By DONNA HARRIS
An aptly named game that has been around since the 1970s has made an appearance at Clear Creek Elementary School.
GaGa ball has students at the Cartersville school enthusiastically looking forward to recess even more than before, thanks to fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Stanfield, who introduced them to the gentler version of dodgeball this school year.
"I first saw GaGa ball being played at my church, Cartersville First Baptist, at a children’s ministry family night," she said. "My son, who was 7 at the time, was playing with some adults and older kids. He was doing just as well as some of the older ones so I thought it would be a great addition here to get the kids moving and active."
The fast-paced sport is an interactive game where players from ages 3 to 100 get in an arena and hit the ball back and forth with their open hand, trying to hit their opponents below the knee. The object of the game is to stay in as long as possible without getting hit.
"I thought it was a great game that all students could play, no matter their athletic ability," Stanfield said. "Students who have physical disabilities are just as able to play as those who don’t. It promotes teamwork, good sportsmanship and cooperation. It also helps develop fine and gross motor skills for the younger students."
A 15-year teaching veteran in the Bartow County School System, Stanfield applied for and received a $500 grant from the Bartow Education Foundation to build an arena in which students could play GaGa ball.
"It covered the majority of the building supplies," she said. "I wrote the grant in October. Since then, the price of building materials has significantly increased. The overage was covered by funds from our principal, Dr. [Kelly] Wade, and my family."
Her husband, John, provided the labor for building the arena free of charge.
"He is always up for my crazy dreams," she said. "He never says no. We are a great team because he makes all of my ideas a reality. We have two boys who go to school here so he was more than happy to give the students something active to do."
Stanfield, who has taught fourth grade at CCES for four years, said her husband is a Cobb County firefighter "so when he isn’t on a 24-hour shift, he’s typically home."
"He worked on it one day [last week] while we were at school and, surprisingly, had it almost finished when we got back home," she said. "He is a very hard worker, and I was shocked at how quickly he finished it."
The following day, he assembled it in the grassy area next to the upper grades playground, "and it was ready to go," she added.
Due to social distancing guidelines, students are only allowed to go to that area every fourth or fifth day "so my students are able to play [GaGa ball] once a week," Stanfield said.
But they're making the most of the time they get to spend in the arena.
"I think it’s really fun, and it’s a great activity," fourth-grader Rylan O'Kelley said. "I like that we get to play with our whole class because there are lots of people, and it makes it more challenging."
Rylee Bowen, also in fourth grade, agreed.
"I think GaGa ball is really fun to play with a lot of people," she said. "It’s a little challenging, and it gets us all working together, and that makes it more fun."
The 9-year-old also said she likes to play it because "you don’t have to team up."
"You just go for something, and usually if you hit the ball, you are going to hit someone to get them out," she said. "So that way, you don’t have to be really athletic to play it. You just have to want to have fun."
Rylan, also 9, said he enjoys GaGa ball because "a lot of stuff outside is not always fun."
"I like how this is a fun activity that we can play when we are in the field," he said.
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August 23, 2020 at 08:33AM
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CCES students introduced to exciting sport of GaGa ball - Daily Tribune News
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