Thanks to a local scout’s hard work, determination and desire to give back to his community, Seymour Lake Township Park now has its very own gaga ball pit.

“It’s really fun. A lot of my friends like to play it,” said Life Scout Sean Patterson, a member of Boy Scout Troop 366.

Last week, Patterson and a team of his fellow scouts worked with Oxford Township Parks and Recreation staff to construct the octagonal pit next to the basketball court.

They spent six-and-a-half hours building the pit, which is 44 inches tall and has a diameter of approximately 20 feet.

“It’s a pretty big gaga ball pit – one of the biggest I’ve ever seen,” said Patterson, a 14-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School. “It came out great. I thought it was really fun working on it.”

He’s working to become an Eagle Scout and this gaga ball pit is his community service project. One of the requirements to earn scouting’s highest rank is planning, developing and providing leadership for a service project that helps a religious organization, school or community.

Patterson sincerely hopes it will give those who play in it “joy, hope and happiness.”

Parks and Rec. Director Ron Davis was very appreciative.

“It’s a huge addition,” he said. “It’s great to see the kids taking pride and ownership in (the park) and giving back to the community. It’s just another example of the community investing in their parks for everybody. This is a huge asset for us.”

Often referred to as “a kinder, gentler version of dodgeball,” gaga ball – also spelled ga-ga or GaGa – is a fast-paced, high-energy game played inside a hexagonal or octagonal enclosure called a pit. The object is to hit a lightweight bouncy or foam ball at or below opponents’ knees. If the ball touches them, they are eliminated. The last one in the pit wins.

The game’s origin is shrouded in mystery. There are many stories, many myths, many claims.

Some say it was invented in Israel. In Hebrew, the word gaga translates to “touch-touch,” according to various sources.

Some believe it was created at an Adirondacks summer camp in the 1950s and was originally known as Crosleyball.

A man named Steven Steinberg claims he both invented and named the game in 1975 while working as a 17-year-old camp counselor at a Jewish Community Center camp in the Baltimore, Maryland area, according to an August 2017 article in Tablet Magazine.

Steinberg told Tablet he created the game for a group of 6-year-old boys. He also claims its name is not of Hebrew origin and is, in fact, a shortening of “goo-goo, ga-ga,” something the kids started chanting one day.

Wherever gaga ball came from and whoever created it doesn’t seem to matter to the young people who play it and enjoy it today.

“It’s very popular with the kids,” Davis said.

“In scouts, we have one at every summer camp,” Patterson said. “That’s what we do after (working toward) all our merit badges . . . We can’t use electronics (at camp), so it’s pretty much the only thing for us to do. Plus, it’s actually really fun. I love it.”

Lakeville Elementary School has two gaga ball pits.

“That gave me the idea to (build one in Seymour Lake Park),” Patterson said.

Patterson is grateful to everyone who donated to make the gaga ball pit a reality.

Clark Harris, of Titan Wealth Advisors in Bloomfield Hills, donated $850. The parks and rec. department donated all of the lumber. Oxford Township Trustee Jack Curtis kicked in $50 to feed the hungry crew.

“I had lots of support on this project,” Patterson said.

Patterson has been involved in scouting since first grade and is glad he stuck with it.

“They’re really good people and they’ve helped me learn a lot of things that I can use in life,” he said. “(Scouts) help so many people. They save lives. It’s a really great experience. Everyone should try it. It’s amazing. I love scouting.”

“If I do have a son (someday), I would love for him to start scouting,” Patterson noted.

He’s looking forward to attaining the coveted Eagle rank because it will be the product of his time, his sweat and his commitment.

“You know (how) when someone gives you something and you feel happiness? Well, it’s even better when you do it yourself – when you (earn) something that you deserve,” Patterson said.

Patterson is grateful to his dad, Scott, for always being a big supporter of his when it comes to scouting and everything else in life.

“I’d like to be pretty much just like him in every way,” he said.