Kickball Facts: Understand The Rules Of Playing This Fun Game

Kickball is similar to baseball, but is easier and safer to play and can be played on any surface.

It's a popular sport among schoolchildren and adults who participate in kickball leagues. In 1917, Nicholas C. Seuss of Ohio prepared the first documented version of this game with 12 rules and a field diagram and called it 'kick baseball'.

In the '20s in the US, kickball was taught to school kids in physical education classes as the basics of baseball. It became very popular, and during World War II, soldiers were said to play this game to kill their boredom. Later, the sport's popularity began to dwindle.

The game became popular in the '90s when adults rediscovered the sport and formed several adult leagues. The World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA) was formed in 1998.

In the 2000s, kickball leagues were being held. Around 3000 people participate in the national kickball league, called Founder's Cup. Many variations of this game are popular worldwide, such as California kickball or soccer baseball in Canada, and foot baseball in South Korea.

Rules Of Kickball

WAKA recommends that the teams have 8-11 members though up to 15 members can be present. Any place is suitable for playing this game, but professional matches are played on a softball field.

There should be four base plates in the shape of a diamond, 60 feet away from each other.

The distance between the pitching strip at the center of the diamond and the home plate is 42.5 ft (12.9 m). The first base, third base, and the pitching strip form a straight line and directly face the home plate.

The official kickball is a red rubber ball ten inches in diameter and should have air pressure of about 1.5 lb (680 g) per square inch. The main objective of this game is to score more runs than the opposing team.

Head Referee, First Base Referee, and Third base referee are present. They take their positions at the home plate, first base, and third base.

The game begins when the pitcher rolls the ball. The kicker tries to kick the rubber ball as far as possible without the ball entering the foul territory. The kicker runs from one base to another in order, and if he returns to the home base, it counts as a run for the kicking team.

The kicker is out if the fielder catches the ball before it touches the ground. If the fielding team touches the kicker with the ball in their hand, the kicker is considered out.

The kicker is out when the fielding player throws the ball to the base towards which the kicker is running. Three strikes are considered as out, and it is called a strikeout. The kicker is promoted to first base after four balls, similar to baseball.

The teams switch positions after three members of the kicking team get out. After both the teams have kicked and fielded, it's considered an inning. According to WAKA rules, the game consists of seven innings. The team that scored more runs after all the innings is the winner.

When the scores are level, the winner is decided by an accuracy kick. A kicker from each of the two teams tries to kick the ball close to the second plate from the home base. Whichever team kicks the ball the closest to the second base wins the game.

Best Kickball Players

One of the famous kickball players is Trent Harper. He became an adult kickball league player in 2004.

A J Logsdon, Chad Simmons, Blake Cafferty, Keith Parrone, Brad Hall, Mackenzie Miller, Tad Niekmap, Brody Erfort, Chaz Fitzpatrick, Travis Earl, and Cody Goldsmith are some other famous kickball players.

Kickball Around The World

Kickball is a simple game known in South Korea as 'balyagu' (foot-baseball) and is a common game in physical education classes in public schools. It is called soccer-baseball, California kickball, or Chinese baseball in Canada. A variation of kickball named football-rounders is played in England. Elementary school students in Japan play this game and call it 'kickbase'.

Listed below are some of the variations of this game:

• Crazy kickball game
• Cooperative kickball game
• Activity kickball
• One base
• Everyone runs
• Line kickball
• Matball
• Kick basketball
• No pitch kickball
• Big base kickball game
• Continuous kickball

The World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA) was created in 1998 in Washington DC by five friends. The name later changed to World Kickball Association. The association started organizing leagues for games other than kickball, such as dodgeball, volleyball, bar games, and soccer. Thus, Clubwaka, a social club for playing games, was created.

Clubwaka is the United States' official adult kickball league. WAKA has official rules for its kickball leagues, which are followed by local leagues too.

Professional Leagues In Kickball

The Atlantic League of the World Adult Kickball Association, held in 2006, was the first kickball league. Bad News Barristers, Picked Last In Gym Glass, Foul Balls, and BAMF Ballers were the four teams in the debut season. As of 2019, the league has 16 teams with more than 350 members who gather to play kickball.

Every October, the Founder's Cup, held by WAKA in Las Vegas, determines the national kickball champion every year. It's held at the Wakapalooza, one of the largest social sports events. The competition follows a round-robin format.

Clubwaka has leagues in many cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Orlando, and Phoenix.

Some upcoming kickball events organized by Clubwaka are Orlando Kickball Open Tournament 2022, Orlando FC Regional Kickball Tournament 2022, Jacksonville Kickball Open Tournament 2022, Scottsdale Kickball Open Tournament 2022, and Scottsdale FC Regional Kickball Tournament 2022.

The Long Island Ducks hosted the Quackers Kickball league in 2020 at the Fairfield Properties Ballpark (previously known as the Bethpage Ballpark) in Central Islip in Long Island, New York.

FAQs

Q. What are the five rules of kickball?

A. The five basic rules are pitching, kicking, base running, fielding (or catching), and scoring.

Q. Who invented kickball?

A. Dr. Emmett Dunn Angell wrote about a game similar to kickball in 1910. Later in 1917, Nicholas C. Seuss officially documented this game.

Q. How long has kickball been around?

A. Kickball is an informal game that has been around for about 112 years.

Q. How did kickball get its name?

A. Kickball was originally called Kicking Baseball in 1910. In 1917, it was referred to as kick baseball in 'The Playground Book', published by Nicholas C Seuss.

Q. Which sport is kickball similar to?

A. Kickball is similar to baseball and softball. One major difference between baseball and kickball is that baseball is played using a hardball, whereas kickball is played using a soft rubber ball. In baseball, players use a metal or hardwood bat to hit the hard ball, whereas kickball players kick the ball.

Q. Is kickball similar to soccer?

A. Yes, kickball is similar to soccer as both are team sports and involve kicking a ball.