Author: Kevin Bailey

Current NCDA Chief of Content. Former Captain for Grand Valley State University (#4).

BOTM: 2016 June

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Jacob Leski – Central Michigan

The Baller of the Month for June goes to a recent graduate from Central Michigan University: Jacob Leski.  Jake was a top performer on a CMU team that finished as national runner-up for the second straight season.

Jake finished up his career at CMU with a stellar performance at Nationals (the championship game in particular).  Without a doubt he leaves behind a legacy as one of the most impactful catchers in the NCDA.

I had the pleasure to interview Jake on a number of topics, including his on-court strategy, favorite dodgeball memories, and his future plans.  Take a look at our interview below:

  Continue reading “BOTM: 2016 June”

2016 College Dodgeball All-American Team

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It is that time of year again!  The 2015-16 National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s season came to a close just a few short weeks ago.

All of the votes are finally in, so we can now present to you the 2016 All-American Team.  Congratulations to these 15 gentlemen for their incredible individual performances this year.  Becoming an All-American is no small accomplishment.

Listed below are the 15 All-Americans determined by a league wide vote.  This list is in preferential order with #1 being the 2016 MVP.  Below each name is a small description of the player and his successes this year.  These brief descriptions were written by a few different members of the NCDA Content Team.

Without further ado, here is your 2016 All-American Team:

Continue reading “2016 College Dodgeball All-American Team”

Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 15

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Nationals 2016 was just over a week ago, but that doesn’t stop the content team from producing some articles.  This will be the first in a series of Way-Too-Early Top 15 rankings for next season.  Below is my personal opinion on who the tops teams will be heading into next year.  If you are interested in making a top 15 list of your own, feel free to contact any member of the content team and we will make it happen.  If you disagree with my list I expect to see your own top 15 written up! Continue reading “Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 15”

All-American Voting

Attention Club Officers,

Your team should be receiving an email with the following information:

It is that time of year again. The season ended this past weekend, and now we need to begin the voting for our All-American Team. The process is pretty simple. Each team is required to send in a list of their top 15 players in the country listed preferential order 1 through 15. Continue reading “All-American Voting”

Towson Dodgeball: No Longer an Afterthought

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It was April 12, 2015, and inside the Preston Center at Western Kentucky University, it had never been louder.  A building full of collegiate dodgeball players looked on in confusion trying to figure out why there was so much yelling and screaming going on.  As it turns out, Towson University’s dodgeball team was responsible for this ruckus, as they were celebrating an upset victory over Ohio State University in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s final tournament.  This moment in time will not soon be forgotten by anyone in attendance, as it will go down as one of the most memorable upsets in NCDA Nationals history.

Rewind the clock just a few years and the thought of Towson making it to the NCDA’s “Elite Eight” was absolutely absurd.  Truth is, the dodgeball club that formed at Towson University never seemed destined for success, but thanks to the incredible commitment of the club’s leaders, the Tigers are finally making noise in the NCDA.  A program that limped its way through the larger part of their first four seasons as an NCDA team, Towson Dodgeball is no longer an afterthought in the college dodgeball universe.

This is the story of how Towson’s dodgeball team slowly but surely clawed their way to national relevance. Continue reading “Towson Dodgeball: No Longer an Afterthought”

Proposed Rule Change: Throw Line Distance

Proposed by Kevin Bailey

It’s pretty simple: What is the biggest issue with the current NCDA ruleset?  Most people would argue it is often too slow paced, or that there are not enough points scored each game.  People often complain about stall-ball, and I concur that this is a major concern for our league.

There have been many proposed rule changes that are intended to combat this issue, attempting to make games faster and more exciting.  Sure, there are countless ways to go about fixing the slow-paced style that plagues our league right now, but in my opinion, no rule change will be as beneficial as this one.  The throw line (attack line) needs to decrease from 30 ft. to 25 ft. in the rulebook. Continue reading “Proposed Rule Change: Throw Line Distance”

The Development of VCU Dodgeball Club

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By: Shadeed Q. Drakeford

Introduction

A long time ago after the annual Chick-fil-A dodgeball tournament in Richmond, VA, my best friend Micheal Tse and I were walking back to my apartment talking about dodgeball and the possibility of playing after our college days were done. This took place in October 2011, several months after the historical Final Four run by VCU in the NCAA tournament. The conversation started off very casually and jokingly with talks of playing semi-professionally along the East Coast with the potential of winning cash prizes or free food. Because who doesn’t like free food after a tournament? Yet, small talk created curiosity in me, and I stumbled across a hidden secret which has been around since 2004, the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA).

