Brittany Massro, second from left with some of her Pop That teammates, many of whom also have long athletic resumes like her.
Brittany Massro. Now there’s a soccer blast from the past. In her freshman year at Bonita High School, (2001-02), she helped lead her team to a CIF ladies soccer championship from her goalie position. She was a varsity starter all four years.
After graduating, and red-shirting her freshman year because of a broken left ankle, she played goalie for the University of Southern California while majoring in occupational therapy. She also obtained her master’s degree in OT at USC.
But upon graduating, after playing soccer nearly every day from the age of seven, along with her sister Randie, who was 16 months older, she never wanted to see another soccer ball again.
But just because she was burned out on soccer didn’t mean she wanted to dodge all balls aimed at her head.
A friend had told her about dodge ball while she was still playing soccer at USC, but she couldn’t play while while she was still suiting up for USC.
But when she was finally free of her collegiate obligations, she gave the sport a try. “At first, I did it for the social camaraderie,” Brittany said by telephone as she was preparing to board a plane for a weekend tournament in Toronto, Canada.
But as others saw the way she moved on the court, her natural athletic ability on full display, she was encouraged to play in more competitive tournaments with a Southern California team called “Pop That.”
“The transition to dodge ball was pretty easy,” Brittany said. “I have pretty much been throwing, catching and reacting to balls my whole life. And as an adult athlete, you never really stop looking for a competitive sport to play.”
Brittany Massro is a member of the U.S.A. dodge ball team.
Today, Brittany plays in tournaments that have taken her to Las Vegas, Australia and this year to Canada. Besides the dodge ball’s resurgence in the United States, the sport is growing in popularity in Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. Many of the teams play under the grandiosely named World Dodgeball Federation.
What’s Brittany’s particular fascination with the game?
“It’s the game you played in middle school,” she said. “It’s so much fun. You get to hit people with the ball, and it’s legal.”
Basically, the game is divided into two 20 minute halves. If you get hit by a ball, you’re out. If catch the ball thrown at you, the thrower is out. It’s still a lot like middle school dodgeball with a few adult twists, of course.
When Brittany isn’t dodging balls at world venues or in tournaments that are sprouting up all over Los Angeles, she lives in Pasadena and works as a pediatric occupational therapist in both Azusa and West Covina.
Nothing like a little therapy to nurse life’s inevitable bumps, bruises and occasional broken fingers that people of all ages can expect to experience, whether playing a sport competitvely or just for fun.
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Hey, I see mortgage lender and another Bonita alum, Tim Manfro, is running a great Halloween Contest. There’s money to be made! Check out his Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/MortgageManfro/ [1]
