A supervised path for youth players who are ready for adult open gym. Approval required.
Rise Up is a structured, supervised way for qualified youth athletes to play in designated adult open gym sessions. It is not a beginner class. It exists for players who have outgrown youth programming and are ready for a faster game.
Young players leave sport when it stops challenging them. Rise Up keeps them in it, with exposure to advanced tactics and a community that carries on past the youth program.
It applies only to open gym sessions we designate as integration-eligible. It does not carry over to adult leagues, tournaments, travel events, or private rentals.
An application can be declined for prior conduct violations, incomplete paperwork, an active injury or medical risk, or if a player is not yet ready for the room.
We assess behavioural maturity, how well a player takes instruction, and whether they are socially ready to play alongside adults.
A parent or legal guardian completes the Rise Up application before a player takes part. It captures consent, acknowledges the inherent risks, and covers medical disclosures.
Before applying, read the readiness checklist. It is the clearest way to judge whether your player is ready.
Foam sessions. Lower injury risk, and the right starting point for younger approved players.
Cloth and rubber sessions. Played at higher velocity, and they ask for more physical readiness. Approval for foam does not automatically mean approval for these.
At least one Minnesota Dodgeball team member is present for every session a youth player is in.
An incident stops play immediately. We contact the parent or guardian, and we involve emergency services where that is the right call.
Adults share the responsibility. Aggressive targeting of a younger player and any verbal abuse end a player’s session, and can end their participation.
Before a player steps on court we need all of the following:
A parent or guardian gives written consent and stays reachable by phone for the whole session. We keep these records for at least two years.
The full Rise Up policy sets out all of it in detail.
Start with the readiness checklist. If it sounds like your player, send an application and we will follow up.