrowly missed me.
By now, the students were thoroughly enjoying the teacher shenanigans unfolding in front of them.
Mr. X disappeared behind the mat again.
Then he popped his head up and stuck out his tongue.
Big mistake.
At that exact moment, one of the students handed me the heaviest dodgeball we had in the set.
I curled my arm around it, looked down at my teammate and said:
“Now watch this. Mr. X is going down!”
With all my might, I unloaded the dodgeball.
It sailed across the gym directly toward the mat Mr. X was hiding behind.
Some might say what happened next was pure luck.
Others might call it incredibly bad timing.
Just as the ball reached the mat, Mr. X popped his head up.
WHACK!
The ball, which I had likely thrown as hard as I possibly could, hit him smack dab in the face.
Everything stopped.
The kids froze.
I froze.
Mr. X slowly emerged from behind the mat.
He walked across the gym without saying a word, glaring in my direction the entire way.
He bent down, picked up his papers from the floor, perhaps gathering up what was left of his dignity at the same time, and headed for the door.
One of the students turned to me.
“I think he’s mad at you.”
I watched Mr. X disappear into the hallway.
“Yes. You’re probably right.”
I hurried out after him to apologize.
Unfortunately, when I found him, his eyes were watering from taking a perfectly aimed dodgeball directly to the face.
And I started laughing.
This did not improve the situation.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t interested in shaking hands.
He didn’t want a fist bump either.
Eventually, Mr. X got over it.
Mostly.
Although he wasn’t particularly happy that for quite some time afterward, every time I saw him, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Even years later, whenever I think about that dodgeball sailing across the gym, I still laugh.
Sorry, Mr. X.
For the record, I really was aiming for the mat.
Probably.
Now, Over to You...
Have you ever had one of those moments at work where something went horribly wrong, but became absolutely hilarious later?
I'd love to hear your story.
Share your thoughts with me! I read every one, and who knows... your story might inspire a future edition of Mark's Notebook.
Until next Friday... keep laughing, keep reading, and if someone pops their head up from behind a gym mat at exactly the wrong moment, remember: timing is everything.