Eagle Scout Project Brings Gaga Ball to Ossining School

Ossining High School rising senior Maxwell Gustin remembers being a Claremont School student and wishing there was more playground equipment.

When he developed his service project to become an Eagle Scout, he wanted something that would impact many people over an extended period of time. That’s how he came up with a pit for gaga ball, an activity that has exploded in popularity. Gaga ball is a gentler form of dodgeball in which players bounce a ball off the sides of an octagonal pit and try to hit their opponents below the knee to knock them out of the game.

“I was really looking to have the most impact for the most amount of people for the longest amount of time I could,” said Maxwell, who is a member of Briarcliff Boy Scout Troop 18.

Maxwell worked with the district and secured sponsors for the project. He found a vendor who gave the district a good deal, and the materials were delivered to the school. Maxwell, who led a team of people who built the pit in August, said one of the most challenging parts was leveling the ground for the pit to sit on.

Claremont School is thrilled about the gaga pit and thanks Maxwell and his team for choosing the school as the site for it, Principal Ferzeen Shamsi said. “We are so excited that our students will have an opportunity to rotate to the gaga court during recess,” she said. “Our physical education classes will also have access to this permanent structure. We know we will see many children having lots of fun on the court.”

District administrators, employees at Claremont, buildings and grounds staff, and a former Boy Scout working on the school’s building addition helped a lot with the project. The construction worker saved the day when he used his Bobcat to pick up dirt from elsewhere on site and dump it in the pit to help with leveling.

“They tell you you’re an Eagle Scout for life,” Maxwell said, and this man proved it.