Teachers schooled in dodgeball

Britton life science teacher Ron Sjostedt wasn’t even out of
breath, and he had just played another mean game of dodgeball
against a gaggle of giggling seventh-graders.
Britton life science teacher Ron Sjostedt wasn’t even out of breath, and he had just played another mean game of dodgeball against a gaggle of giggling seventh-graders. 

“It’s nothing out of malice,” he laughed. 

His students felt otherwise. 

“He’s a tough teacher,” said Cameron Kim, a seventh-grader, when asked why he “wanted to get Mr. Sjostedt the most.”

“Yeah, but he’s got a great arm,” his buddy Andrew Lin, also in seventh-grade, retorted. Along with fellow Mathlete and cross country teammate Michael Ibarra, the boys played on “The Terminator Kitties” (the origin is unknown, they maintain) against other Britton student teams and their teachers as part of Britton’s second-annual dodgeball fundraiser Friday night. 

For $2 at the door, the Britton community nearly filled the humid gymnasium for a rousing two-and-a-half hour tournament. By 8:45 p.m., the formerly undefeated Britton staff had lost in the finals to a surprisingly well-prepared, bracket-busting team from Live Oak High School. For $25 this year, Britton let high school teams join in the dodging and ducking against their seasoned staff. High-schoolers weren’t allowed to play middle-schoolers. It was a matter of safety.

The 3-foot-tall trophy was hoisted by the Wolfpack after a respectful round of “good games” and handshakes with the MHUSD teachers. The path by which the staff took to secure a spot in the finals was questionable-at-best, some observed. 

“The staff is playing it like golf. We had less points,” longtime physical education teacher Jim Green joked over the microphone after a spell of emphatic disputing by several student teams. 

It was pure fun, according to onlookers, staff and even students who found themselves being pegged by a rubber ball at the hand of their teachers. Monday the dodgeball jesting may continue for bilingual instructional aide Rebecca Garcia’s son Brandon. 

“I nailed my son tonight. That’s all I care about,” Garcia said. “The little dude on Team B,” she said gesturing to the middle of the court, “he’s my youngest and my shortest. The other two, I’m afraid of.”

The Britton Home & School Club sold T-shirts, food and soft drinks to raise money, while the profit from ticket sales will go to Britton’s ASB fund. Last year, $1,900 was raised, though the figures this year weren’t available by press time.