Northside United Methodist Church adds dodgeball skills camp for kids
Northside United Methodist Church put dodgeball front and center for children ages 5 to 12 when its camp ran June 22-25 from 9 a.m. to noon at 2799 Northside Dr NW in Atlanta. The four-morning program cost $185, used Rhino Skin foam-core dodgeballs, and grouped campers by age.
The camp was built as a skills session, not a one-off pickup game. Northside said children played dodgeball in many different forms while working on throwing, catching, dodging and game strategy, with the age grouping designed to match instruction to younger kids at different stages of development.
That structure gave the program a different feel from recess-era dodgeball. A short morning schedule made the camp manageable for families, while the church’s Safe Sanctuary Church designation gave parents another layer of child-safety context as they looked at summer options in Atlanta.
The Dodgeball Camp also sat within Northside’s broader 2026 summer lineup, where it was one of several offerings. That placement matters because it shows how churches and community groups are treating dodgeball as a low-cost entry point into organized sports, with supervised play, repeatable mechanics and clear coaching goals.
Youth programs around the sport use similar language. The National Academy of Athletics describes dodgeball instruction as a way to build agility, quick decision-making, teamwork, coordination and resilience, and Northside’s camp leaned in that same direction by teaching ducking, diving and dodging alongside throwing and catching.
The game itself now has a more formal frame than many adults remember from school gyms. Britannica lists three basic forms of dodgeball: team versus team, one player against all others and every player for themselves. The World Dodgeball Federation was formed in July 2011 by representatives from several countries, and its championship history includes a 2017 event in Toronto, evidence of a sport that has moved well beyond the playground.
For younger players, though, the appeal at Northside was simpler: a structured morning, soft equipment, age-appropriate groups and a game that asked them to keep moving, listen, react and learn.