Balls were kicked, screams were heard, and school spirit was elevated during the annual Enloe Kickball Tournament, yet the ambitious Average Joes (an homage to the movie Dodgeball) had their hearts shattered and their spirits deflated in the emotional, heart-rendering 1st round of the tournament, playing against The Black Plague. The kickball tournament went off with a bang, as students and teachers excitedly prepared to go head-to-head with each other to support this year’s Charity Ball charity, Haven House. Among these teams was The Average Joes, led by captain Feehan Tuttell and co-captains Madison De Prima and Connor Graham. 

The Average Joes kicked off their first round with passion and flaming enthusiasm as they soared above their opponents, The Black Plague. Scoring points every which way, they seemed to be untouchable; however, the game did not end as expected: “We were told that we won and as we were celebrating, mid celebration, we were taken aback by an announcement that we were playing an extra inning because it was ‘tied.’[…] We played the extra inning, the other team had some controversial outs, and at the end of the day, we got eliminated,” explained Tuttell. 

Though The Average Joes’ first and only round didn’t go as they had hoped, the team stood strong in the end and commented on how they will be back stronger and ready to play again next year. After the game, the team took a break to wind down and reflect as they sat in a circle in the grass next to the field, listening and singing along to Rihanna’s Stay. Graham remarked, “It’s a spiritual win. We might have technically, by the rules of the game, had less points, but like as people, we grew more ….” 

The players also collectively agreed that the most important thing to take away from the game was that it was for a good cause, and that matters much more than winning. “There’s nothing like going out and supporting charity [and] it’s always fun to play a childhood game over again,” De Prima stated. Tuttell also added that, “At the end of the day, Haven House is benefitting, we all had a good time, [and] it was fun. I liked it.” It was a bittersweet day for The Average Joes, but they will be back again for the 2022 Kickball Tournament, ready to win the hearts of every spectator. 

If you can, help Enloe Charity Ball reach their goal of $150,000 for Haven House Services by donating to enloecharityball.org!