DODGEBALL!

Last weekend, OFCU helped sponsor the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Dodgeball Tournament in Alamogordo. Team OFCU participated in the Co-Ed division.

It was a long, brutal day, but Team OFCU finished strong and garnered a 3rd place trophy. I say finished strong, because we started so weakly. Not fully knowing the rules or strategies of the game, we lost our first match, and we had to fight our way up through the loser's bracket as a result. With a little help from our scout/advisor, Dan Babcock, we were able to win 4 consecutive matches, all of them nail-biters, ending up one game away from the Championship match. It was a valiant effort, and as a result of learning the ins and outs of this extremely competitive sport, Team OFCU is confident that next year will be even more successful.

Let me say that if you ever watched the movie Dodgeball, then you will understand that although the movie was somewhat silly, some of the players in this tournament were just as goofy. Team OFCU definitely had its characters out there, but once the whistle blew, it became a very serious event. The competitive nature in everyone was displayed, and each match was a battle. The rules were a little different than what I remember when I played Dodgeball in grade school, so there was a learning curve that our team slowly managed to pick up on. As the day progressed, and we started to win some matches, so did our confidence level. Towards the end, our one substitute had to leave, so we played with the minimum for the last 4 matches. All in all, it was great fun, and it was for a great cause.

The funniest part was seeing all the team members on Monday morning. Being 44 years old, I was definitely feeling it. My assistant team captain, Darro, in his 30's was feeling it as well. What was really neat was to see our younger team members, in their 20's, who were feeling it just as much as we did. Although the sore muscles made me feel older than my age, seeing the twentysomethings hurting made me feel a little better. Now if you ask them, they will tell you I'm making this up, but there were unbiased witnesses who saw them limping around the office.

For the other teams that participated, I just want you to know, you better practice during the off-season, because Team OFCU will be honing it's skills and preparing for next year with a clear focus and commitment. Not that we will be practicing or anything, just mentally focusing for the next 51 weeks while we wait for our chance to redeem ourselves!

Greg