“I didn’t think I’d catch the ball.” The crowd watched in awe as a kickball glided through the air, forcing Mr. Mertes to rapidly adjust to the back right until the ball landed squarely in his hands. The force of impact sent him spiraling backward, down onto the ground.
BIFU’s students vs teachers kickball game took place between January 27th and 29th during middle and high school lunch: students competed against each other for the chance to battle it out with the teachers to determine the ultimate winner. The event was organized by the NHS school bonding committee, which sought to promote a culture of collaboration and healthy competition.
“I wanted to find a way to increase school spirit, and I was thinking of what kind of competitions we could do to put people in teams,” said Angela Cao (11).
The first thought was dodgeball, but they pivoted toward kickball due to safety concerns. Once the idea was finalized, the committee organized the event to feature a series of brackets consisting of two grades per team, where the students competed until there was one team from middle and high school left to go against the teachers. Over 70 students across the student body signed up.
During the first rounds of the high school game, the upperclassmen dominated the field, with the lowerclassmen only scoring one point against three. However, some players on the team that lost voiced complaints about the structure of the game.
“It wasn’t really fair for us since the upperclassmen finished all their innings while we couldn’t due to time constraints,” said Vishruth Halebeedu (9).
For the second round, the middle school games ended in a 6-2 victory for the staff. However, they didn't fare as well in the high school game. The competition was intense as players failed to make it even past second base. The teams swapped sides over and over, in a seemingly endless cycle. Yet after an intense twenty minutes of competition, the score remained stubbornly at 0-0.
“It's like every other kick was an out or a foul. … That was the most anticlimactic,” said Kshitij Biradar (11). “We should have gone longer, like sudden death or something.”
Despite the disappointment at the unresolved game, students and teachers alike found the game to be a positive experience, especially as an opportunity to build school spirit, both between the grades and for students and teachers.
“It was really fun to get out there and get competitive with the kids,” said Mr. Albert. “Not very often do we get to do things like that, and we don't always see every single kid as staff members.”
The event marks a successful school-bonding moment that has the potential to go beyond the field. The exciting experience left players hungry for more similar activities in the future.
“I hope that this experience will come in different forms as we conclude the second trimester,” said Halebeedu.