Kids Have a Blast Learning Baseball in a New Way. By Jeff Elijah, International Baseball Rundown September 2000 There's one thing that kids four years old and up hate more than anything else -- standing around doing nothing. Unfortunately, in the average teeball game there's a lot of standing around doing nothing. What parent or coach hasn't noticed youngster's in the outfield with their backs turned to the infield, more interested in what's going on behind them than the teeball game in front of them? Enter Blastball, a new game that uses a batting tee and incorporates some of the rules and fundamentals of baseball, but at a much faster pace to hold the wandering attention of small children. The rules of Blastball are simple: There are two teams, one in the field and one at bat, but fewer players, no formal field positions, and only one base. Fair territory is designated by the Blastbase, a fair distance line marker, and a sideline cone. The base features built-in horns that honk when stepped on. Each batter hits the ball past the fair distance marker and runs to the Blastbase. HONK! When the ball is stopped by a fielder, he or she holds the ball up and yells "Blast!" If the fielder yells blast before the batter honks the base, the batter is out. If the batter honks the base before the fielder yells blast, the batter scores a run. Teams of five or fewer players result in the most active games, which is played with a ball and bat designed for safety. The games can be preceded by clinics in which the young players learn the baseball fundamentals if hitting, throwing, running and catching. Blastball is the brainchild of Bryan Bravard, of Des Moines, Iowa. Bravard grew up in rural northeast Iowa and played baseball in high school and college. He has been involved in baseball close to 30 years as a player and a coach. With a master's degree in education from Northwest Louisiana State, Bravard has coached at the youth, high school, and college levels. "I have spent the better part of the last three years developing, marketing and networking this idea wherever and whenever I could," Bravard said. "I wanted to 'tweak' a boyhood game I grew up with, to improve the retention rate of kids on early levels of play. The honking base made it unique, 'cooler,' and we found after testing that the little kids loved it!" Major league player/manager/coach Jim Lefebvre helped Bravard get his idea off the ground. Bravard talked with Lefebvre in Milwaukee and sold him on the concept of Blastball to the point that Lefebvre hooked him up with representatives of the Sport Supply Group, which owns ATEC (the Athletic Training Equipment Company). Eventually a deal was struck, and Blastball has been on the market since May 2000. "We need to create games to get people involved at an earlier age and in a much easier way," Lefebvre said. "Blastball is a simple way to get people excited about baseball and softball. I find it very exciting." Blastball has made inroads into schools and physical education and parks and recreation programs throughout the United States, and has received inquiries from Europe and Asia, Bravard said. "Sales have been very strong. We had numerous summer leagues and playground programs using it. One city had more than 300 kids every Saturday showing up to play," he said. Bravard said he will continue marketing Blastball to school parks and recreation programs, and will come out with a retail model next spring. Eventually, he would like to see Blastball available all over the world. "Blastball succeeds where teeball fails," he said. "It has smaller group sizes, faster paced action, and suits the attention spans of young people because there are more opportunities in the field. It teaches the same fundamentals of baseball -- running, fielding, throwing and hitting -- in a much faster, fun way." Longtime college baseball coach bill Aree of Claremont, California, is convinced that Blastball is the way of the future for teaching baseball to young children. "The game is sorely needed to regain interest in bat-and-ball games here in the United States. In Blastball, the kids are running, jumping, yelling, laughing. It's truly a fun activity for youth with short attention spans," Aree said. Blastball information and products are available by calling 800-327-0484 in the United States and 515-245-6243 outside the U.S. The same information is available on the web at www.us-games.com, or www.blastball.com. Source: International Baseball Rundown