Junkmaster Training at the Boys and Girls Club

About 30 of the staff members of the Santa Monica Boys and Girls Club participated in a 5-hour training in December, 2004.

Junkyard Golf

We spent a good hour (a very good hour) creating and playing Junkyard Golf. We were in the gym, and had a lot of space to play in and a lot of junk to play with. There was "real" stuff - athletic equipment from various sports - as well as an ample supply of recycle-ready cardboard tubes, bubble-wrap, milk and water bottles, and on, and on. Breaking up into small groups and making "holes" was as fun and as instructive as getting to see and play with the holes that other teams had made.

Office Chair Soccer

It might have been Office Chair Hockey. I don't remember. Sadly, this is the only photo I could find. The challenge was to create a version of a team sport that could be played in the game room - a room of foosball and billiard tables with limited open space. Rolling around on office chairs, kicking and hitting a ball between and around the tables, proved to be exciting, challenging, and often just plain hilarioius.

Skateboard Basketball

Though voted "too dangerous for the average skateboarder," Skateboard Basketball, developed by the instructors at the Boys and Girls Club skate park, proved to be one of the most spectator-worthy of all the junkyard sports invented during the training. It was an important lesson for us all: teaching us that it was possible to create sports that, even though too dangerous for amateur players, could offer proficient athletes a meaningful, competitive challenge that would test their skills, and yet remain fun and friendly.