I’m a perfectly content 21-year old going into my last year of college.
Thus far, I’ve spent my summer lounging in my parents’ basement in my boxers watching Sportscenter and occasionally finding time for some menial online work.
Not to mention I get to stay up until 4 am every night and wake up at the crack of noon without ever having to worry about missing classes.
That being said, why am I secretly not dreading the return of school as much as I should right now?
I almost feel traitorous to my age demographic for looking forward to September just the teeniest, tiniest bit.
One reason: I’m an overachieving loser who longs for the return of a set schedule and the rigors of homework to prove to myself I still have some self-worth.
That’s a possibility. Not likely, but possible.
Here’s a more likely reason: I’m scheming.
The focus of my nefarious plans shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me semi-well.
Standing on the precipice of what could be my final year on a college dodgeball team, I want to go out with a bang.
I’ve already made a mild impact with revamping the league’s website and image, as well as founding a team at Western, but I still have a couple more tricks up my sleeve.
My quest to raise college dodgeball to the same level of national prominence enjoyed by football and basketball is like an all-consuming fire.
Or, in the immortal words of my hero Ron Burgundy, “… one great passion that lives deep within my loins like a flaming golden hawk.”
Maybe it was my complete boredom during the dog days of summer, but I felt compelled to share my thoughts and plans with the rest of college dodgeball nation.
The main way I want to help this league expand is something I’ve actually been working on for quite some time.
It’s always been my firm belief that a great way for this young league to grow is through the use of media, particularly the forms of the media that college students can relate to.
But I’m talking about more than the typical “Attend our first home game!” events on Facebook and posting sick headshots on our YouTube channel.
Don’t misunderstand me, those are awesome ways to grow the league and have thus far been very successful at doing just that.
But I’m thinking about something a little different. Something with a little more depth.
What exactly is this brainchild I’ve become borderline obsessed over?
The funny part is that most of you reading this column have already experienced it firsthand in six sporadic episodes spanning the course of last season.
That’s right…I’m talking about Average Joes’ Podcast. The official podcast of the NCDA. A place where everyone seems to get real, freaky naughty.
(Those last two lines are from our intro for those of you scratching your head)
When I first started AJP, I envisioned it as a bi-monthly program that would break down upcoming matches, recap games already played and dissect the game’s biggest issues.
Needless to say, hosting changes, technological restrictions and being a college student in general quickly destroyed my little plan.
Besides that, I always fancied myself a “behind-the-scenes” type guy. It never suited me being out in front of the camera, or in this case, a microphone.
After recording the sixth and final episode a couple months ago, I was torn.
I wanted the show to continue very badly. But I didn’t want it to continue in its current state.
We needed almost a complete overhaul if I was going to be happy with the finished product every time we recorded an episode.
So what did I do?
I got to work.
My first goal was to find hosts who could really capture and maintain the audience’s attention while simultaneously combining wit and actual dodgeball knowledge.
Something akin to the dynamic teaming of Al Michaels (the talent) and Cris Collinsworth (the knowledge) would be perfect.
I had already locked up my good buddy Alex Heichelbech as “the knowledge” after he returned this summer from a semester spent in the Land of the Rising Sun.
His love for the game of dodgeball combined with his command of the microphone made him the perfect fit for this job.
Now, I just needed the talent to make my dream combo complete.
For months, I racked my brain, trying to think of someone who could bring authentic broadcasting talent to our little production.
Then, driving to Lexington one weekend (I always do my best thinking when I’m driving!), it hit me.
A few months earlier, our team had hosted its first ever home game against Miami University.
To make the occasion more entertaining for fans, one of our players had invited his broadcasting buddy to do some announcing for us.
His name was Zac Newton, and as soon as he started broadcasting from behind that cheap microphone we’d provided, I knew WKU Dodgeball had found its voice.
In fact, the game was such a blowout that I look back and consider Zac’s announcing to be the highlight of the whole affair.
After mentally kicking myself for not thinking of Zac earlier, I shot him a Facebook message with the details of my proposition.
Let’s just say it didn’t take long for him to respond with an ecstatic “Yes, please!”
I think it’s also say to safe that I’m giddy about the prospect of having Alex and Zac woo our tiny listening audience twice a month this season.
After that major hurdle, the rest of the overhaul was a walk in the park.
New logo? Check.
Updated intro, outro and transitions? Check, check, check.
Updated hardware and online hosting capabilities to help bring a better quality show to our dedicated listeners? Checks all around.
Heck, I even made myself a shirt to celebrate the rebirth of my beloved podcast.
And come August, I’m confident AJP’s fanbase will be celebrating right along with me.