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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 4, 2014 | 16 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Dodgeball no joke to Oakville native, Canadian team by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor hen Jordan DiCarlo tells people he plays competitive dodgeball, the revelation is often met with the same response. "People who don't play it always reference the movie or the childhood playground game," DiCarlo says. "It sounds silly to a lot of people." True, dodgeball may have been mocked in the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, when Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughan) and friends dodged wrenches, traffic and insults as they trained to compete against ridiculous fitness guru White Goodman (Ben Stiller) for a $50,000 grand prize. But dodgeball is no joke to DiCarlo and many other Canadians. In fact, Canada has established itself as a world leader in the sport, having won two consecutive World Dodgeball Federation (WDBF) invitational six-onsix tournament titles. DiCarlo was part of the most recent victory, three weeks ago in Hong Kong when Canada convincingly defeated the United States 12-4 in the final. "The main reason we beat the U.S. was teamwork," says DiCarlo, a 26-year-old Holy Trinity high school graduate who now works Jordan DiCarlo (left) follows through on a throw during the recent World Dodgeball Federation world championship tournament in Hong Kong. The Holy Trinity high school grad in mechanical engineering. helped Canada win its second straight WDBF title, highlighted by a 12-4 victory over the United States in the final. | photo courtesy Brian Li -- WDBF "You have no idea how big (dodgeball) is and how much strategy is involved until you DiCarlo first learned about the national nament) are not officially sanctioned by the mactic final tournament of Dodgeball: A True actually play it at a competitive level. You might think of the schoolyard game where dodgeball team last year, after the squad had government of Canada. DiCarlo feels that can Underdog Story. No word yet on whether Cotton McKnight kids throw balls at each other and just try been finalized for the WDBF invitational. change, and is optimistic that the sport could not to get hit, but it's actually much more ad- This year, he earned his way onto the eight- someday even be included in the Olympics. and Pepper Brooks will be calling the action person team, following in-person and video Before that happens, he says, more countries for ESPN 8. vanced than that." DiCarlo expects the jokes will keep on comDiCarlo, who helped Oakville Little League tryouts that he estimates attracted as many as need to become involved (there were six par40 players. ticipants at the 2013 worlds) and rules need ing. He may even laugh along with them. all-star baseball teams reach DiCarlo says his baseball to become internationally standardized. "If `The Ocho' existed, I'm sure (the tournathe Canadian championship background plays a big facDodgeball hopes to get a piece of the North ment) would be on there," he says, smiling. game twice in the early 2000s, tor in his dodgeball success American sporting spotlight next year, when "That would be hilarious." took up dodgeball as an intra-- he was a pitcher -- but the United States hosts the IDBF invitational -- Video footage of the WDBF final can mural sport while he attended there's much more to the -- in Las Vegas, the very setting for the clibe viewed online at bit.ly/TFdIsB the University of Toronto. He game than just throwing then joined various commuhard and accurately. nity leagues when he moved "You have to be able to to Ottawa in 2010, emerging dodge and catch and do mulas one of the city's top playtiple things at the same time," ers. Gianfranco Mirto recorded a hat trick as two seasons. he says. "You also have to Once one of DiCarlo's Pope John Paul II completed a dominant "It was fantastic to have another great know the strategy of it. teams grew tired of dominatelementary school boys' soccer season season here at Pope John Paul II with "I know I have a good ing the rest of its competition, with an 8-5 victory over St. Andrew in such an exceptional group of athletes," arm, and on my local team it turned to challenging itself last week's Oakville Soccer League final at said Matthew Aslett, who has coached the I would probably be holdagainst Toronto squads. Jordan DiCarlo Pine Glen Park. school's team for the past three years. "All International dodgeball player ing a ball if we have one. But "Initially, we got creamed. Christian Lopac and Matthew De Mi- the players have been top notch. It was reon Team Canada, I know the There's way more people and chele scored twice each and Anthony ally great to see our older players as leadguy beside me is just as good better players in Toronto... Taylor added a single for Pope John Paul, ers this season and our younger players and that opened our eyes to a better calibre as me, if not better than me. If I get a ball, I which also won three other titles this sea- contributing as well." out there," DiCarlo says. "We started catching will gladly give it to him." son and had a 31-game unbeaten streak. Earlier in the Oakville Soccer League The national dodgeball teams (Canada also up to what Toronto teams were doing, and I The four titles in 2014 nearly matched the playoffs, Pope John Paul defeated St. James found myself (getting to) the same level as a has a women's squad, which won the WDBF five earned by the school in the previous see Elementary on p.17 title in 2013 but was fifth at this year's tourlot of those really good players." W You have to be able to dodge and catch and do multiple things (at once). Stellar soccer season for Pope John Paul boys