Schoolyard sports still strive in college

For almost two decades, the movie "Hoosiers" arguably could have been responsible for leading any Midwest teenager to picking up a basketball. The scene is almost engraved into Indiana lore -- a rusty, magenta-colored rim, a backboard nailed onto the side of a barn and a faded, grooveless basketball.\nWell, move over, Gene Hackman, because here comes Ben Stiller.\nSports such as dodgeball and kickball have exploded in popularity in IU's intramural scene. The Student Recreational Sports Center and the School of Health, Physical, Education and Recreation both have seen a large rise in participation this year.\n"I think it's the whole 'Dodgeball' craze," said junior Dave Walter, a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity's intramural kickball team. "People watch the movie, and they want to go back to the games they used to play in the schoolyard."\nKim Ruff, director of marketing for the Division of Recreational Sports, called the playground sports' popularity commonplace throughout the nation.\n"In general there is a renewal for playground sports across the country," Ruff said. "We've heard the same thing: ('Dodgeball') probably motivated a return to the playground sports."\nOther playground sports are offered on an intramural level, including wiffleball.\nSophomore Steve Schmitt, another member of DU's 2-0 kickball squad, said a schoolyard game such as kickball is an ideal sport for him.\n"It's easy to play, and kicking the ball is fun," Schmitt said. "There's not as much pressure like in football or basketball."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andy Romey at aromey@indiana.edu.