On Saturday, November 9th, the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) will be hosting the follow teams at the Pioneer Classic (V): University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (UWEC), University of Wisconsin Stout (UWS), and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Below is the schedule, breakdown of the teams, and some thoughts from captains and coaches.
University of Nebraska–UNL performed well at the Cornhusker Clash, when they had a full roster and all of their weapons. This time around they will have a much smaller roster that lacks experience. If they want to continue the trend of being the dominate team they are in the region, they will have to make very few mistakes and all be on the same page. Nebraska has the talent and if they all come to play as a team, they will take care of business like they always do. Players like Collin Glover and Malaki Shriner-Horne will have to come out and perform at a high level.
University of Wisconsin Platteville–This will be the first event of the season where we will get to see the Pioneers at full strength. UWP knows that even being at full strength does not guarantee success. They still have to put it all together and have good chemistry. For several players, this will be their first tournament of the year so Platteville needs to make sure they come out strong and make sure everyone is playing their roles. Veterans need to remember that they don’t have to do everything and make sure to get the rookies and less experience players involved quickly. If UWP can do this, they will have success on the day and could possible get some wins.
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign– This is UIUC’s second event of the season and they performed well at the Red Cedar Rumble. Last year at this event, Illinois suffered defeat at the hands of UWP and UNL and they are looking to not repeat that again. As a team, each year they keep improving and they get more competitive. This is not a team that you should take lightly as they will capitalize on that and make you pay. They are a great catching team so look for several catches that will keep them in each match.
University of Wisconsin Stout– The Blue Devils are still a young club and are ready to gain valuable experience this weekend when they join up with UW-Eau Claire. This will allow them for the first time to play with 12 on the court and be able to use their strategy to compete and find ways to win points. The hope is that this experience will help them on their way to getting their first win this season. Expect to continue see improvements from this squad as each event they look more comfortable on the court and are making more plays as their confidence keeps building.
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire– Eau Claire is still very new to this format and for a few of the players in attendance this will be the first time playing competitive dodgeball. They are excited to be joining up with UW-Stout as it will provide them an opportunity to learn strategy and make mistakes knowing that it is part of the process. They are going to see a lot of different play styles and strategies that can be used and a lot can be learned each time you step on the court. Hopefully, after this event, this will encourage them to continue to play in more tournaments and keep learning more about the game.
The following question was asked from the captains and coach about this weekend.
Erik Zander– What do you want to see from your team this weekend?
Colin Clover (UNL)- This weekend our team needs to get back to the basics. We had a lot of missed blocks and dropped catches at the Clash, and we can’t have that again. We’ll be without a couple of our top throwers, so we’re gonna need some of our players to step up and show us what they’re made of.
Nicholas Stocks (UWP)-This tournament is our first opportunity to field a full roster this season, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve. In past tournaments, we’ve worked well as a team and quickly corrected issues on court. To succeed this weekend, we need to stick to our style of play, effectively communicate, and remember the fundamentals. If we stay true to those points, Platteville will be walking away with some wins.
Charles Cardenas (UIUC)-Since our club had its first ever program win at this tournament last year, I’d like to think we’ve improved greatly. From that point on, we have put up a fight against every team we have played. That fire will continue this weekend, as our team looks to have some redemption against both UWP and UNL.
Jacob Sebranek (UWS)-This weekend I want to see quality team throws since we’ve been working on them in practice. I also want to hear louder communication from everyone, whether it’s calling out the shot clock or calling out who’s throwing. Furthermore, I want to see more restraint from our team since we have a tendency to throw away our ball control. Lastly, I look forward to seeing how this team does when we have subs.
Matt Polum (UWEC)-I’m hoping to show the UWEC players that organized, competitive dodgeball is fun and that the dodgeball world is more than the gym class/open gym style of play. I think playing with the UW-Stout team and against some different teams will help them see this. I’d like for them to try some team plays and practice communication. Hopefully, playing against some larger schools will show them the importance of teamwork and communication while seeing that effective teamwork can make a team far more competitive but that this needs to be practiced outside of games. These are all things I picked up playing with the Pickaxers at NDA nationals and with Minnesota Dodgeball.
Make sure to tune in to watch the games live. They will be streamed on the UW-Platteville Dodgeball YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to get notifications when they go live!