Knucklers aim for national title
Megan Trotter

Herald-Citizen Staff

Saturday, Jun 14, 2008

  The Knucklers practice their game for the upcoming national tournament, June 15-19. First row, from left, are Austin Wright and Brooklyn Cherry; second row, Trevor Norrod and Andrew Walker; and in back, Coach Jeff Kimmell. Herald-Citizen Photo/Megan Trotter

BAXTER -- Inside a hot garage in Baxter, a group of kids crouches around a 10 foot circle drawn on the floor. Some have driven an hour just to be here. One boy eyes the small orbs in front of him, judging the angles, judging the distance. And then he shoots. The marble glides across the floor and knocks another out of the ring. Perfect shot. The group, called the Knucklers, is practicing their marbles game. They are at the home of their teachers and coaches, Jeff and Molly Kimmell. Some of the children are beginners, some are experts. But even the beginners already know the game inside and out. "How big are the blue marbles, Austin?" Jeff Kimmell asks. "How big can your shooter be? What's it called when you throw your hand forward? What's the blowing technique?" Austin Wright answers all these questions and more with lightning speed. "And he's only been playing for a month," Kimmell says proudly. The Knucklers will be participating in the 85th National Marbles Tournament, today through June 19, in Wildwood, N.J., where they will compete for college scholarships, national honors and a variety of other prizes and awards.

In order to get to the national tournament, the Knucklers depend on all of their sponsors who take care of the expenses of getting to New Jersey. "Without their sponsorship, these kids wouldn't be able to go," Jeff said. The Knucklers are also grateful to Standing Stone park ranger Shawn Hughes and Travis Cherry for their contributions to getting the marble games going in Tennessee. The Kimmells started coaching their current group of kids around October 2007. In addition to their group practices, the children also practice at home on their own. "I try to (practice) two hours in the morning, two hours in the evening, every day," said Andrew Walker, a 14-year-old from Moss.

Brooklyn Cherry, also from Moss, practices two hours a day. When asked what her favorite part of the game was, she replied with a grin, "Winning!" The Knucklers played in the Tennessee State Marbles Championships June 7, and Walker came away with the title. Cherry took third place and teammate Trevor Norrod placed fourth. The Kimmells have won many awards themselves -- they are both former national and world marbles champions.

Jeff Kimmell started playing marbles when he was just a young boy. "I played all the time when I was a kid," he said. "Our whole neighborhood played marbles. We played dirt marbles. We never played on concrete. We always played in the dirt. That's where I learned to play marbles. ... When we got to the ring in the winter time, know what we did? We didn't play indoors. We just chipped the ice off the ring in the snow. We played outside in the wintertime."

Over the years, Kimmell won numerous awards and tournaments, allowing him to visit New York and appear on shows such as Good Morning America, the Today Show and the Don Imus show. Now he dedicates his time to working with children and teaching them about marbles and a few skills for life along the way. "I try to teach kids composure because what happens in marbles is that they can get nervous. (If) you get nervous -- it's all about your hands -- you can't shoot. If you get nervous, it throws your game completely off," he said. "I'm a little hard on the kids, but we grow together as good friends, and they know I really care about them. Anytime they win or do the best they can, I always feel really good. That's why I love doing it."

The Kimmells want to extend their marbles program to Cookeville in the near future, and add five or six new members to their team. "I'm hoping to get a few kids from Putnam County who want to play next year," Jeff said. "I've got a ring here, but I want to get another ring built in the local area, hopefully a park." In an era where many kids would rather sit in front of a computer screen than bother with any activities outdoors, Kimmell hopes the increasing popularity of the marbles tournaments will cause more kids to sit up and take notice.

"Marbles is an old pastime sport. It's been going for hundreds of years," he said. "Kids just don't know how to play. And once they learn there's an art and skill to it, (they say), 'Wow, that looks pretty cool!' They start playing it and they realize there's a lot more to it than just throwing the marble around. There's a lot to it. It takes a lot of skill." For more information about the National Marbles Tournament, visit www.nationalmarblestournament.org/. To contact the Kimmells for more information about the Knucklers, call 520-3073 or visit www.thekimmellfamily. com/.

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