In December 2011 as a Christmas present to myself, I completed all of the paperwork that was necessary to have the Dodgeball Club at VCU as an official organization. Little did I know my life would never be the same again. At the time, dodgeball at VCU was shrinking in size every single year. It started out strong with at least 100 people playing medic dodgeball every Friday from 2-4:30 p.m. in my freshman year to only 20 people playing medic dodgeball three times a week in my junior year. Back then, the purpose of the club was to create some stability with the perception of the sport around VCU, so that we would have some gym time every week. For anyone who has ever attended VCU, you know that dodgeball time was cut short on a weekly basis due to soccer.

Continue reading “The Development of VCU Dodgeball Club”

Executive of the Year: Caleb Arnold (Ohio)

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s 2016 Executive of the Year is awarded to Caleb Arnold from Ohio University.  The captain for first-year NCDA member team Ohio, Caleb demonstrated excellent leadership, scheduling his team 25 games.  This honor is bestowed upon Caleb after the NCDA Executive Board vote (also nominated for this award was Erik Zander, the captain for Wisconsin Platteville).

I was able to ask a few questions of the league’s Executive of the Year, and I learned a lot about Caleb and his team.  After reading through Caleb’s responses, I anticipate everyone else will have as much respect as I do for the President, Captain, and Founder of Ohio University Dodgeball:

Caleb Arnold - Executive of the Year
Caleb Arnold – Executive of the Year

 

Kevin Bailey – What were the reasons for you starting up a team at Ohio, and what were the main struggles that you encountered during this process?

Caleb Arnold – First of all, thank you and the rest of the league for giving me this opportunity to discuss a little about my team.  Anyways, I have always had a passion for dodgeball.  Continue reading “Executive of the Year: Caleb Arnold (Ohio)”

MVEC Tournament Recap

Todd Given Jr. and Towson had a great showing at MVEC.
Todd Given Jr. and Towson had a great showing at MVEC. Photo Credit: Glen Brown

This past weekend, Towson University hosted the biggest event in program history when six teams gathered on Saturday, March 26th for the Michigan Versus the East Coast Tournament.  At this dodgeball tournament were the usual East Coast mainstays: James Madison, Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth, and Towson of course.  Along with these familiar foes, TU also was able to convince #1 Grand Valley State and #3 Michigan State to make the trek to the Baltimore area for a late season showdown.

Continue reading “MVEC Tournament Recap”

The 2016 NCDA All Star Game Participants – Presented by Savage Apparel Co.

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This year’s College Dodgeball All Star Game will be a bit different than in years past.  In 2016, the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association has paired with Savage Apparel Co. for the event.  The team uniforms for this match will be provided by this apparel brand at a discounted price.  Dry-fit customization uniforms is a great new addition to one of the NCDA’s most recognizable National Tournament traditions: The All Star Game.

This year’s game will feature two players from each NCDA team, with a draft taking place before Nationals weekend.  Dylan Fettig and Mike McNicholas will be the honorary captains for one side, while Felix Perrone and Zigmas Maloni will captain the other squad.  These four executive board members will rotate picks during the 2016 All Star Draft as they pick their roster for the game.

Listed below are the representatives from each school for the 2016 All Star Game Presented by Savage:

*Let us know in the comment section who your top picks would be if you were an All Star Game team captain!

Continue reading “The 2016 NCDA All Star Game Participants – Presented by Savage Apparel Co.”

NCDA Power Rankings (3/24/16)

ncda-logo-squareThanks to a suggestion from WKU’s Nick Johnson, the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s Content Team has compiled a top-15 power rankings for the league.  Each member of the content team submitted their personal power rankings and below we have the averaged out list.  So, without further-ado, here are the current NCDA Power Rankings: Continue reading “NCDA Power Rankings (3/24/16)”