COLUMBIA CITY — Dodgeball, the game that strikes terror in the hearts of middle school PE students everywhere, is deeply entrenched in the heart of one Columbia City man.

Columbia City native, Scott Stoffel, has the opportunity to represent the United States in the first ever Dodgeball World Cup in Manchester, England, but he needs help getting there because international travel is expensive. Stoffel has set up a gofundme account for people to help make his dream of playing in the big leagues come true. Stoffel currently has $715 of the $3,000 needed for the trip.

Stoffel has been in love with the game since the sixth grade. When he first picked up a dodgeball he said it felt like the game was made just for him and that he was meant to play. He says, “It has always been my dream to be able to play dodgeball in the big leagues and hopefully become a part of making dodgeball a paid sport.”

Stoffel played dodgeball all through middle school and high school and he played at The Center for Whitley County Youth every Friday night and even participated in a few tournaments. Because of his love for the game he became known around school as the “dodgeball guy.”

As with anyone who attends school there comes a time for it to end. Stoffel graduated and became too old to play at The Center. Fortunately, he talked with the man in charge of the facility and was able to make a deal to use the gym on Sundays for a few hours. This was when he decided to create his own team and name them the “Dodgebrawlers.”

While Stoffel says running his own team was great he just wanted more, and thanks to his girlfriend, more is what he got.

For his birthday, Stoffel’s girlfriend bought him a ticket to Las Vegas so he could play in a dodgeball tournament with the National Dodgeball League. After the tournament was over Stoffel signed on with the the NDL and became an official member.

In November of 2015 the NDL manager contacted Stoffel to ask him to compete in a local tournament to vie for one of five spots on the team that would be going to England. Stoffel went, played his heart out and a few weeks later got the call informing him he won one of the coveted positions on the team.

The Dodgeball World Cup is set to be played April 14-17 in Manchester, England. Visit Stoffel’s gofundme for more Information. Team USA’s roster can be found here.