Last Saturday, September 21st, the NCDA kicked off the season with the Eau Claire Dodgeball Brawl. The teams in attendance were: the University of Wisconsin- Platteville, University of Wisconsin-Stout, and the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. UWEC’s games were both scrimmage games and UWP vs Stout was the official match. The following were the results UWP vs UWS 4-0, UWP vs UWEC 3-1, and UWEC vs UWS 4-0. Let’s take a look below on the day and hear what some of the players had to say.
The following were questions asked of current players.
Erik Zander–What did you think of your team’s performance?
Matt Polum (UWEC)– I didn’t think we performed very well, although most of our players haven’t played with 8.5-inch rubber balls or in a formal/competitive manner.
Tristan Wirkus (UWEC)-Overall, I was very pleased with how our team competed. Since we normally play with foam dodgeballs and we’re mostly a “just-for-fun” club (non-competitive), it was definitely a challenge playing up to NCDA standards. Nearly all the members of our team were new to both the tournament-style format of play as well as the larger rubber dodgeballs. Given this, I think we showed up and competed to the best of our abilities, and our members gained a new appreciation for a different format of dodgeball.
EZ- What players on UWEC stood out?
MP-Jason Bleskan picked up on the team elements of dodgeball and quickly took to playing smart over fast. He also had several one-on-ones against Platteville where he fought a good fight. Caleb Stangl also adjusted to the format well. He has also played in competitive tournaments and understands the importance of playing as a team.
TW-I think all of our players did a great job. The one standout to me was Jason. I think he adapted well to both the style of play as well as the rubber balls. I also have to applaud all of our brave Freshmen that came to play and had fun. They learned a lot playing with Platteville and Stout!
EZ- What did you think of the different strategies your opponents used against you?
MP– Stout, kept good spacing between players to prevent collisions and
accidental hits. They were also a bit more focused on the offensive. Platteville, I admired how they moved as a team, with players covering others’ throws, retreats, and advances. They were trying to control the flow of the game by throwing and moving as a team to minimize wasted opportunities.
TW-As always, I’m of two minds when it comes to tournament play-style. I think I personally prefer the more active/chaotic open-gym style of play, as it forces me to be constantly aware at all times of balls coming in my direction. However, with the tournament-style, I think the strategy of having one side advance with multiple blockers/callers is a smart strategy. I think perhaps a critique I might have for teams that are really disciplined in terms of ball control would be to take a smart open shot when an opponent is undefended within a few feet of you. Most of our players picked up on the extreme discipline that other teams used, and were able to use this to our advantage to keep more of our players in the game for longer.
Erik Zander–What impressed you the most about each of your opponents?
Nicholas Stocks (UWP)– Each time we have played Stout they have shown improvement, and this game was no different. Stout is playing with more strategy and throwing with more confidence. Eau Claire is a very athletic group. They won’t think twice about throwing or running you down. Also, do not underestimate their catching, even if you think they are not looking.
Dylan Fabry (UWP)– I was impressed on how accurate some of them were and overall how good they were for being new.
EZ- What do you want your team to work on to get better for the next event?
NS– The team needs to work on our communication from captains to players and amongst players. In the first few points we played, we struggled to be all on the same page, but we eventually worked it out and played a better game once we did.
DF- I want our team to get better at moving as a team and applying pressure.
EZ– What players on the other team stood out to you?
NS– A few players that stood out to me for Stout were Zoe Olson, Angel Lucero, and Rose Laux. They, like the rest of the team, have grown lots since the last we played them. They all are always fighting till the end and won’t back down. For Eau Claire, Tristan Wirkus and Cleo Moen stood out to me. Tristan is quick, has a strong arm, and can make impressive catches. Some players underestimated Cleo’s catching ability when they tried to pick her off but she was able to come up with a few remarkable catches.
DF-The players that stood out to me were Tristan Wirkus and Zoe Olson.
Erik Zander– What did you think of your team’s performance compared to your first event last year?
Rose Laux (Stout)-I think our team did slightly better than our first event last year. The main reason being that we were still a super small team, which made it very difficult to compete against larger teams like Platteville and Eau Claire.
Angel Lucero (Stout)- I think one of the main changes I’ve seen in the team is seeing how they lose the “fear” of being up front and receiving or blocking the ball. Obviously there is still a big difference in experience between us and the other teams, but I think this is a good step forward for us.
EZ- What players on your team stood out to you?
RL– I think Edward stood out to me because he kept a good attitude during the event and encouraged the other players. Overall, we all worked really hard together.
AL-I feel that Eddy was one of the players who stood out, since this was the first time he was going to play with other teams, for me he had a good performance, listening to the calls and covering his teams was what he stood out the most in.
EZ-What would you like to work on for next tournament to improve?
RL-To improve for our next tournament, we need to get more players coming to tournaments.
AL-Calls are still something we still need to improve, there are times when the team does hear the next play but there comes a time when we don’t know which side is going to throw.
Final Thoughts
University of Wisconsin Stout-This team has come a long way since last season. They are blocking better, throwing faster, and understanding where their teammates are on the court. These Blue Devil players have more confidence, are fearless, and not afraid to challenge their opponents. The players that stood out to me were Rose Laux for her ability to survive on the court and have well time throws, I guess playing on team with her brothers at the NDA event in Columbus paid off. Angel Lucero also impressed with his blocking ability. He was blocking everything, couldn’t miss making him a extremely tough out to get. His catching also impressed me as he had several on the day. If it was near him, he was catching it. Finally, Tyler Mathison impressed me with his arm and his ability to throw overhand. It had incredible force and was clipping players at the feet.
University of Wisconsin Platteville– The Pioneers had a lot of questions going into this season on who was going to replace some of their top players that they lost and who was going to step up. Well, after the first event some of those questions have been answered and it looks like they are headed in the right direction. UWP has more balance on the court and can count on multiple people to go get outs. They are effectively working as a unit and helping each other to succeed. They need to work on more effective communication and who is making calls but for the first event of the year, it is a good start. Some of the players that stood out were the rookies David Laux, Ian Westrick, and Keaton Bahr. They listened well on the court and did what was asked of them.
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire– For most of Eau Claire, this was their first time playing this format and they did exceptional well. This is a very fast and athletic group that has a lot of talent. If they play in a few more events and figure out a strategy that works for them, they will be competitive in no time. A few players that stood out were Cleo Moen, Tristan Wirkus, and Matt Polum. Cleo’s catching ability was top notch on the day as she had 3 catches alone against UWP. Tristan is incredibly agile and is able to move across the court with ease. His speed allowed him to run players down and successful get outs. He reminds me of a former player from years ago, Niko Nodal of DePaul. Matt was extremely effective in short range counter throws, connecting several times. He had no problem challenging his opponents into those situations. We shall see more of this from Matt at NDA nationals as he will be joining the Pickaxers!
For the first event of the year, it was fun to get back into the swing of things and we are looking forward to more events this year! If you missed out and would like to see some of the action, you can find the games at the following link (Platteville Dodgeball Club). Make sure to subscribe so that you get the notification when Platteville goes live at their next event. To all the of the players at the event the pictures have been uploaded and you can find them at the following link (Eau Claire Dodgeball Brawl).