After spending the majority of the 2012-13 season ranked #1 in the nation, Kent State made it all the way to the national semifinals before being ousted by national runner-up Michigan State. The Golden Flashes played a plethora of regular season matches, reaching a total of 28 before the national tournament in Kentucky. For those wondering, the next closest was James Madison at 18. Recently, I sat down with the big boss man of Kent State, Dan Shackelford to talk about last year, the summer, what he expects out of this year, and their new promotional video for this upcoming year. Continue reading “2013-14 Season Preview: Kent State”
Author: ssmith19
2013-14 Season Preview: University of Kentucky
The 2012-13 Season ended poorly for the Kentucky Wildcats last year, losing in the semifinals to Grand Valley. After spending most of the season ranked #2 in the nation, expectations had been high, but a grueling match against Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the elimination match drained Kentucky’s players for the next match. Recently, Kentucky’s new captain, Jon Firquin, sat down to give me his thoughts on nationals, and what he expects to happen this year.
Continue reading “2013-14 Season Preview: University of Kentucky”
JMU Dodgeball 2013-14 Season Preview
In their second year as an NCDA member, the JMU Dukes proved that they are far from a one-hit wonder. Playing in and travelling to a plethora of matches, they did not just establish themselves as the top team in the East Coast, but across the entire league. I recently talked with the clubs new president Ben Sizemore to ask him about what to expect in the team’s future, topics about their past, and a few other items.
Continuing Success: GVSU in the Ultimate Dodgeball Tournament
I’m sure most of you have heard by now that Grand Valley State is a really good dodgeball team. I know, shocker right? Well, not only are they dominant in the league, but they can go outside of the NCDA and continue their domination. Continue reading “Continuing Success: GVSU in the Ultimate Dodgeball Tournament”
Help Keep Your Team Healthy, Use Better Tape
One thing I noticed in the last two years of playing in the NCDA, especially at Nationals, is the amount of players who complain, moan, and gripe about how much their hand hurts after a full day of pinch-gripping dodgeballs. I have a potential solution. Continue reading “Help Keep Your Team Healthy, Use Better Tape”
Advertising: The Most Crucial Part to Keeping NCDA Teams Alive
So it seems that everyone is enjoying their summer break by going on vacations, hanging out with friends, partying, or working; but I find it near impossible to keep my mind off of how much I miss playing dodgeball. Continue reading “Advertising: The Most Crucial Part to Keeping NCDA Teams Alive”
Continuing Thoughts on League Expansion
Problem:
The NCDA is the kind of league that sees consistent growth over the course of time. The only issue facing the league in this regard is how do we continue this growth? Continue reading “Continuing Thoughts on League Expansion”
NCDA Matchups Outside of Dodgeball
While sitting at home today during a glorious Mother’s day, I’ve spent the majority of the day watching the opening rounds of the college lacrosse tournament. During this time I made one big realization, two NCDA teams are about to meet up for the first time ever, and not on a dodgeball court. Yes, I’m talking about Towson University facing The Ohio State University. Continue reading “NCDA Matchups Outside of Dodgeball”
Why the NCDA is Really One Big Family
Recently there has been a lot of lamenting about how certain teams and/or people within the NCDA are hated, or the subject of egregious bias. Instead of sitting here trying to downplay this occurrence, I decided to take a look at why this takes place. Continue reading “Why the NCDA is Really One Big Family”
A Year in Review: Towson University
Towson made a lot of progress in its second year as an NCDA member. Starting off the season, the tigers lost to University of Maryland 6-0 and James Madison 5-2. Even though this was a bad way to start the season, there were plenty of positive signs on how things would go for the rest of the year Continue reading “A Year in Review: Towson University”
A Year in Review: James Madison
The Dukes of JMU finished their second season in the NCDA with more overall success than they did in their first season. Continue reading “A Year in Review: James Madison”
A Year in Review: University of Maryland Terrapins
The University of Maryland Terrapins finished their sophomore campaign in the NCDA with a 4-5 record. Their first matches of the year were at the Towson Throwdown, taking down host Towson 6-0 and losing to James Madison 5-2. The Terps left the day heading back to College Park with a 1-1 record to begin their season. Continue reading “A Year in Review: University of Maryland Terrapins”
A Year in Review: VCU
One of the Greats
One thing I tell everyone about the NCDA, is how amazing every individual is that has anything to do with this league. These men and women are sincere, loyal, genuine human beings who love the game of dodgeball. But those are not the people I want to talk about. There is more to the game than just the competition. It’s a dedication and passion that few have and even fewer are willing to give. The man I want to talk about possesses these characteristics for this game in a way that outstretches anyone I know. Continue reading “One of the Greats”
A Fresh View on Nationals
This past weekend the NCDA held its National Tournament at the University of Kentucky. This was not only my first Nationals, but Towson’s first as well. As a second year team we had wanted to attend last year’s Nationals at Saginaw Valley, but we did not have the funding available to go. This past weekend was a spectacle in my mind that can only ever be imitated, but never duplicated. Continue reading “A Fresh View on Nationals”