The following was written by Adam Hynes of Bowling Green State University:
As being a member of the NCDA for a few years now I would like to say that I love this league and the memories it has given me. I love how competitive each game is and how well diverse the league is. However there comes a time where teams are sometimes forgotten due to them not having a big name in the league. Usually if your name doesn’t start with Grand Valley, Central Michigan, James Madison, etc, the league can either forget you or just not know much about you since the bigger names are out there. When I say forgotten I don’t mean it as the team doesn’t matter or doesn’t exist. In this article I thought I would share some insight on my beloved team, Bowling Green State University.
Now granted BG is not a big school either but we do have some talent on the team that I thought deserved to be recognized.
The Captains
On the team of BG we have five leadership positions and each position is held by players who are more the skillful players on the team as anyone would think. Starting off with our Co-presidents Tyrell Smith and Joel Hunter. Tyrell is the literal all-around player on the court who can throw hard and catch when needed but his biggest skill is his ability to lead on the court and read game situations. Joel is one of the better catchers on the team. The guy can throw some heat too however he has been plagued with a shoulder injury this season so we depend more on his catching and blocking more than anything else. Next is the player that mostly everyone in the league knows and that is Jacob Triplett. What else can be said about him, he can do it all. He can throw, block, catch, reads game situations perfectly and can be a guy you lean heavily on for clutch situations. Every team needs a person like this and I’m happy we have one. Tyler Broyles I would say is easily one of the better blockers in the league however since we are on a small team no one knows his name. Literally the kid dives across the gym floor in order to block a ball for someone; having someone like him on the team makes blocking a ton easier. Then there is myself, I don’t really like talking about myself at all but my biggest attribute I bring to the team is my throw. I can throw mid to high 60’s so it helps any team with a guy who can throw hard. But the biggest threat we all bring is we all can work together perfectly. No team can survive without proper teamwork and knowing you have each other’s back.
Top Freshmen
This list could honestly go on for days. I truly believe we have some extremely talented freshman on our squad from top to bottom. However there are three names I want the league to get used to now and that is Tj Wickham, Nick Broyles and Marc Ritzenthaler. Nick Broyles (Tyler’s Brother) is very fast off the line to get a ball at the beginning of a game and can catch extremely well for a 1st year NCDA player. He plays fast and uses his competitiveness as an advantage. What do I mean by that you ask? His first tournament ever he dropped one ball his first game and said that’s the last ball I drop today. Needless to say he made five catches against Kent State and did not drop one ball the rest of the tournament. Marc in my opinion is the best at knowing his role and is great at switching from role to role. There might be a game where he needs to block more or throw more and he excels at doing both. He has a very dependable arm to get kills and reset the shot clock if needed. Tj Wickham is going to be a lethal opponent for other teams to deal with. He can throw low to mid 60’s already for a freshman and is developing his leadership skills for the other first members to follow. He can block very well and gets extremely motivated during games where other teammates feed off his energy. He is going to have a very bright future in the league.
Honorable mention
I will make this short and sweet but I couldn’t go without making a list like this either. This team is full of potential and it shows. Malcolm Blackwell and John Cudjoe survived for seven and half minutes alone facing a Western Kentucky team that was looking to tie the game up with a quick point. Aaron Wells for his crossing ability to keep teams on their toes for him. Joey Bauer uses his speed to get players out which lead to him having 12 kills in a game. Mia Giano who excels with her blocking game and Treanna Bidlack who can throw mid 50’s already; pairing them together leads to a great combination for kills. Finally Andrew Reed who has a crazy left-handed cross and Jeremiah Mowery who is a very talented catcher too.
Final Thought
Like I said I love this league and this team that I play on. We always manage to have fun and finally can compete with other teams now. Granted BG is not a big school that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to have some of the spot-light shined down on us either. Other teams get praised continuously and not many other teams know much about us. Some people will read this article and toss it aside or some will take note of what I’m saying. This is a real team with great players. And for those who were counting the players I mentioned it was the entire squad that went to the Kentucky Invite this past January. I love this team and the players on it. With all this being said I think the biggest thing I wanted to say is don’t forget about the little guy.