Chasing dreams and dodging balls

“I’m being told that Average Joe’s does not have enough players and will be forfeiting the championship match,” said Gary Cole’s character Cotton McKnight in the spoof of ESPN2, ESPN 8 The Ocho from “Dodgeball: an Underdog Story”.

“It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for ‘em,” responded Jason Bateman’s character Pepper Brooks.

This exchange was one of many from the 2004 comedy film that started “The Ocho’s” legacy.

Today, what started as a joke on ESPN adding a second channel and the idea of how many “ESPN’s” there would need to be for a sport like dodgeball to be televised, is now an annual event in early August that features a marathon of lesser-known, unconventional and humorous sports.

This year’s version of the program will pay homage to the movie the program is based off of with dodgeball, and one of Fort Recovery’s own will be there.

Fort Recovery native Perry Hull will compete in the USA Dodgeball All Star Showcase as part of The Ocho on Friday, which will air at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

“People that know me … know that it’s family and faith and then I love dodgeball and I love Fort Recovery,” Perry said. “Just being able to, one, be a guy from Fort Recovery playing sports on ESPN is wild to think about.

“And two, to be playing a sport I only really started playing six to seven years ago, and taking it really seriously for about two or three, so to be able to help promote this game as an actual true sport is a big deal for me.”

Hull described his interest in dodgeball starting in high school on Fridays after his weightlifting class. The enjoyment he got from playing in high school didn’t initially bloom into the professional career he has now.

The 2010 graduate hadn’t touched the physical education class staple for nearly eight years. While living in southern California, Hull got the opportunity to play again when helping out with a youth lock-in at the church he was attending.

“I was asked if I wanted to play dodgeball with the kids,” Hull said. “After a while (of playing), I was thinking ‘this is so freaking fun.’ I’m saying this, heaving over the toilet in the men’s bathroom because I wasn’t in shape, but it was that fun.”

That led to Hull to thinking if adult dodgeball leagues existed, and one Google search the next day showed a plethora of options in the area.

He proceeded to go to an open gym that night, quickly learning how seriously some players took the game.

“I went, I tried it out and was terrible,” Hull said. “I barely stayed in long enough to do anything, but man, I had the time of my life.”

He was hooked.

He continued to play while in California, before moving back to southwest Ohio and playing in Dayton and Cincinnati. Then in 2019, Hull moved out to Atlanta but found a jarring absence of the sport there.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Hull worked to get the Atlanta Dodgeball Club started, which is nearly 35 people strong now. He also helped create the Atlanta Threat, a team that will travel to compete around the country. Playing for the Threat is what really helped Hull take off, connecting him with players from Team USA including Shawn Wheeler and Shota Barbeau.

Throughout his years of playing dodgeball, Hull got to know Jake Mason, who is the former head of USA dodgeball and a producer that is running the Ocho games this year. This connection opened the door for Hull to compete in the USA Dodgeball All-Star Showcase, as Mason was looking for players that are talented and would be fun to watch.

Hull said he isn’t taking the opportunity lightly, and he is honored to get the chance to compete and help dodgeball grow on a national level. One thing he hopes to do is just inspire people to try new things.

“I fell in love with this sport. It’s something we all kind of just take for granted in our youth and k through 12 lives, Hull said. “So being able to play it on ESPN and represent the game, to represent my home town and even Atlanta too … It's just really cool to be able to broaden the reach of the sport. …

“Just try things. I hope anyone who sees this, whether it's a kid, a young adult or even a 30-40-year-old, just (try) something new and you might fall in love with it.”