Ryuji - Dodgeball Extraordinaire

If dodgeball were an internationally recognized sport, little 9-year-old Ryuji would no doubt be an Olympic hopeful. His mastery of the game has slowly become the stuff of legends amongst the villagers of Shotonbetsu. His specialty – the side arm super toss – as he likes to call it. If you can imagine an arching soft rubber ball hurtling through space at a terrific 80 kilometers per hour, then you can visualize this devastating weapon of attack. Coupled with a sleek figure and cheetah like dexterity, getting a clean hit on Ryuji is about as easy as tagging a bumblebee with a baseball, no easy feat indeed. With his combination of crippling offense and mesmerizing defense, he is arguably one of the best all around players in the nation.

As his fellow classmates will confidently state, Ryuji is known in the school as the boy who broke all the rules of dodgeball and invented some new ones. The game has never been the same in this small Hokkaido school since Ryuji arrived at the tender age of 5. From the moment he first stepped onto the dodgeball court it was obvious to all that this little boy had a gift. In his first game ever, he recorded a clean hit on Mr. Tamura, a move that even the 14 year olds had rarely accomplished. Since that moment, Ryuji’s skills have only gotten sharper.

As Ryuji will openly admit, formal academic study is not his true love in life; instead, furthering the game of dodgeball to all new heights of intensity are where his passions lie. One can often find Ryuji religiously mapping out new defense and attack strategies, such as his own “super soaker,” during various school lectures. Though the teachers are all in agreement that Ryuji’s lack of academic focus is not ideal, they are also aware of where his amazing talents lie – within the 4 corners of a dodgeball court.

Ryuji – Dodgeball Extraorinaire